ABBA 2010 - Gothenburg Sweden win BA's Jeurovision Song contest
Approximately 500 people participated in Bnei Akiva's Jerovision song contest which took place this week in Stockholm Sweden, after a long and educational weekend for Jewish youth from 10 countries. The competition took place this year in Sweden in order to salute the Jewish communities of Scandinavia, which have been dealing with growing acts of anti-Semitism against Jews and the state of Israel. The security level in the Jewish communities of Sweden is so high that during the weekend, the participants were not allowed to leave the hotel and were in closure. Outside the hotel, hundreds of left wing extremists demonstrated on Saturday, while 600 police officers were surrounding them.
"It was the best Jeurovision contest in years" the organizers from World Bnei Akiva informed. To emphasize this statement, the Jewish community of Stockholm cannot get enough of the Jewish mega event "the entire Jewish community is talking about it" one community member explained.
The event opened with the performance of former Israeli Idol star Elchai Refoua, which sang the popular and famous 'Haleluya' song which represented Israel in the Eurovision contest in 1979.
All of the Jerovision songs were written by the participants, Bnei Akiva youth from across Europe. Most of the songs were composed by the young musicians, while the rest were covers to famous local songs. This year's theme was "For the sake of my brothers and friends", and all the songs were required to be written accordingly. Songs which were sung in Hebrew received extra points.
Four young musicians from Gothenburg Sweden moved the audience and the judges and won the first place just by one point. Emma Vick and Natali Azulay, together with Misha Fredkin and Ricard Bugarson performed with the song "When Brothers Dwell together, written by Daniel Azaria, a former Bnei Akiva member in Gothenburg which recently moved to Israel.
"The competition was a special experience for me, which I am so happy to have gone through" said former Israeli Idol star Elchai Refoua, which performed his first single "Father of them All". Refoua's new single was produced especially for Bnei Akiva's Jeurovision contest. "I have learned allot about the Jewish communities in the Diaspora" Refoua explained, "most Israeli's don’t know enough about this subject. It is an amazing feeling to know that people in Europe are humming my new song" Refoua concluded.
The second place was awarded to the song from Rome, which was just one point short from winning the competition. The Italian delegation was the largest group on stage, and their song spoke about Aliyah to Israel. Their special choreography and Italian moves excited the audience which could not get enough of this special song.
The third and honorable place was given to the talented young performers from Berlin Germany. The band from Berlin won the German Jewrovision contest in Koln recently, and was the favorite to win because of their high quality performance and professional choreography.
So what did the first place group receive? The winning song entitled the group a special trophy and most importantly: Jewish pride. We have a feeling that one day you will hear of these young talented Jews again.
