Forward.com

Yid Vid: Birthright Enlists Israel’s Reigning YouTube Queens

In the past decade, Birthright Israel has established itself as the Jewish community’s unquestioned leader in providing free Israel trips to young Jews. More recently, it has also become, quite possibly, the Jewish community’s No. 1 patron of the art of YouTube video-making.

For its latest effort, Birthright enlists Israel’s leading lip-syncers, Tasha and Dishka, two young ladies from Ramle who became YouTube sensations with their lively interpretation of The Pixies’ “Hey” — which has now been viewed more than 22 million times(!).

For Birthright, the dynamic duo of viral video lip-syncs in various holy land hot spots to the song “All Eyes on Me” by Israeli power-pop band The Carsitters — all in honor of Israel’s 60th birthday.

The verdict?: It’s not bad, but it’s no “Hey.”

Hat tip: Jewlicious.

Yid Vid: Rosh Hashanah Girl Returns… for Passover

Michelle Citrin and William Levin, the Jewish YouTube impresarios who last year brought us “I Gotta Love You Rosh Hashanah” (a Taglit-Birthright Israel –sponsored parody of a parody) are back with “20 Things To Do With Matzah” (sponsored by Streit’s matzo factory).

Says Levin of filming the new video, “Most people are cleaning their homes of chametz this time of year. We’re cleaning our apartments of matzo.”

Yid Vid: Orangutans Enjoy Matzo (But Not Too Much, Lest…)

Elsewhere in the Forward-sphere, our bilingual bard, Stanley Siegelman, notes that Passover also has something to offer lovers, children, communists, drunks and Eliot Spitzer.

Yid Vid: Israel Through British Eyes

Staffers from the British pro-Israel advocacy group Bicom took to the streets to find out what ordinary Britons know about Israel. They compiled some of the sillier responses into a YouTube highlight reel:

I personally like how the woman in the kaffiyeh thought the capital of Israel was “Iran.”

Of course, I’m sure one could ask Israelis about Britain and then cherry-pick the dumbest responses and make a video that’s every bit as funny. One also wonders whether the people who are being held up for ridicule for their lack of knowledge about a small Middle Eastern country are going to feel any more favorable toward Israel for it. Then again, I guess people still like Jay Leno.

London’s Jewish Chronicle has the story of the making of the video.

Yid Vid: Yael Naim May Be Big on TV, But Hadar Manor Is Queen of the Tube

What is it with young Israeli singer-songwriters making great music in Europe?

First, we saw the ascent of 30-year-old Yael Naim, the Paris-based songstress who became suddenly famous after her beautiful single “New Soul” was used in an Apple commercial. Now, across the Channel, another young Israeli is getting a bit of attention of her own. Hadar Manor, a 26-year-old not too many years out of the IDF, was recently named “Busker Queen of London’s Underground.”

While Manor’s YouTube video views aren’t anywhere near Naim numbers yet (i.e. millions), I wouldn’t be surprised if we hear more from this young singer who’s already garnering raves in Britain.

Watch Manor’s (prophetic?) “Queen of the Underground” in which she showcases her song-writing skills (and apparent affinity for kaffiyehs):

View Naim’s “New Soul” here:

Hat tip: The L.A. Jewish Journal’s weekly V.J.