Televised Rosh Hashanah celebrations aim to raise spirits during lockdown

The celebration will be attended by people from Israel and around the world, including actors, singers, comedians, politicians, intellectuals, media personalities and more.

HEARING THE shofar is one of the core aspects of the Rosh Hashanah prayers (photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)
HEARING THE shofar is one of the core aspects of the Rosh Hashanah prayers
(photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)
Viewers may tune in to Keshet 12’s celebrity-studded Rosh Hashanah Eve celebration on Friday at 8:15 p.m. hoping to catch a glimpse of a government member breaking the coronavirus lockdown rules — as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did in Keshet’s Pesach special in April when he hosted his son Avner — but they end up enjoying the show even if no politicians make headlines.
The Israel’s Holiday Dinner broadcast will be hosted by two of Keshet’s most popular hosts, Ofira Asayag and Eyal Berkowitz. The idea behind the broadcast is to present a festive event for millions of families in Israel and around the world who are celebrating the Jewish New Year in lockdown and without all of their family present.
The celebration will be attended by people from Israel and around the world, including actors, singers, comedians, politicians, intellectuals, media personalities and more. Viewers will be invited to join the festive table through "Shanah Tovah" greetings that they can dedicate to their loved ones through Mako website that will be read on the air. Among the guests will be Itai Levy, Shiri Maimon, Avraham Tal, Anna Zack, Tzadi Tzarfati, Tuvia and Michael Tzafir, Pablo Rosenberg, Shelly Yachimovich, Eitan Kabel, former Health Ministry director general Moshe Bar Simantov and many others.
While the Pesach broadcast on Keshet got huge ratings, the videotaped appearance showing Avner Netanyahu at his parents’ Passover seder overshadowed other aspects of the broadcast. Many accused the prime minister of hypocrisy, since he had required citizens not to invite family members who do not live with them to the holiday dinner, saying “Distance is love.”
On Thursday night, Kan 11 will broadcast an episode of the reboot of the classic comedy show, Zehu Zeh (This is It) at 9:15 p.m. and the cast will perform Yossi Banai’s Rooster of Atonement song.
At 11:00 p.m., Kan 11 will broadcast the traditional Slichot prayers live from the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem.