Where is The Love?
By Ben Degani

After going to the Jerusalem Rocks! International Music Festival, I learned the answer to the question the Black Eyed Peas have been asking for years. I figured it out on my first real day of Young Judaea Year Course. The love is in Israel.

Last Sunday I had my first day of classes in the Young Judaea Youth Hostel. I spent the day learning about Jewish artists in the Renaissance, how to speak Hebrew and why Hashem (God) had to tell Abraham three times to take his son to the altar. I even took an intense Israeli dance class that will count as a credit when I go to college.

After a day full of education, I began my adventure on the streets of Jerusalem to Breichat HaSultan, the huge park by the Old City, to meet my friends at the Jerusalem Rocks! festival. I walked to the bus station at the top of the hill we live on and took the No. 20 to the last stop.

This is when I learned that when traveling in Jerusalem in a rush, it's definitely worth it to take a taxi. It took over an hour of uncomfortable seats, entertaining Israelis and endless stops to arrive at the station, but even then it took more time, more work and more Hebrew practice to get in. Every Israeli I talked to told me a different place to get tickets, and I ended up buying them from a scalper.

When I finally got in and pushed my way to the front to dance and scream with my friends, I immediately felt the power. Arrested Development, a funky, African-style reggae hip-hop group from Atlanta, was on the stage. They were so good I almost punched myself for not knowing about them before the show. Along with the 10,000-or-so-person crowd, I did not stop yelling the whole time they were playing.

When Arrested Development finished their set, there was a short break before the Black Eyed Peas' turn. We spent our time talking to all the people around us in the crowd. The people I became friends with that night ranged from 16-year-olds to adults, from Americans to Israelis to Texans to Brits, but we all had one thing in common: We were all Jews and we were all there to support peace and have an incredible time.

Americans might ask, “Why travel all the way to Israel and spend your time at a Black Eyed Peas concert? You can see the Black Eyed Peas at home, right?”

A concert in Israel, especially this one, is an experience. Different people can take from it what they want, but for me it was simultaneously a stress-releasing experience, a fresh, once-in-a-lifetime religious experience, and, as my new British friends would say — mental!

The Black Eyed Peas could feel it too: the togetherness, the energy, the joy of their show's atmosphere. It's not rare for a band to say, “This is the best country to play a show in,” but everyone knew that Will.I.Am meant it. In fact, this was not the band's first visit to the Holy Land. They were so moved by the experience the first time that they came back. Different members of the band said the same thing throughout the night, and at one point Will.I.Am just stepped back, looked at the people of Zion in front of him, and said, “Wow!”

Somewhere between speaking Hebrew with my new friends who surrounded me, shouting out the letters in Fergie's “Glamorous” at the top of my lungs while still feeling manly and singing “Where is the Love?” arm-in-arm with strangers, I realized something special was happening.

Between the encore, the Black Eyed Peas' saxophonist blowing the shofar to welcome the New Year and singing “Salaam” on the way out, I found The Love.

To read about the Peas' first visit to Israel, click here.

Ben is from Dallas, Texas, and will be attending the University of Texas next year. He enjoys hanging out with friends, playing ultimate Frisbee and listening to music.