The 64th edition of the Israel Festival is set to open on July 1, 2025, marking an expansion beyond its traditional Jerusalem borders. For the first time, the festival will extend to areas it has never reached before, including Kiryat Shmona, Ofakim, the Upper Galilee, the Northern Golan, and the Western Negev. This move aims to bring a range of artistic experiences to communities across the country.

The festival, which will run until July 24, will feature an array of music, theater, dance, and performance shows. "This year we have spread far beyond Jerusalem," the official announcement stated. "In collaboration with many communities and creators, we are proud to reach Majdal Shams, Kiryat Shmona, Kibbutz Kfar Blum, and the green lawn of Tel Hai College." The organizers emphasized that unique content has been chosen for each site to match "the spirit of the place and what it has gone through."

Artistic directors Michal Va'eknin and Itai Ma'otner have crafted a program that reflects the complexities of the current reality. "The festival this year stems from what is happening around us and within us," they stated. "Its contents offer another perspective—at times documentary, at times poetic and full of spirit. A perspective that allows all of us to look directly at what is happening. Not to look away. Not to close our eyes. We want to create a layered picture, to shine a little light into the darkness, and to add a little blue to all the red around. To stop for a few moments the immediate thoughts, and to allow something else to enter. This is our proposal. The request. The intention. The prayer. A dream of healing within a reality of war."

The festival will open with "People of Music," a social-musical project created immediately after October 7. This initiative gathers young creators from northern Israel who process their experiences through sounds and melodies. These emerging artists will perform alongside names from the Israeli music scene, such as Leah Shabbat, Jane Bordeaux, and Daniela Spector. The project aims to provide a platform for voices from the north, offering healing through music.

Another highlight is "From Ashes to Gold," where international trumpeter Avishai Cohen will perform his album alongside the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. Written following the events of October 7, the piece is expected to be a musical journey.

The festival will also feature "Speeches Against Despair," a collaboration between Guri Alfi and Eli Habib. This event will host participants including Noa Koller, Galit Chugai, Norman Issa, Noga Erez, Maya Landsman, and the Michael Ensemble. They will provide their interpretations of great historical speeches from moments and places around the world. This concept aims to inspire and provoke thought amid challenging times.

In Majdal Shams, the festival will present "Al-Ma'lab" (The Playground), a new creation by Raid Shams and Yonatan Blumenfeld. The performance deals with childhood and memory in the wounded soccer field of Majdal Shams, which was the site of an event on July 27, 2024. A rocket fell on the field, taking the lives of 12 girls and boys. The audience will be invited to the football field to watch a training session of the youth team. Simultaneously, they will be equipped with headphones to hear a collection of texts, memories, and recorded voices—a collection of pieces of lives that were and are not. "In the gap between the vitality of the football training and the silence of the disaster, questions arise about fate, innocence, and the power of life," the press release stated.

The festival will include a Talmud lesson called "On the Way Home" by Haya Galboa, featuring participants such as Maya Blazitsman, Orit Tashuma, Daniel Engel, and survivor of captivity Liat Atzili. This event seeks to explore themes of journey, return, and reflection through a contemporary lens.

Tuval Chaim, brother of Yoatam Chaim—who was kidnapped on October 7 and later killed by IDF forces while trying to escape from Hamas captivity—will launch his album "Brothers" during the festival. The launch event will take place on the lawn of Kibbutz Tze'elim in the south, with Eko and Tomer Yosef joining the performance. For about a year, Tuval Chaim has been recording his first album, influenced by musical styles such as hip-hop, funk, metal, and slow ballads. This personal project is a tribute to his brother and a reflection on loss and resilience.

Two opening shows will be held in an amphitheater built under the open sky in the courtyard of the Jerusalem Theater, designed by artist Muhammad Abu Salma. Among other performances, the festival will present "The Voice of the World That Only I Hear," a wandering show throughout the theater featuring "a Luna Park that turns into a bomb shelter, an alarm that turns into a track at a party, and a foam cannon that fills the space."

"VHS - Greetings from the Past" is another project inviting artists from creative fields to delve into their old tapes and rediscover meaningful moments. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet figures such as Sapir Prize laureate Etgar Keret, Arkadi Duchin, Noa Yadlin, and Shimon Adaf.

In addition to the performances, the festival will commemorate 25 years of the Sapir Prize with "Circles of Story." The audience will be invited to move between three circles, each revolving around a story or canonical book, and bringing together the written word with artistic mediums.

Acknowledging the challenging times, the official announcement reflected: "A year has passed since the last festival, and the reality is still complex, painful, and incomprehensible. The reality is painful, wounding, bleeding. The heart is cracked and the eyes are still far from being dry." The organizers expressed that fundamental questions about the role of art in these days arise, emphasizing the importance of not standing by but choosing to observe, respond, and act.

Ticket prices for the festival will range from 50 to 160 shekels, making the events accessible to a broad audience.

Produced with the assistance of a news-analysis system.