At the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto, more than 3,000 people attended a celebration of Israel’s Independence Day April 26 that included a performance by Idan Raichel, who took a break from his tour with the Touré-Raichel Collective to sit down for an hour at the piano. About halfway through, he cracked a smile and said, “I have to say, I’ve never played for an audience as warm as this one. It’s like you all live in the same neighborhood.”

At U.C. Berkeley, members of Tikvah: Students for Israel celebrated Yom HaAtzmaut with a huge, spinning Star of David constructed by JEWSE (Jews in Engineering). Hundreds of people walking through Sproul Plaza stopped for free falafel, Israeli music and a spin of the star (see it in action at below, or at www.bit.ly/JcYgJU).