Israel Festival schedules new dates following ceasefire with Iran

The 64th Israel Festival, postponed by the 12-day war with Iran, has been rescheduled with new dates, July 16 through August 14.

The festival was initially meant to launch on July 1. After the outbreak of war, it was initially delayed to November. But the quick end to the conflict after 12 days will allow it to begin next month as planned — just two weeks late.

Festival director Eyal Sher, with artistic directors Michal Vaknin and Itay Mautner, said in a statement that with the end of Homefront Command restrictions, in place during the 12 days of the conflict with Iran, the festival will now go ahead.

“Routine is a strange word. Very strange,” wrote Sher, Vaknin, and Mautner. “Because on the one hand, we are no longer confined to safe rooms, and the skies are no longer filled with missiles. But on the other hand, there are still 50 brothers and sisters in the tunnels, and the war in Gaza is still ongoing and taking a heavy toll. Too heavy.”

The festival will take place with its original program spanning many parts of the country, with a finger on the pulse of the current reality of Israeli society, the festival directors added.

The performances will take place in Jerusalem, Kiryat Shmona, Tel Hai, Kfar Blum, Majdal Shams, Ofakim, Kibbutz Urim and Kibbutz Tze’elim.

This year’s planned Israel Festival events include multiple performances referring directly to the tragedies and traumas of the last 20 months of war.

Due to the ongoing conflict, the festival is not planning to host any international performers, once a regular feature that was seen as an opportunity for Israelis to access international artists.

The festival’s website is available here, although as of Friday, it has still not been updated to reflect the change in dates.