NFTY Field Trip - Eric Clapton Live in Jerusalem - 13 July 1989

Our National Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY) group was exhausted.  Well into our trip, we were offered a night out in Jerusalem to see Eric Clapton.  If I remember correctly, it was about 30NIS for the ticket.  Our entire group signed up...we loaded up the bus and headed over to Sultan's Pool - a large grass-covered area in the heart of Jerusalem.

Sultan's Pool

I think every Anglo in the country converged on Sultan's Pool that night!  We hit the porta-johns first, with their lack of toilet seats (aim for the hole!) and then the t-shirt stand.  My mom still wears the t-shirt I purchased.  

The stage was large.  Before the concert began, James Brown was playing out of the speakers and our group spontaneously started that late-80s chant, "Free James Brown!  Free James Brown!"  (He had been arrested for domestic abuse and drugs, but he's the Godfather of Soul - he should get a free pass, right?)

It has been more than 20 years, but I still distinctly remember the feeling I had that night, just a tall, skinny 15 year old standing in a crowd and watching Clapton in the center of Jerusalem.  Brief memories shoot through my brain from that night...I remember at the rear of the Pool (visible to the right in the above photo) there were large wooden "walls" so pedestrians and people on the street couldn't easily watch the concert for free, and one of these walls SMASHED to the ground below, scaring the hell outta me.  Some of the girls in our group sat on guys' shoulders to get a better view.  I wouldn't have been strong enough to carry the girl I had a HUGE crush on, but I remember standing next to her for much of the night.  

I saw Clapton again on this tour in Richfield, OH, and he didn't play with the same intensity as he played on this night.  Can you blame him?

I have found a recording of this concert and I offer it for download HERE for your listening pleasure in 256kbps MP3!

"Journey To Jerusalem"

Sultan's Pool, Jerusalem, Israel

July 13, 1989

1. Crossroads

2. White Room

3. I Shot the Sheriff

4. Bell Bottom Blues

5. Lay Down Sally

6. Wonderful Tonight

7. Wanna Make Love to You   

8. After Midnight   

9. Can't Find My Way Home  

10. Forever Man

1. Same Old Blues

2. Tearing Us Apart

3. Cocaine

4. Layla
5. Badge
6. Sunshine of Your Love
7. Interview

Eric Clapton - Guitar, Vocals
Phil Palmer - Guitar
Nathan East - Bass
Steve Ferrone - Drums
Alan Clark - Keyboards
Ray Cooper - Percussion
Katie Kissoon - Backing Vocals
Tessa Niles - Backing Vocals

The Mamila Deli - Jerusalem

One night, I went into Jerusalem with the family and my wife's cousins.  I was really stunned by the renewal going on throughout the Ben Yehudah Street/Kikar Tzion area of downtown.  There is so much that has changed over the past 10 years!

So, the cousins took us to the Mamila Deli, where the boyfriend of the cousin's sister-in-law works.  All I could say was...wow...this food was fantastic.  I devoured it in seconds.  I ordered a Mamila Sandwich with all of those delicious Israeli toppings you can think of.  I left there bloated and happy.  There's nothing like it here in Virginia...so all I have to savor is the memory of a delicious night out in the city of Jerusalem.  Great choice, Maoz!

Wipe your punum, chaver!