VIDEO - Calls for the release of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit stood at the heart of World Bnei Akiva's annual Jewish Eurovision song contest, which was held in Brussels, Belgium this week.
The event, which is the highlight of the youth movement's worldwide activity, brought together some 500 teenagers from across Europe.
All the songs that participated in the competition were written and performed by the young members.
Although the branches were asked to write songs focusing on two main timely themes – Israel's 60th anniversary and Bnei Akiva's 80th anniversary, many of the youngsters decided to dedicate their performance to Shalit instead.
"As in every year, we presented the movement members with the competition's theme… but it tuned out that members from many countries decided that there were more important and burning topics, and wrote songs about Gilad Shalit," explained Zvika Klein, spokesman for World Bnei Akiva and one of the event's organizers.
Vienna branch - came in second
"Since we are a youth movement, we decided to let the teens 'rebel,' especially when it comes to such a sensitive subject," he added.
The winners of the competition were members of the Bnei Akiva branch in Paris, France. The second place went to the Vienna branch in Austria, and the Köln branch in Germany came in third.
The event was produced in cooperation with the Department for Religious Affairs in the Diaspora, the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish communities in Antwerp and Brussels.
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