VIDEO: In an effort to raise both funds and awareness for two Israeli young men who are still being held in a Japanese prison almost three years after unknowingly bringing drugs into the country, Danny Finkleman, producer of the Unity project to benefit Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin, has created another stunning music video, this one featuring two of the top names in Jewish music, superstars Shloime Daskal and Avraham Fried.
The Japan Song is a remake of the Dveykus 2 classic, In A Vinkele, later re-recorded as Tatte by Yaakov Shwekey, featuring all new lyrics by Moti Ilowitz and Moshe Kravitsky in both English and Yiddish. Filmed on two continents, much of the footage for the moving video was filmed at the Chiba Detention Center where the two are being held, only days before Japan was devastated by an earthquake-tsunami combination that claimed the lives of thousands.
The seven minute long video describes the plight of Yoel Zev Goldberg and Yaakov Yosef Greenwald, who are imprisoned in Japan after suitcases that they were carrying for someone else were found to contain drugs. The two, who passed polygraph tests, have long protested their innocence and a third young man, Yosef Bando, has already been released. Produced and directed by Finkelman in conjunction with Teltech Entertainment, The Japan Song is sponsored by the Aaron Teitelbaum Orchestra and Hitech Merchant Services, with musical production by Eli Lishinsky and Nir Graf and cinematography by Mauricio Arenas and De Grupo Films.
While filming in Japan, Daskal and Finkelman had the opportunity to spend thirty minutes with each of the two young men. Meeting them and spending time at the Chiba Detention Center left Daskal and Finkelman feeling even more inspired than ever to do whatever they could to help the pair.
“While I was impressed with the good nature of the Japanese people and their respect for us as Jews,” said Finkelman, “it was heartbreaking to realize that despite the fact that these two young men are imprisoned just a few feet away from each other, they are kept separated and have not spoken to each other for almost three years. While so many of us pray for the welfare of these two young men, it is important that we remember them both with prayers and the donations that are so desperately needed to fund their defense.”
Sorry to say that there is a lot of footage in this clip that really has no place at best and may even be objectionable to others. It really begs the question as to why a lot of this footage is on along with this song when it could have very easily been avoided.
Those boys are suffering, and these people make a video for entertainment ?
these videos have nothing to do with helping the poor boys.it is nothing more than self promotion for the singers and producers
Nice music, nice voices, totally missed the boat on delivering ANY message. (just like the unity video, but even worse)
The producers spent 95% on production 5% on the message. Way to much of the singers and (strange) guitarist, not to mention the tour of Japan…and the tsunami!?
They “could’ve” showed the massive asifa’s around the country, the inside of a courtroom/jail, SOMETHING that would get the viewer to imagine the pain etc.
Nu nu, I know I didn’t shed a tear.
I couldn’t even finish watching this atrocity! Is this supposed to stir in me some sort of emotion? If so, then you succeeded. I am truly feeling very repulsed right now at this production which is supposed to “help” the boys in Japan somehow.
And please explain to me why footage of the tsunami is in there?? Are you trying to draw some sort of connection between the tsunami and the boys in prison?? I may be orthodox too, but I take great offense at your even trying to suggest that TENS OF THOUSANDS of innocent Japanese people died simply because they’re keeping our boys in prison (and no, I am far from being a liberalist). Yes, it is a rather interesting idea, but we are not G-d, and so we are not permitted to make any statement saying “This is why G-d did such and such”. Do you even realize what a huge chilul H-shem is waiting to happen, if someone who wasn’t orthodox saw this and drew the same conclusions??
Please take this abomination off the web, and refund anyone who was crazy enough to buy this cd! Far from helping our cause, your coming out with a music video like this, at a time when the Japanese people are at their lowest point having suffered such great tragedies in such a short span of time, is like pouring salt on open wounds, and will be viewed as nothing more than gloating on the Jews’ part, not to mention the complete insensitivity & goyish tones this has!
(and no, I am not defending the Japanese in the least for their decision to keep Yoel Zev and Yaakov Yosef in prison for the last 3 years, nor am I saying they are in any way correct. But discretion is given where discretion is due, and subtlety was completely blown out of the water with this latest “bomb”!)
Despite the good cause, this is a pathetic attempt to imitate the celebrity worship of secular society. Almost as idiotic as the Jewish American Idol competition.
to numbers 1-6 there is something seriously wrong with you. you are just bitter old people.
ok, i have to be honest-
As someone who understood nothing language wise(in the beginning), THE PRODUCTION WAS SUPER. THE VIDEO QUALITY WAS AMAZING, the footage was professionally shot with someone who has some serious talent & an an eye for videography.
the guitarist was kinda odd, and the second singer’s words were a little to ‘bleeding heart-ish.’ but all in all, if it helps someone/family heal a little, job well done guys!
#7, can you not make your case about the topic on hand, instead of resorting to commenting on the motive of the other commenters
this audio-visual production poses a significant threat to the poor bochurim.
Cameras are strictly forbidden in the detention centre. Photographs & video coverage of the bochurim had been put into the public domain on http://thejapansong.com/. They were up but during the time they were up it caused the boys problems.
This is highly irresponsible.
Two of the lawyers can also be seen on their trailer.
The lawyers and ourselves are petrified that all visits to the boys will be immediately suspended, and that the defense attorneys will be reprimanded, and G-d forbid perhaps even compelled to leave the case.
The existence and publicity of this website / vide can harm the entire case in seconds!
From what I heard the donation information on this website has absolutely NOTHING to do with the defense efforts to rescue the bochurim.
I haven’t heard of any rav or askan who approved/endorsed the video.
What were they in Japan for.
#7 – instead of the name calling why don’t you see that all of us posters are basically making the same point, and that is that this ‘Japan song’ video is in bad taste and will do nothing to help these boys. Whoever was behind approving this kind of footage simply used very bad judgement. #7 see for yourself how many are in agreement with you, not too many it seems.
#9 you are right on.to #7 we are not bitter or old,we just have our priorities right.happy to see most people agree
When I saw that there was a song called the Japan Song I assumed that it is to benefit the tens of thousands of those killed and injured in the earthquake and tsunami or hundreds of thousands displaced by the disaster.
This is the biggest problem in Japan right now??
Where are priorities?
Its a shame that so much time was wasted on production and nothing about how the family, boys, klal yisroel. There is alot of footage that has no place in such a video. I hope it raises some $$ at least.
Real bad taste, don’t see how this can help the cause.
If you want your comment to make a difference please go to their website & email them your comments. You can also email the sponsors. I told them that I was happy they were promoting the cause but extremely troubled that they chose to include images of the tsunami. It is not relevant and is offensive to link the tsunami to the boys’ case.