Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

An Elvis-Themed Israel Tour, For Only $4,000

Elvis Costello shunned Israel a couple of years ago, cancelling a gig on grounds of conscience. But it seems that Israel is just the destination to celebrate the mightier, even more famous Elvis.

On Thursday, tickets went on sale for a $3,995 Elvis Presley themed tour of Israel. No kidding — check it out for yourself.

Special guests on the trip will include Elvis Imperials members Joe Moscheo and Terry Blackwood, and Bill Baize, former member of JD Sumner and The Stamps. But apart from the tenuous connection these guests provide, it’s difficult to see what Elvis has to do with this tour (he never visited Israel). The itinerary features all the standard Israeli sites.

Maybe the organizers need some rewritten Elvis lyrics to use as a soundtrack for the trip. The Shmooze is happy to offer suggestions.

For when visiting Temple Mount, where Jewish tradition mandates avoiding the most sacred spot, a variation on
on “Blue Suede Shoes”:

Well, it’s one for the money, Two for the show, Three to get ready, Now go, cat, go. But don’t you step on the Holy of Holies You can do anything but lay off of the Holy of Holies.

For visiting the Western Wall, how about a twist on “Cotton Candy Land”?

Pious Jewess is comin’, yes she’s comin’ To sell you a red band, She’ll say zei gesund, a bracha And you’ll be in Kaballah land

For a lecture on Netanyahu-Obama relations, no changes to the original “How’s the World Treating You” lyrics are necessary:

I’ve had nothing but sorrow Since you said we were through There’s no hope for tomorrow How’s the world treating you?

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.