This African Hebrew Israelite busker spreads joy across Tel Aviv

Several years ago, a video of a 93-year-old man dancing at the Jaffa Flea Market went viral. In it, the nattily dressed gent rolls up on his scooter, gets off, and lets loose as a street performer croons “Wake Me Up” by Avicii. At one point, the man and the singer hold hands and dance together as bystanders cheer.

The video was viewed 2.6 million times on Facebook, and lots of people commented about how happy it made them.

For the street performer, Yokai Ben Israel Edwards, it was just another day at the office, as it were. Over the past 12 years, he has created moments of joy and connection for thousands of strangers with his covers of American and Israeli pop songs. He’s a minor celebrity in Tel Aviv, a fixture at the Carmel and Jaffa markets.

But his life is far from glamorous. Case in point: Last month, on Purim, Yokai was singing at the flea market when Israeli police forcibly shut down his show and confiscated his speaker. A bystander filmed the incident, and an edited version of the video was shared on Facebook. It shows police officers and city inspectors surrounding Yokai as he shouts, “No, I’m singing! Why are you coming at me? You’re grabbing me?”

It’s a sad scene — the opposite of the viral clip with the elderly man. The creator of the video asserts in the voiceover that Yokai was bullied by the city. Someone who claims to have witnessed the altercation wrote on Facebook that it was actually Yokai who aggressively upstaged another musical group that was getting ready to perform in the same spot.

I’ve known Yokai for many years. He grew up in the African Hebrew Israelite community in Dimona, a community that has produced a number of marvelous entertainers. He‘s an independent artist who makes a living by busking and singing at weddings and bar mitzvahs. He loves making people smile.

When I called him up to ask about the incident at the shuk, the 39-year-old father of five was eager to set the record straight. “I didn’t take over anyone’s show,” he said. “It was a big misunderstanding.”

He told me that when he arrived at the shuk around 10:30 a.m., a band was setting up for a 12 p.m. show. Yokai asked the drummer if he could sing before it started, as a kind of warm-up act. The drummer gave him permission and let him plug his microphone into the band’s electricity. After he sang a few songs, someone else in the band unplugged his mic, then a manager confronted him and told him he couldn’t sing anymore. “They weren’t kind towards me,” he said.

He refused to leave, and the authorities were summoned. They cited him for singing “at a loud volume with music” — on Purim! — and took his speaker away. (He got it back earlier this week.) The city requires a permit for an amplification system. Yokai has applied several times but never received one, so he performs without the permit and the inspectors usually let it slide. Otherwise, he said he always follows the rules regarding where and when he can perform.

He acknowledged that he could have handled the situation at the shuk better, but he’s adamant that he didn’t try to upstage the band. “There’s no way I’m going to disrespect someone’s show,” he told me. “It’s not in the street musician culture. I have much respect for fellow street performers.”

Yokai has been in the spotlight since age 13, when he won the televised singing competition “Bravo” with another African Hebrew Israelite youth. He credits his late mother, a talented singer-songwriter named Yaheerah, with shaping him as an artist. He’s collaborated with Israeli artists and performed internationally.

He began busking as a way to make ends meet and soon realized it was his calling. “My name is Yokai, meaning God lives,” he said. “I’m just doing what I feel is my purpose, to bring people to life and liberate them.” He chooses to sing only uplifting tunes by the likes of Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Frank Sinatra and Leonard Cohen. He often wears traditional African Hebrew Israelite suits that he designs himself.

Tel Aviv says on its website that it values street performers’ contributions to the city’s “joie de vivre.” If that’s the case, it should embrace Yokai, not treat him like a criminal. The work he does is honorable and healing.

“I’m out here singing and getting us through everything that’s happened over the last few years, from Corona to the war,” he said. “It’s contributing to the physical and mental therapy of this country.”

Readers who wish to support Yokai should tip him when they see him on the streets of Tel Aviv or hire him for special events. Visit his Facebook page for details.