The Shuni Amphitheater has seen some memorable performances over the years, like Eric Burdon‘s 2013 performance shown in this clip (4:45).Â
The amphitheater was built as part of the KKL-JNF’s renovations of the ancient Shuni fortress — a site which has seen many empires rise and fall from the Talmudic era to modern times. In Roman times, people gathered there for entertainment in the forms of staged naval battles, scandalous bathers, and musical performances. Nowadays, it is the site of some of Israel’s most epic musical performances.
What made this one of the more unforgettable performances was not Burdon’s fame as the lead singer of the 60’s rock band The Animals. Rather, it was the back-and-forth about his agreement to play in Israel at all after facing daily threats from BDS activists leading up to the show.
He did cancel the show but ultimately reconsidered and played a high-energy set for a packed amphitheater of enthusiastic fans.
Read more about it in this Times Of Israel article by the site’s editor David Horovitz.