Justin Timberlake provided the halftime entertainment at yesterday’s Super Bowl LII. In 2014, Timberlake performed a concert at Tel Aviv’s HaYarkon Park. In what way did someone honor Timberlake for that appearance?
Justin Timberlake by Shelby Casanova is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
A. A community garden near the concert venue was renamed Gan Timberlake (Timberlake Garden) in honor of the singer, an outspoken advocate of vegetarian eating, who made a donation to the group that oversees the garden.
B. New York’s Carnegie Deli had a branch in Tel Aviv, where a sandwich was named the Justin, honoring the singer’s Tel Aviv performance. Celebrating Timberlake’s hit song SexyBack, the sandwich featured baby back beef ribs on rye bread.
C. In anticipation of Timberlake’s Israeli concert, the farmers at Israel’s Moshav Ein Yahav named a new fruit variety the Justin melon. The melon has an unusually long three week shelf life, leading the farmers to note that they hoped that it would be a good luck charm for the performer, “bringing him a long, healthy life and continued success in his musical career.”
D. Beit Daniel, a Reform synagogue in Tel Aviv, hosted a Friday night service on the weekend of Timberlake’s concert, which they titled “Justin Time for Shabbat.” The congregation sang prayers to the tune of some of Timberlake’s songs, and the service was attended by a Jewish member of Timberlake’s road crew.
E. A United States teen tour group from NCSY, the youth division of the Orthodox Union, was in Tel Aviv at the time of the Timberlake concert. The teens were told that they were not allowed to attend the concert as the organization did not approve of Timberlake’s very sexy persona and music, including such songs as SexyBack, Rock Your Body, and Love Sex Magic. However, a group of the teens not only attended the concert, but used markers to alter their NCSY t-shirts to instead read NSYNC, a reference to the boy band that Timberlake sang with earlier in his career. The teens were busted when Timberlake saw the shirts and brought one of the teens onto the stage to dance with him, which was then broadcast on the local news.