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Worlds Collide: Steven Tyler and David Friedman Meet at the Western Wall

Dream on! No, for real, it happened.

by
Jonathan Zalman
May 16, 2017
Menahem Kahana/Getty Images
New US ambassador to Israel David Friedman (R) talks with US band Aerosmith's lead singer Steven Tyler (L) after the two met by coincidence following a visit to the Western Wall in the old city of Jerusalem on May 15, 2017.Menahem Kahana/Getty Images
Menahem Kahana/Getty Images
New US ambassador to Israel David Friedman (R) talks with US band Aerosmith's lead singer Steven Tyler (L) after the two met by coincidence following a visit to the Western Wall in the old city of Jerusalem on May 15, 2017.Menahem Kahana/Getty Images

Your eyes are not deceiving you. Yes, that is the ageless Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler at the Western Wall. And, again, yes, that is him sharing words with newly minted U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman on Monday. They talked about the value of honey as a condiment and how to get the most out of their wireless plans.

I’m kidding! I don’t know what they spoke about! But I do know that the news of Tyler at the Kotel is an odd sight. Tyler visited the holy site Monday ahead of his band’s performance on Wednesday at Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Park—it’ll be Aerosmith’s first performance in Israel in over two decades. Friedman was there saying his prayers before officially taking up his post as ambassador. It’s being reported as a chance encounter, but I call bull: This is clearly a boon to both men’s reputations.

I’m kidding, again! It’s just oddball news that may or may not take avert your undying attention away from the flurry of President-Trump-Will-Soon-Arrive-In-Israel news that steams along every second, sating our appetite for drama in the homeland: Jared and Ivanka might join Dad on his trip; a Trump aide reportedly said the Western Wall was in the West Bank, prompting an unhappy statement from Bibi’s office; Trump apparently wants to visit the Kotel alone, a first… Oh, and this breaking tidbit. We are, dare I say, livin’ on the edge.

Jonathan Zalman is a writer and teacher based in Brooklyn.