Saturday, November 1st, 2008
Elvis in the holy Land
The Elvis Inn
Set a bit off the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway, near the Kibbutz Neveh Ilan Guest House, is the shrine of shlock, the ultra in kitsch: the Elvis Inn gas station, restaurant, bar and grill and tourist trap, run by owners and brothers Amnon and Uri, along with Uri’s son, Amir, and several staffers.
While it’s certainly not Graceland, the neo-50s and 60s décor does get you in the mood, with a 16-foot-high golden statue of Elvis in the parking lot alongside the entrance, and a second even larger one nearby, with one arm raised, seemingly waving towards Jerusalem.
There are more than 1,000 pictures, posters, and postcards covering nearly every flat surface, sent by fans and like-minded Elvis lovers worldwide. There are also four life-sized Elvis statues scattered around the premises in various poses, sitting at a table, strumming a guitar, and, in general watching over the place.Elvis certainly brings different people together: on the afternoon I visited, the Inn was hosting 24 eighth-graders and staff of Atlanta’s Greenfield Hebrew Academy. Meanwhile, a 130-member-strong Christian pilgrimage group from London sat primly at the booths and tables inside, but still gawked at the memorabilia-studded décor. Over in the corner booth overlooking the verdant Judean hills, five rowdy Israeli men and women quaffed beers over a long lunch, laughing and digging the scene.
The Elvis Inn started, “about 30 years ago, when our family took over this location, which was pretty run down,” Yoeli says. “Since my brother and I were Elvis fans, we brought over a few pictures from our house and hung them up. Soon tourists started coming around and were impressed, and we kept finding pictures of Elvis. Tourists — especially from the United States — also sent us pictures and articles,” he recalls, and says that at one stage they began holding ceremonies on Elvis’ birthday, January 8, 1935, and anniversary of his death, August 16, 1977 at age 42.
The Inn has kept on through war and peace, tourists and terrorism, and innumerable impersonators ever since. The place has slowly grown, along with the ebb and flow of the tourist buses unloading wide-eyed visitors for a photo-op and snack.
But when they hold the memorial service, it’s not a staid affair. “Film crews from around the world show up,” according to Yoeli, with reporters from “China, Japan, the U.S. and Europe … and [Israel Radio's] Reshet Gimmel Network provides a live feed throughout the day.”
And then it’s time for the squad of Elvis impersonators to don the sequined cape, pomade the ‘do, and belt out the hits — albeit with varying degrees of success. “There’s a big party here then,” he says.
“Over the years, we’ve collected thousands of pictures and articles; gathered an entire library of books about Elvis, including many ‘proving’ that Elvis is still alive. It’s like a cult,” Yoeli says, slowly shaking his head from side to side.
“We were in communication with Priscilla [Presley], who was supposed to come for the ceremony, but cancelled out, apparently due to the intifada,” Yoeli surmises. Other guests were Elvis’ performance costume seamstress, as well as the man whose claim to fame was announcing, “Elvis has left the building” as concerts concluded.
Another group the intifada doesn’t faze, and arrives regularly, is a contingent of U.S. Marines. Yoeli says the restaurant has an informal agreement with the American authorities that whenever one of the Navy destroyers docks at Haifa, the crew visits the Inn. “When they arrive, it’s one big party. They see Elvis, feel at home, and we turn up the volume — some get up and dance,” Yoeli says.