WATCH: Art Garfunkel pays tribute to Paul Simon at Tel Aviv solo show

Legendary singer Art Garfunkel took to the stage in Tel Aviv last night – his first appearance in Israel in 17 years.

The other half of folk-rock duo Simon and Garfunkel – born in New York to Jewish parents – performed at the 15,000 capacity Bloomfield Stadium, reprising classics such as ‘The Boxer’, ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ and ‘Bright Eyes’ interspersed with selections of his own prose poetry…read off the back of envelopes.

73-year-old Garfunkel – who learnt to sing at his shul as a teenager – paid homage to his Jewish heritage, sporting a white satin yarmulke and bookending the show with the shehechiyanu blessing.

Though he performed several songs alongside his son James, an emotional Garfunkel praised his original partner and fellow Jewish singer-songwriter Paul Simon – telling the audience to “forget everything you’ve read” on the subject of their rumoured long-running feud and that Simon had “enriched his life”. 

The duo, who have sold almost 100 million albums worldwide, played Israel as part of their 1983 reunion tour – with Garfunkel’s last Israeli solo concert taking place in 1998.