In last night’s episode of Gene Simmons Family Jewels, titled “Blood is Thicker Than Hummus,”the KISS legend returns to his place of birth, Haifa, Israel for the first time in over 50 years. In case you were trying to track him down in his hotel, he stayed under the alias “Mr. Vey,” as in “Oy Vey.” While Gene (born Chaim Witz) was enjoying being as much of a tourist as possible, his trip to Israel carried deep personal meaning. The City of Haifa presented Gene Simmons with a very special award, the Haifa Medal. Said Gene upon accepting the award “I would be nothing without my birthplace. This is home.” He conducted his acceptance speech in both English and Hebrew, which you can watch here.
His longtime partner, Shannon, offered a very special surprise for Gene, bringing him to his childhood home, and reuniting him with his Israeli family he never knew after his parents became separated. He was even able to go to Cafe Nizza, the place in Haifa where his’ mother worked when he was a child.
The reunion was long overdue, but it was Gene’s visit to his father’s grave where the emotions became overwhelming. For 51 years, he never attempted to reach out to his father, who left him and his mother as a child. At the cemetery, Gene was read a letter written by his father to him recently, before his death, thanking him for his financial support and lamenting the fact that he could never meet his grandchildren. The letter was unfinished, and was not dated. Gene’s reaction was hard to watch, saying “I was so stupid for not visiting him.” You can see the clip of the heartbreaking visit to the place of his father’s burial below:
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