Lior Suchard predicted June 14 as final end to coronavirus restrictions
In a live Instagram chat on March 23, actress Mali Levi asked Suchard if he could estimate when the enforced isolation would end and Israel would open up fully again.
By DAVID BRINNLior Suchard (Courtesy)(photo credit: Courtesy)
Mentalist Lior Suchard has stunned audiences around the world with his extra-sensory perception. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a month-and-a-half ago the Israeli celebrity accurately predicted when the restrictions forced on the country by the coronavirus pandemic would be lifted.In a live Instagram chat on March 23, actress Mali Levi asked Suchard if he could estimate when the enforced isolation would end and Israel would open up fully again.Suchard answered, “June 14.” Then he jokingly added, “2026” before adding stam (“just kidding”).On Monday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the easing of restrictions and gave the date of June 14 as the target for canceling all existing constraints regarding crowd-gathering sizes, and enabling the opening of theaters, restaurants and other businesses.“The joke I tell is that maybe Bibi follows me and saw me give that date, and then he announced it,” said Suchard to The Jerusalem Post Wednesday.“I’ve done a few predictions over the last decade but it’s usually writing down the results and locking them away in a safe – like the cricket score in the Australian Open or the results of the Israeli elections four years ago. It creates tension, saying that nobody else touched them and the results have never been revealed before, and now we’ll see how close I was. I got the cricket score and was 99% right about the elections.“This time, when Mali asked me to predict, I thought, ‘Why not go for it?’ and said ‘June 14.’ Maybe that was an educated guess but everything I do is an educated guess. When I tell audience members the name of their first crush, it’s not about supernatural ability; it’s based on lots of factors and my abilities as a mentalist.”Suchard has been keeping busy throughout the shutdown, developing a show via Zoom for corporate clients, and recording his series Gone Mental with Lior on the Quibi platform, and on Friday appearing on The Graham Norton Show.“The entertainment industry took a big hit, from 100 to zero in one day. So I had to adapt. I created a digital show that can be conducted via Zoom or another online platform. People log in and I do an hour of virtual wonder. The only thing missing is the applause, so I unmute everyone for minute. When you have 1,000 people applauding on Zoom, it creates a very weird noise,” said Suchard.The entertainer said he was optimistic about performing before live audiences in Israel before too long.
“We’ll start doing shows with people sitting two meters apart and wearing masks, then it will go to one meter, and then no masks, and eventually we’ll go back to regular shows. I always say that you have to be optimistic,” he said.Can Suchard now direct his talents to predict whether Israel will have a government at the end of the week or head to fourth elections?“I don’t want to get into politics. Let me just help people enjoy themselves and have fun.”
