Israel Buium is a mind reader and he’s doing a lot of psychic tricks. He can tell you the name of your best friend or your school teacher when you were 10 years old, even if it’s the first time he sees you. He can bend a spoon almost without touching it and he can also tell you how much money you have in your wallet. The wallet test I personaly tried! And the magic it’s not ending here. He can make you feel a sweet taste or a bitter one, with the power of his mind, or he can make you feel the smell of a perfume from a paper flower. He can also lift a person who is standing on a chair, with three other people he will randomily pick from the audience, and each one is helping with only a few fingers. But this is fascinating to see with your own eyes!
Being a mentalist, Israel Buium’s show is focused on human mind. And everything he does make people smile or he amazes them and make them even more curious. That’s why I wanted to find out more about how is he doing everything, and what is the influence of his profession on his personal life.
You like playing with people’s mind…
Of course! (laughing) But it’s not exactly that I like to do that all the time. Only in my shows or when people ask me. Because usually people say ”I don’t believe you. Show me!”. Then that’s what i’m doing. And i’m also telling people what can they do to have a better life.
So you’re pretty good in reading faces?
Yes, I am.
You could be a detective!
Yeah, I could be one, but… neah… I don’t think I would really like doing that. (laughing)
Did anybody asked you to read faces?
All the time. On the street people recognize me and some persons ask me because they are curious. In Romania also, because I arrived two months ago. It’s my third time here, and it’s my longest staying on romanian land.
Would you like living in Romania?
Live it’s not exactly the right word because i’m flying all the time. To USA (in Las Vegas, New York City), to United Kingdom (London), to France (Paris), etc.. But I always said that Israel and Romania are my two homes.
Your shows are now in English. There are some chances they might be in Romanian also?
Exactly! In a short while, in September, I will be back to Romania, I will stay two or three months and I will learn the language. Look, ”înțeleg” (translation: ”I understand”) Romanian, but not very good, because even if I‘m half romanian i never lived here.
What does a mentalist have in mind first thing in the morning?
Wow! (laughing) Well, nobody can speack with me for minimum one hour, in the morning, because i’m thinking a lot about things in my life. Of course, I’m brushing my teeth, i’m drinking my coffee, just like regular people, but before I leave home I need some time for myself. I need to have a wall between me and the rest of the world, so I can think about my thoughts. I need to get my balance.
Because you can read people’s faces, does that affect your personal life, in your relationship with women?
Yes. When somebody is lying to me I know in more then 90 % of the cases. In relationships or with the people I do bussiness. Sometimes I’m letting them lie to me, I let them say whatever they want and in the end i’m telling them who’s the liar. And I’m also explaining them why, cause I know how to read signs and I also feel when somebody is telling a lie.
”I can read the signs and I know when somebody is lying to me.”
This is happening with women also? I mean, if you’re in love are you more permissive?
I try not to do that, to fall in love. (laughing) Now I’m single, because it’s not easy for somebody to be with me. I’m travelling all the time and I meet a lot of people. But If I will meet a girl and I would like to meet one, then she has to know that I’m also busy with the shows.
How much time you need for recovering after a mentalism show?
After a one hour show I need a couple of days to relax and get my energy back. I’m just staying at home or at the hotel and don’t do nothing.
What happends when many mentalists are sitting at the same table?
Oh… (laughing) They talk about shows and about what people really like. In every country the audience is different. For example, in Romania people pay attention to details. Men here have their nails done and nice haircuts. Can you believe it’s the first time in my life I went to have my nails done, one week ago? In Israel this is not exactly normal, in New York only rich people do that, in Paris not a lot, but here in Bucharest i’ve seen many men very carefull with their looks.
I know you can guess how much money I have in my wallet. How do you do it?
It’s easy. If you know the exact number, I can tell you now. You are transmitting me the information, I can see it in your eyes. It’s like you project me a picture.
Of course I was curious and I asked him how much money I have in my wallet. I had 124 ron. Israel told me to look straight to his eyes and think about the number. So I did. Then he wrote something on a piece of paper: 12…1-5. He started correct, but what about 1-5? When I checked my wallet again (which was in other room, in my bag which he never seen) I realised I also had some coins of 1 and 5. I don’t really know how Israel did it, but I had a lot of fun. That’s for sure!
Israel Buium is half romanian, half israelian
His family moved to Tel Aviv in 1964, before Israel was born. His father teached him a lot about magic and when Buium was 15, he was already able to do a show and even create his own tricks. Until now, at the age of 44, he wrote three books in hebrew about magic and he learned very good how to play with human mind.
Photo credit: Israel Buium Facebook, Raphael Ben Dor, Corina Stoicescu
