A peace activist and actor shrug off protests over plan to appear together at this year’s song contest in Moscow
Israel’s entry for this year’s Eurovision song contest, a rare pairing of a Jewish and an Arab singer, has sparked criticism from Arab artists at a time of tense relations in the wake of the Gaza conflict.
Achinoam Nini, a Jewish Israeli singer and peace activist, often known as Noa, will duet with Mira Awad, an Arab Israeli singer and actor. The pair have worked together in the past and are rehearsing four songs in Hebrew, Arabic and English, one of which will be chosen through a television broadcast, before they take part in Eurovision in Moscow in May.
The day after Israel launched its war on Gaza in late December, Nini, 39, was selected by the Israel Broadcasting Authority and promptly suggested she pair up with Awad, who was born in Galilee and now lives in Tel Aviv. Awad, 33, who appeared to enthusiastic reviews in an Israeli TV sitcom last year, will be the first Arab to represent Israel at the competition. About a fifth of Israel’s citizens are Arabs, who have equal rights but for years have faced discrimination.
A group of Arab artists, some Israeli, some Palestinian, sent Awad an open letter calling on her to withdraw.
“The Israeli government is sending the two of you to Moscow as part of its propaganda machine that is trying to create the appearance of Jewish-Arab coexistence under which it carriers out the daily massacre of Palestinian civilians,” they wrote. “Please, Mira, for the children of Gaza and for the future of every child in this land — Arabs and Jews — don’t be an accomplice to the killing machine.”
However, the two appear undeterred. Awad said she wanted to make the point that Jews and Arabs had no choice but to find a way to live together.
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