Israel’s representative in the upcoming Eurovision contest is an Arab woman who is “upset” when HaTikvah is played. MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) says she should be replaced.
Ben-Ari has written a letter on the matter to the Israel Broadcasting Authority, which is responsible for choosing the national representative in the international singing contest.
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union. Held each year in the country that won the previous year's contest, it will be held this coming spring in Moscow.
Israel's Arab woman singer, Mira Awad, was interviewed in the recent issue of the weekly newspaper Tel Aviv. “If they play the national anthem [HaTikvah], I will be very sad and upset,” she said. “It will be very difficult for me, and I will even shed tears.”
She explained that this is because “the theme is clear: The flag, anthem, and State – they are all Jewish symbols, and Israel, unfortunately, is not a state of all its citizens.”
“Deep inside me, I do not feel that the State represents who I am,” said the woman is supposed to represent Israel, “because this is a Jewish State in its essence, and I am not.”
Israeli Public Even More Upset than She is
Ben-Ari wrote in his letter, “When one who is supposed to represent the State says about herself that the function entrusted to her causes her consternation, and that she does not see herself as representing the national anthem or flag, and even denies that the State of Israel should be the State of the Jewish People – this is an indication that it should reconsidered whether the woman is appropriate to represent us in that forum.”
“On the other hand,” the new MK continued, “there is no doubt that the consternation she feels at representing Israel is very small compared to the consternation it causes to the broad public in the State of Israel.”
“I ask that you help alleviate the woman’s consternation and consider a more worthy alternative to represent the Israeli public,” wrote Ben-Ari. “There is no lack of army veteran singers for whom our flag and anthem are a source of pride, and they will be able to represent Israel with loyalty and without being ‘upset.’ No other country would allow itself to send a musician whose approach to the anthem and flag is one of estrangement and scorn.”
Israel in the Eurovision
Israel began taking part in the Eurovision contest in 1973 – when Ilanit sang “Ei Sham” – and has won the international competition three times. It won twice in a row, in 1978 and 1979, when Yizhar Cohen sang Abanibi and Milk and Honey performed Halleluy-ah, and again in 1998 when Dana International sang Diva.