How do Jews respond to the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris this January, during which four Jews were murdered by an Islamist terrorist who took a kosher supermarket hostage? Famous Israeli singer Gad Elbaz found the answer by bringing the classic Jewish song "Hava Nagila" to Paris streets.
The new clip, which was posted on YouTube on Sunday, was meant as a response to the attacks against the Hyper Cacher store, as well as those on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which also is seen in the background of the video.
The song, featuring English lyrics, is a new single for the religious superstar, and ingeniously reinvents the classic melody in a modern upbeat dance rendition to allow the younger generation to connect with traditional tunes.
Elbaz performs in the clip together with an eastern European klezmer band along with dancers from New York, France and Israel, with the famous Champs-Elysees gracing the singing and dancing as a backdrop.
The video clip was filmed on the streets of Paris as a sign of identification and solidarity with the Jewish community of France and of Europe in general, which has been confronted with a radical increase in anti-Semitic violence in recent months.
"We chose to record there to march as Jews in pride and with heads uplifted," said Elbaz. "To say we are here to strengthen the Jews of France and Europe in their spirit and pride, not with protests and cries of war but rather with drums, dance and eternal Jewish singing that has been strengthening our existence for two thousand years of exile."
"Hava Nagila has been played and will be played forever," concluded the singer.