Israeli entry in Eurovision contest features Arabic lyrics

JERUSALEM (RNS/ENI) For the first time, an Arab is representing the Israeli team at the popular Eurovision Song Contest as part of a Jewish/Christian duo in the first Israeli entry that features lyrics in Arabic. The duo have taken flak for appearing together, but want to show fellow Israelis and the world “there is another […]

JERUSALEM (RNS/ENI) For the first time, an Arab is representing the Israeli team at the popular Eurovision Song Contest as part of a Jewish/Christian duo in the first Israeli entry that features lyrics in Arabic.

The duo have taken flak for appearing together, but want to show fellow Israelis and the world “there is another way” when they will appear as finalists in Moscow on Saturday (May 16).

The entry of Mira Awad, who was born into a Christian Arab family near Galilee, and Ahinoam Nini, who is of Jewish descent, was co-written by the two women. It is entitled, “There Must Be Another Way” and the lyrics are sung in Israel’s three official languages: Arabic, English and Hebrew.


Eurovision pits songs from countries throughout Europe against each other in flashy and often ostentatious pop style, and the final is one of the continent’s most watched television shows.

The selection of the female duo last January created antagonism in Israel toward both women, both of whom are long-time peace campaigners. Activists from both ends of the political spectrum called on them to quit the competition.

Some accused the women of allowing themselves to be used as a propaganda tool by the Israeli government to present Israel in a positive light of tolerance, while some lawmakers questioned Awad’s loyalty to Israel.

Some Arab activists and Jewish left-wingers sent Awad an open letter urging her to withdraw from the competition. Awad stood by her decision to represent Israel together with Nini, with whom she has collaborated professionally for more than eight years.

Awad, 34, is the daughter of an Arab father and a Bulgarian mother. She describes herself as part of the Palestinian nation, while still identifying as Israeli.

“Due to my multicultural and humane upbringing, I find it difficult to understand why the human race is butchering its own kind and the environment,” Awad wrote on her myspace.com blog. “I am a strong believer in co-existence.”


On her blog, Awad also addresses discrepancies in her life as an Arab citizen of Israel by writing about her village, which she said has a “warm place” in her heart, though it lacks proper infrastructure.

“It has a lot of up-hill streets to keep you fit, but no gyms; it has lots of trees and green, but no parks, it has culture but no cultural facilities, it has lots of fresh air, but no proper sewage system.”

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