Daniela Spector - Abraham

Earlier this week at the Memorial Eve ceremony at the city square I was struck by how different the atmosphere was from last year. Last year it was a moment to stop day-to-day life and acknowledge the heavy price of the soldiers who lost their lives, it was a sad night but I remember talking carelessly afterward with a friend, discussing our Independence Day plans and moving on. This year it felt that there was no day-to-day life to stop, it was more like a darker day among dark days, in which we heard the painful stories from our fellow city residents, our neighbors, who for them it was their first Memorial Day as bereaved family members in the inner circle of grief. I couldn't help but think of a line I read that somberly stated that in this region, the only difference between a bereaved family and one that isn't is time. It could happen to any of us. 

This year's Independence Day also had a very different vibe, with broadcasters airing a pre-recorded torch-lighting ceremony while showing images of the alternative torch-dousing ceremony happening in real time. It was painful to see the ceremony split into two but I understand why it was done. The organizers wrote in a statement "While the government is holding an ostentatious parade which is cowardly, contemptuous, disconnected and without an audience, families of the hostages and concerned citizens hold a dignified and appropriate ceremony that's plugged into the public sentiment". Daniela Spector was one of the singers at the event and when she performed this timeless song I felt a chill run down my spine, the lyrics echoing in my head ever since.

Abraham

Don't touch this child

He doesn't belong

Can't you see

There's no time

Don't go captive after

The pillar of smoke

An old story

Wake up

Forever

Look for the hidden path

To come back home

You fight

You work every day and try to get by

With what there is and the never-ending pain

You fight more

Abraham...

Eden Golan - Hurricane

When the 10th season of Rising Star started at the end of November I don't think anyone thought that we would still be at war by the Eurovision final and that there would still be 132 hostages in captivity, among them an unclear number of living hostages. And yet, here we are. We did know that we would still be coping with the aftermath of October 7th and the songwriters who wrote Hurricane for Eden Golan, the winner of Rising Star, knew that the Eurovision semi-final and final would be held during the reflective days of our memorial week which started last Sunday with Holocaust Memorial Day and will continue tomorrow evening with Yom HaZikaron, Israel's Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror. Yom HaZikaron will end on Monday evening with Independence Day celebrations, a shift that has always been difficult and understandably will be much more difficult this year, even with toned-down celebrations. There's already been a change in the air as we're getting ready for Memorial Day and 'Hurricane' manages to not only honor the the memory of those who have lost their lives but also capture the feelings of so many of us during this challenging year. It was clear throughout the season of Rising Star that Eden is a star performer and she gave a phenomenal performance at the semi-final. Eden, no matter what happens tonight you're already our winner, thank you for shining a light during the darkness.

Writer of my symphony

Play with me

Look into my eyes and see

People walk away but never say goodbye

Someone stole the moon tonight

Took my light 

Everything is black and white

Who's the fool who told you boys don't cry

Hours and hours, empowers

Life is no game but it's ours

While, the time goes wild

Everyday I'm losing my mind

Holding on in this mysterious ride

Dancing in the storm

I got nothing to hide

Take it all and leave the world behind

Baby promise me you'll hold me again

I'm still broken from this hurricane

This hurricane

Living in a fantasy, ecstasy

Everything is meant to be

We shall pass but love will never die

Hours and hours, empowers

Life is no game but it's ours

While, the time goes wild

Everyday I'm losing my mind

Holding on in this mysterious ride

Dancing in the storm

I got nothing to hide

Take it all and leave the world behind

Baby promise me you'll hold me again

I'm still broken from this hurricane

This hurricane

Don't need big words

Just prayers

Even if it's hard to see

You always leave one single light

Voters outside of Israel can vote for Eden, no.6, here.

Ninet Tayeb - Reborn

Ninet Tayeb wrote this chilling and beautiful song before October 7th and was asked to share it for the must-see documentary "Screams Before Silence". As she wrote in her Facebook post, "It was clear to me the song had found its purpose, music that is part of the tragic and unbearably difficult story of those women and girls who experienced the worst of all. Their story is the story of us all. On October 7th, it seems that the entire nation of Israel felt the need to be reborn".

When I'm scared of myself

I can't make a sound

And if I'm trying to talk

My head meets the ground

I'm laying right there

Chained and unarmed

No don't try to save me

I can handle fear

And if you try to save me

I would disappear

let it all be

I can handle fear

I wanna be reborn

I wanna be reborn

When it's getting darker

It's my time to shine

Like a star in the sky

Yours is just like mine

We're lying right there

Waiting for a sign

No don't try to save me

Because I can handle fear

Waterfalls around me

This time it's not my tears

let it all be

Now it's getting clear

I wanna be reborn

I wanna be reborn

ninettayeb.lnk.to/Reborn

Tuna - Between the city and the orchard

Tuna is back with a moving song that manages to capture the feelings of instability and uncertainty that we've all felt in one way or another in the past six months. Tuna being Tuna, he also offers much-needed comfort during this challenging time, which in many ways feels more difficult than the chaotic weeks right after October 7th. I posted a while back Tuna's mega-hit 'This Too Shall Pass' and recently discovered that it's one of the songs on a playlist created by Carmel Gat's friends, of songs that she loved and would share with them. Carmel, an occupational therapist, was taken hostage on October 7th from her parents' house in Kibbutz Be'eri and had recently returned to Israel after a few months in India. It was reported from hostages released in November that Carmel was held captive together with children and would practice yoga with them. I can only hope that in the long months that have passed she has been able to somehow take care of herself, mentally and physically. Like DJ JuVi says at the end of the song, the East is wilder than ever but we're pushing through, continuing with all our strength because there is really no other choice.

The IDF entered Gaza, so I went to my dad's for a while

On the background of chakalaka, paka paka, Mada, Zaka

A contract is over, which is a sign that we'll end the saga

And I don't have a roof, which is a sign that I probably have no ground

And I don't have any motivation, and I'm also not in the mood

As if it wasn't tense enough, we got into another argument

So there is no one place right now, there is no safe place

Feeling disappointed by the world, it feels like there is no supervision

Feeling disappointed by the world, I rated the hospitality

What was so urgent for them to bite the apple?

Who likes changes anyway? Not me

Winter is coming, I'm wandering, a gypsy

A homeless superstar, a vegetarian carnivore

From home to the parents and from there to an Airbnb

Between the city and the orchard, on roads under fire

Where will the wind blow? It's still impossible to guess

The future is still unclear so this rap is dedicated

To anyone like me who is searching

To anyone who needs a new route

And is stuck in Beirut because of the Waze disruptions 

All that's left is to embrace

What's been left behind

Between the city and the orchard

I'm looking for a place again

A place I am happy to return to

And just as I'm relaxed on the mic

Between us, I'm still trying really hard

It hurt too much to see, a home here is just walls

Huge shows, there was a place to escape to

Only when everything stopped did I process what I'd been through

Slowly I became someone I didn't know

I disappeared into myself so it wouldn't hurt you
So it wouldn't hurt me, yes, that's very romantic

My heart is broken but the time has come for me to choose me

The house is empty now like Salame is empty of the Barby

Home, home, home, I have a home in my heart

I didn't have it, I didn't know it was possible, it's natural

I didn't know I deserved a place even without it

That I would have to save everyone around me

What is home, home, home? Not walls, not pots

Not familiar smells, not the northern or the southern landscape

It's just where it feels good to be me

And fences don't suddenly break down just like that

And I won't be one nor will I find one

If I won't be my own home

All that's left is to embrace

What's been left behind

Between the city and the orchard

I'm looking for a place again

A place I am happy to return to

JuVi here,

The East is wilder than ever

We're continuing with all our strength

Never stopping

Still on the horse

Niro, Yakir, you did it again

A new Tuna album is on the way...

tuna.lnk.to/Pardes

Assaf Amdursky - Too many flowers

I've been thinking of this song ever since it was released in January, and I've been thinking of it in the past few weeks. I know it was written during a time when many soldiers were killed while protecting the country, but when I hear the sadness in Assaf Amdursky's voice I think of all the innocent lives lost in Gaza. Too many flowers, too many open wounds. 

I thought about it again today when I heard the tragic news that the hostage Elad Katzir from Kibbutz Nir Oz was murdered in captivity. His father Rami was murdered on October 7th and his mother Hanna was also kidnapped and was released in poor condition in late November, and is still being treated at a hospital. To think that after all she has been through she has now lost her son, her star, is too much to bear.

The news breaks my heart

Instead of disconnecting, I want to get closer

To give a hug and to receive what's heavy for you

Put the burden on me, brother

I came here just for you

We will hold our pain together

I just want to cry

I just want to cry

Every day, all day, all night

I just want to cry

To release the tears

Breaking every day

Until yesterday it felt wrong to me

To fall apart first and be weak in front of

A mother who lost her star

It is no longer possible to fill the void

Too many flowers

Too many open wounds

I just want to cry

I just want to cry

Every day, all day, all night

I just want to cry

To release the tears

Breaking every day

I just want to dance

I just want to dance with you

Every day, all night

I just want to dance

To connect the ends

Every day I promise again

Pictures break my heart

Instead of backing away

I want to get closer

Lola Marsh - Until you'll come back, until you return

I remember finding out through a moving video posted by Lola Marsh that they are Noa Argamani's favorite band and her favorite song is "She's a rainbow". This was on Noa's 26th birthday on October 12th, more than three months ago, and she is still held captive by Hamas with no hostage deal in sight. After several delays, the academic year started earlier this month, including at Ben-Gurion University, where Noa is a third-year engineering student. I can't even begin to imagine what her family is going through and what it is like for her friends to start the academic year without her, without knowing how she is, especially after hearing about the terrifying conditions in captivity from the hostages who came back.

A few days ago I came across this letter posted by The Free Press, written by Merav Svirsky before the heartbreaking news of her brother's death:

My name is Merav Svirsky. I'm an Israeli yoga teacher and artist. I was born and raised in Kibbutz Be'eri. On October 7 my life changed forever. Both of my parents, Orit and Rafi, were brutally murdered by the Hamas terrorists. My brother Itai (38) was kidnapped from my mother's home, and he's been held hostage in Gaza ever since. My two other brothers survived the attack, and so did my 97-year-old grandmother. Her Philippine caregiver, Grace, was murdered trying to protect her. My husband is also from Be'eri, and most of his family survived. His beloved aunt, who was a neighbor of my mother, was murdered too. Both of our families, those who survived, are now refugees in our own country. Our home was destroyed, our lives shattered.

It's inconceivable that Itai is still in Gaza. One hundred days. Writing this number makes me shiver. In the past three months, the people of Israel have been demonstrating an amazing spirit of volunteering - contributing to the war effort, supporting the refugees, helping each other. But now, people are gradually getting back to their "normal life". My greatest fear is this return to "normal life"- for our family, and for the families of the other 135 hostages, life has frozen and will not resume until our beloved ones return home alive. We're not post-traumatic, because we're in the middle of an ongoing trauma. We're under a continuous terror attack, every minute of every day.

October 7 has taught me that I cannot trust anyone and anything. I lost trust in my country, in my government, in my army. The only way to restore (some of) the lost trust is to bring them home now.

In the past three months, the Israeli leadership has been talking about achieving victory against Hamas. There's no such thing. We lost this war. My family lost this war on October 7. But although we cannot win the war, we can feel hope again. Hope should be the goal, not victory. And that hope can only be achieved by returning the hostages home. Now.

I have two sons, Eilam (7) and Keinan (4.5). They know so many people who are dead. Dozens. A few weeks ago they had a discussion between them about Itai, their beloved uncle. Eilam was arguing that he was not going to come back "because everyone else who had disappeared ended up being dead." For the future of my children - for their ability to hope - Itai must return home. Nothing is more important than that, for the future of my children, for the future of my family, and for the future of my country.

If you're still there, make a wish

And I will ask too

And if you hear my voice in a dream

I won't give up on you

And the days go by

And the nights are hard

My heart is bleeding and my soul is already broken

Until you'll come back

I won't let go, I won't rest

And until you return

I'll search for you in spirit

Writing more letters

Maybe there will be ahead

Better days

We sang your favorite song

We went out in the morning to see the sunrise

To feel a bit more alive

Your smell is still in bed

I feel you between the sheets

My heart is already becoming gray

They took away my hero

They're asking again where is dad and I have no answer

Until you'll come back

I won't let go, I won't rest

And until you return

I'll search for you in spirit

Writing more letters

Maybe there will be ahead

Better days

We sang your favorite song

And again in the dream you dance and disappear

And again I'm hiding my tears from everyone

Screaming, crying, making your voice heard for the world

I need you

Until you'll come back

I won't let go, I won't rest

And until you return

I'll search for you in spirit

Writing more letters

Maybe there will be ahead

Better days

We sang your favorite song

lolamarsh.lnk.to/Adshetahzor 

Idan Amedi - Some of the time

It's been a tough day. We woke up to the news that four IDF soldiers were killed fighting in Gaza. I quickly checked to make sure there was no one I knew. I checked again at noon when five more names of fallen soldiers were released, all reservists who had stopped their lives to fight for us. Later in the evening I heard their stories and saw footage from a few of the funerals that took place today, parents mourning their 19-year-old son, a young woman mourning her partner: "We were supposed to create a family together, now I have joined the family of the bereaved". 

One glimmer of light during this heavy day is the recent news that Idan Amedi, who was seriously injured in an explosion in Gaza, has regained consciousness, with his condition now defined as moderate. I saw Idan in concert at the end of September, a spontaneous decision I made with a friend since we wanted to enjoy an open-air concert before the winter, a decision we're both so grateful for. I wasn't sure how it would be since I was only familiar with a few of his songs, but I was won over by his immense talent and his natural ability to bring the crowd together, to make us all feel like a united group. I love how this video captures Idan's warmth and dedication, always giving 110% percent, and always performing with all his heart. 

Some of the time I had concerns about what

I wanted to say and didn't, maybe I never will

In a small window in front of me, she's staring at the streetlights

How during the day they are lonely and how at night they come back to life

And sometimes it also happens to me at nights

To think about all that I wanted to be

And sometimes it's a kind of familiar smile

That helps me to make peace with what is now over

Sometimes when she's just watching the girls

It's so hard for me to hold in the tears

All those in shades of purple and green

Remind me that the good is not far anymore

It is not far anymore...

Some of the time I had clear decisions

That I will begin to be happy, to let go of all that is no more

In a small window in front of me, she's staring at the old city

That I loved to love, and she loved me back

And sometimes it still happens to me at nights

To think about all that I wanted to be

And sometimes it's a kind of familiar smile

That helps me to make peace with what is now over

Sometimes when she's just watching the girls

It's so hard for me to hold in the tears

All those in shades of purple and green

Remind me that the good is not far anymore

It is not far anymore...

Translation from LyricsTranslate