Overwhelmed with joy to hear of the stunning rescue of four hostages abducted from the Nova festival: Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov, and Shlomi Ziv. ♥♥♥♥
With all the happiness and excitement, 120 hostages are still held in Gaza. We can't forget them and we can't turn down a hostage deal that will bring all of them back.
Yehuda Poliker released this song in 2001 during the Second Intifada and sadly the lyrics, written by Yaakov Gilad, have never felt more relevant with the tense situation in the North and the dire situation in the South. I came across this moving performance from a concert Poliker gave a few weeks ago, here is what he says at the beginning:
"We're going through a difficult time. It's not clear whether the war in Gaza is over or not. But what it means is that the hostages still aren't here and our heroic soldiers are still getting hurt over there. I call from here for the return of all the hostages, and immediately. And let's also hope that all the soldiers will return safely and that the situation will improve and be good. And that the new Middle East will really be new, and it will be fun to live here."
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.
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 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".
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
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.
