When the spotlights lit up on Ester Rada during her international tour, BDS protesters who came to disrupt her show fell silent. “Their brains exploded,” she recalls. “They thought, I also love Black people, so what do I do? How do I protest here?”
In this episode of Song of Hope, Rada speaks about the music that connects her Israeli, Jewish and Ethiopian identities. She performs the song that has carried her through the war, “Lema’an Achai Vere’ai,” sung to a melody born from a meeting between Rabbi Carlebach and Nina Simone.
Up Next in Season 1
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Song Of Hope - Episode 2 - Ran Danker
“Hallelujah” became the song of the late field observer Roni Eshel. Her parents listened to it together when Roni was still in her mother’s womb. When Ran Danker arrived at Roni’s funeral, leaving his own one month old baby at home, he sang “Hallelujah” at the family’s request.
“I found myself si... -
Song Of Hope - Episode 3 - Valerie Ha...
“It was strange for me that I have to clarify my position that I denounce murder and the horrible acts that happened on October 7,” says Valerie Hamaty. “To be in a place where you have to prove your innocence when you have done nothing wrong makes you wonder if you belong.”
Valerie Hamaty is a ...
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Song Of Hope - Episode 4 - Jimbo J
Even when he fled with his wife and young daughters on October 7 from Or HaNer, the kibbutz he calls home in southern Israel, Jimbo J could not yet imagine the magnitude of the disaster unfolding around him. Only months later, when he drove through the quiet forests on his way back to the kibbutz...
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