http://www.unwatch.org
Israeli singer
Rita's special surrealistic concert at the
UN General Assembly, 5
March 2013, in the
United Nations General Assembly Hall.
UN
Ambassador Prosor has pulled off one of the most unusual diplomatic achievements ever: a full-fledged UN-sponsored Farsi-Hebrew musical event full of goodwill and sympathy
HAARETZ
By
Chemi Shalev | March 6,
2013 | 9:50 AM
Inside the hall of the
General Assembly at the
United Nations building in
New York, it seemed at times that either the messiah had arrived or the world had turned inside-out
Bizarro, like in the
Superman comics:
Rita, one of
Israel's most popular performers, was singing in
Farsi and
Hebrew;
Israelis were dancing in the aisles: diplomats from around the world were clapping and begging for more; Israeli Ambassador
Ron Prosor was the hero of the day;
Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said "shalom" and General Assembly
President Vuk Jeremic, it turned out, hails from a family of
Righteous Gentiles.
It was, without a doubt, a night to remember, a memory to cherish, an Israeli-made spectacle the likes of which hadn't been seen in the General Assembly since Ambassador
Herzog tore apart that
Zionism is Racism resolution in
1975. Only this time, it was the other way around: "Why is this night different than all other nights?" an elated and season conscious Prosor asked me, "Because on this night, contrary to all previous nights, the
United Nations is united behind Israel and resides under the wings of Rita."
The wings that Prosor was referring to come from
Haim Bialik's song "Hachnisini Tahat Knafech" -- "Under Your
Wing" -- a popular
Israeli song which was featured in Rita's "
Tunes for
Peace" concert performed at
UN headquarters Tuesday night. The famous platform underneath the giant olive-colored UN
symbol was turned into a rock concert stage, including a smoke machine, strobe lights, and a rocking and raucous 9-piece ensemble that played Persian-Israeli music with light touches of Klezmer to boot.
The auditorium, which for most Israelis and
Diaspora Jews has come to be associated with harsh anti-Israeli rhetoric, cold diplomatic isolation, and humiliating political defeats at the hands of the "automatic majority," suddenly had a warm ambiance and an admiring audience comprised of
Iranian expatriates, Israeli diplomats, UN employees, and representatives of
140 UN delegations who begged their Israeli colleagues for invitations to the show and to the experience.
Ban Ki Moon opened the evening with the word "shalom" and described Rita as "a cultural ambassador". Then came Jeremic, who announced that he would soon be the first sitting
President of the General Assembly to visit Israel, during which he will participate in a
Yad Vashem ceremony in which members of his grandmother's family in
Belgrade would be recognized as "
Righteous Among the Gentiles" for saving
Jews during the
Holocaust.
Then,
Introducing Rita, Prosor said "I always hoped that I would one day be the opening act for Rita at a major venue in
New York City. Although,
I'll admit,
I never expected that it would be in the form of the
Three Tenors: "Ban, Prosor, and Jeremic."
"It is our sincere hope that this musical evening will echo from New York to the hearts and minds of people throughout Israel and
Iran," Prosor added, and then asked Rita to "rock the house", which she did.
The popular Israeli singer gave a ten song rendition that included five songs in Farsi, four in Hebrew and one -- "
Time for Peace" -- in
English. She delighted the audience with stories of her childhood in
Tehran, about her mother's love for music, and about her own wish to spread the love far and wide between her birthplace and her homeland. Her strong voice reverberated in the hall which had never seen such a joyous bunch of Israelis, including enthusiastic Rita fans who tried to get the UN diplomats to dance with them near the stage and down the aisles, though that proved a bridge too long for the usually stiff and formal envoys.
- published: 06 Mar 2013
- views: 138383