Noa's Ark

On June 18, Noa's strong and beautiful relationship with Italy will be celebrated in ‘Quanto t'ho amato’, a dual musical evening which includes, to begin with, her performance with Gil Doron together with the Solis String Quartet in a selection of best Neapolitan repertoire; to follow, the singer will be guest of the trio led by Oscar winner Nicola Piovani with tracks never before performed and recorded.

The final evening, June 19, will be all about jazz with a program entitled ‘I miei amici geniali’ (My brilliant friends), with Noa and Gil on stage together with a line-up composed of Ruslan Sirota on the piano, Omri Abramov on the sax and EWI, Daniel Dor on drums and Guy Bernfeld on bass.

As the Israeli artist says, “the idea is to bring out the best of our art and culture and give them a space where they can survive and move forward. As if it were a nature reserve. Sometimes,” she jokes, “I tell Gil that I have this terrible feeling that we are an endangered species. I’m talking about people who love nature, art, human beings, who do not want to be robots, who are not interested in this type of aggressive and super ambitious, consumer-oriented culture.”

Museums, orchestras, opera houses must be financed by the state. At the same time, people must be educated in art, like in everything else

“I'm the opposite; these things don't interest me. There is nothing I do that I do not feel deeply, there is no reason that drives me other than to make people think, to feel, to open mind and heart. I've never been able to see music as a business or a means of self-promotion.” For Noa,

“Art cannot be left at the mercy of the forces of the free market; I understand that there is a commercial side to it, but it cannot happen at the expense of ‘pure’ art.

And that is why museums, orchestras, opera houses must be financed by the state. At the same time, people must be educated in art, like in everything else. This applies against racism, xenophobia but also in the fight against climate change.”

Words spoken with conviction, and put into practice daily, and in person. “The tickets for the concert in Arona,” she points out, “cost €5. Anyone must be able to come; art should not only be for the elite but accessible to everyone. And half of the proceeds will go to an amazing organization active in Israel called the ‘Parents Circle Families Forum’: these are bereaved families, Israeli and Palestinian, who work together.”

“There’s one of my songs that is called Look at me, on the album 'Letters to Bach', of which I am very proud: I was inspired by these two women who look at each other and insist on seeing each other's humanity beyond the wall. They are wonderful because they have suffered so much from this conflict and, despite everything, they persist, working together and offering inspiration, going around the world, speaking in conferences, in schools. They say, ‘look at what we have lost, no one should go through this, we have to find a way to live together, we have to cry together and then also laugh together.’ I believe in the work they do; they should be elevated to a symbol in this country.”

The singer never backs down; she always says what she thinks, at the risk of being unpopular and becoming a target. And this does happen. “I am considered a controversial figure. I have criticized the government a lot; people here don't love it, they are very nationalistic. At the same time, I am a Zionist in the sense that I love Israel, it is the country where I have chosen to live. And that is why I am so committed to working for peace, seeking coexistence: I want to live here, I don't want to leave; there is enormous potential,” she stresses.

“I do not support the movement to boycott Israel. I am strongly against it because I do not believe that this is the way. I am critical of governments that are against peace, but I strongly support Israel; I don't think, like some of the European Left, that it should disappear. I love it and I represent it on stages all over the world, with the Israeli flag, but I do it putting peace, coexistence and equal rights ahead of everything else: these are the things I believe in. And I am convinced that this place, with peace, can be wonderful: the amount of creativity, energy, beauty, history, is unique.”

Enthusiastic, generous, full of passion and hope, Noa is nevertheless well aware of what is happening around her and spares no one. “The situation is worrying,” she acknowledges, looking at an Israeli society made up “as if of many tribes, in conflict with each other. We have made a lot of progress but there is still a long way to go. I think the biggest problem today is the identity crisis: the State of Israel calls itself the ‘land of the Jews’ but 20% of its population are not. And I am not talking about the Palestinians who live in the occupied territories, I am referring to the Israeli Arabs, who are Israeli citizens and who are now also in government.”

“I think the country must really evolve, stop feeling like a victim, as Jews have rightly felt due to the persecutions they have suffered for generations. We now have a state: it is strong, stable, the world looks at us with admiration, but it is also often critical of some of the things we do and I can understand that.” For Noa, “we must give a state to the Palestinians and it will not be easy, we must do it at the cost of great compromises so that we can both live together here.”

After years of governments led by Benjamin Netanyahu–”it is no secret that I am not a fan of his and that I have been active in demonstrations against him”–now there is a fragile hope: a broad government coalition, led by Naftali Bennett, which brings together parties from right, left and center, together with the Islamic Ra'am party.

“I am considered a controversial figure. I have criticized the government a lot; people here don't love it, they are very nationalistic

“I think the country must really evolve, stop feeling like a victim, as Jews have rightly felt due to the persecutions they have suffered for generations. We now have a state: it is strong, stable, the world looks at us with admiration, but it is also often critical of some of the things we do and I can understand that.” For Noa, “we must give a state to the Palestinians and it will not be easy, we must do it at the cost of great compromises so that we can both live together here.”

After years of governments led by Benjamin Netanyahu–”it is no secret that I am not a fan of his and that I have been active in demonstrations against him”–now there is a fragile hope: a broad government coalition, led by Naftali Bennett, which brings together parties from right, left and center, together with the Islamic Ra'am party.

“The government we have now is quite a miracle but it is very unstable, just a gust of wind and it may collapse,” says the singer, who describes as “amazing” the participation of Israeli Arabs–for the first time ever in the country–in a government led by a right-wing prime minister: “Something that could not have happened a few years ago.”

It is certainly not a paradise, “great compromises” are on the agenda, but “the alternative–the return of Netanyahu–never! So I'm willing to bite a lot of bullets at least to try to move forward, because there are other positive things: there were the Abraham Accords with the Emirates and Bahrain, recently the Negev Summit, COP27 to be held in Sharm el Sheikh and regional cooperation on the fight against climate change.

There are positive things happening and perhaps this dynamic will eventually lead to a greater ability to look to our Palestinian neighbors. It is easier for us to look to the Arabs who are far away than at those next to us. I think a lot of mistakes have been made by both peoples, by everyone, keeping the two sides divided, instead of learning about each other, sitting together, listening to their respective narratives. That's why I'm so involved in different projects that bring people together.”

“People fall in love with Israel because there is so much passion, but we don't have to be blind to the big problems we have: Israel is like a beautiful woman who has a drug or alcohol addiction. We have a problem and we need to be brave enough to face it. We are strong enough.”

“What I can't stand are the loopholes, those who try to hide it; it doesn't work. It is up to us, to each of us. I do my part, with my music, my art, my humanitarian work.”