'One day, I hope to be interviewed just about my music, without politics'
After a successful debut album and a performance in front of Israel's president, Arab Israeli musician Nasrin Kadri releases a new song about living with violence and the prospects of ending it.
Avi Shushan
Published: 10.15.15, 15:26 /
Israel Culture
Singer Nasrin Kadri was supposed to perform at the Dublin club in Herzliya last Saturday evening. Minutes after Shabbat ended, she called her manager and asked him to cancel the show. She was upset by the acts of terror that took place during the day.
"I was sure that people wouldn’t show up because of the situation and the sensitivity, but my manager refused. When I arrived, I was surprised to see that the place was packed. When I got on stage, I was so excited that I couldn't hold back the tears. It turned out to be one of my best performances."
Nasrin Kadri. 'Torn between two worlds' (Photo: Tom Marshak)
It's not easy being Nasrin Kadri these days, or ever. In the State of Israel's security reality, Nasrin is a symbol and a test case of the Israeli society. A singer with a huge voice and a captivating personality who is torn between the Jewish and the Arab worlds. In one of these worlds she lives, the other is in her blood. Careful not to hurt anyone, avoiding trouble, carefully choosing her words. But above all, she is angry.
"Listen, we live in a very difficult reality. I love both people and they both mean the same to me. I am torn on the inside and it's not easy. I perform and make music and receive love, but it's very difficult for me. Yesterday I walked on the street in Rishon Lezion, where I live, I saw the people's stress and fear and felt bad. I am caught in the middle of a war between the two people and it's very sensitive for me to talk these days," Kadri admits with heartbreaking honesty.
[video in original]
Nasrin Kadri. 'A Bit Different'
Do you feel that people on the street are afraid of you?
"They're afraid in general. Not of me, Heaven forbid. I have no idea why, but I felt it. Maybe because I am a Muslim Arab and I sing in both languages. I perform both before the president and in an Arab village. You know, I think about the 19-year-old woman terrorists who went and stabbed. She is educated and I am trying to understand why she did it."
And what is the answer?
"I can’t understand why she did that radical thing, and no one knows what motivated her and what were her fences and barriers. I am against it and don’t allow it. You should know that we want to live like everyone else. When the Nazareth mayor shouted at Knesset Member Ayman Odeh, he was right. Enough with this incitement on both sides, the Jewish and the Arab. They are the ones who are causing all this mess and not the people themselves who only want to live in dignity and peace. Enough already."
In your new song, "A Bit Different," you sing about your apartment in Rishon Lezion, about brands and eating sushi? It is possible that you speak that way because you live among Jews? Perhaps you don’t have those fences and barriers.
"So these fences must be broken for everyone. I live here and I am respected by everyone and I want to continue living in peace. There is no difference between me and anyone else. I pay taxes like everyone else, so why shouldn’t there be equality? Believe me when I say I represent the majority of the Muslim public in Israel, which wants the exact same thing."
So what should be done?
"We must put out the fire, and I am willing to do anything for that. As far as I'm concerned, I will go to the Knesset and speak for peace if I have too, without blood and without violence. If I'm in pain, I shout. I don’t pick up a knife. You can be angry and then it goes away, without this killing of innocent people.
"More and more blood is being shed, and why? Can't they see that it's not helping but only getting worse? Bibi (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu), (Israeli Arab Knesset Member Ahmad)Tibi and (US President Barack) Obama should meet and divide what needs to be divided equally."
Eyal Golan's protégé (Photo: Amir Meiri)
Nasrin is a test case of the Israeli society. She is the winner of the second season of reality talent show "Eyal Golan Kore Lach," who captured the audience with her accurate, powerful voice, combined with a dominant presence on stage. Her win at the time conveyed a message of coexistence. For a moment it seemed that music could indeed be a bridge for peace.
But although she has already released a successful first album, is considered singer
Eyal Golan's protégé and will perform at the prestigious Piano Festival next week, her descent and identity define her more than anything else.
"The situation is sensitive and everyone is angry now, but I am optimistic. Those who are prejudiced say, 'An Arab woman can’t succeed in this country.' Always Arab and Arab and Arab. So I would like to inform all of them that I will succeed and that I won't stop till it happens, despite my Arab accent."
And when people shout, 'Death to the Arabs'? You know that these people could come to your show tomorrow.
"It's very difficult for me to hear these calls. Not all Arabs are the same. On the contrary. Those who are fanning the flames are the politicians on both sides. Why are they creating all this commotion and inciting? For more Knesset seats? Until recently, we even forgot that there was ever an intifada. We lived together in peace, shopped and ate in each other's places. So what happened now?"
The Temple Mount.
"Look, the Temple Mount is very sacred for us, like the Western Wall is for you. But this argument could end in a second if people would only talk. Like what we've had up to now with the status quo. The problem is that those who have to talk are only creating more damage."
Kadri. ' I want to be interviewed about Nasrin, not about politics' (Photo: Tom Marshak)
When will it end?
"When they educate to peace, not to hatred. I'll tell you something I've never shared before: I had a Jewish boyfriend for eight years. When he was a child, his mother used to tell him not to go downstairs to play with the Arabs. Can you imagine that? They are conveying the message to children here that they must not talk to Arabs, and that's where it begins and ends. My mother never told me not to talk to Jews."
The same can be said about the Arab sector and Palestinian Authority schools, which educated to hatred.
"I am referring to both sides. The extremism and evil begin when you educate children to be afraid and hate. The moment they educate to peace and love, we will be able to advance to a better future."
Will that ever happen?
"It will happen and there will be peace here, and I am a symbol of peace and coexistence. I watch the news all day and cry. Even now, while talking to you, I am crying because it comes from the heart. Someone should get up and shout already, and I am prepared to be the one to do it. I will talk and I will go wherever I have to, so that things will be okay between us. And yes, I am very optimistic and I believe it will happen one day."
Perhaps you're naïve.
'I'll tell you a story. Last year I performed at the alternative piano festival, because there was a protest over the fact that there was no oriental singer in the Piano Festival. And this year I am performing at the original Piano Festival as the representative of oriental music. When I was invited for a photo shoot with all the famous participants, everyone greeted me so nicely and I was very moved. It happened within a year, so why shouldn’t I be optimistic?"
What would you like to wish yourself?
"I hope that one day I will be interviewed about Nasrin instead of being asked about politics, that my descent and accent will no longer interest anyone and that I will perform all over the world, from Dubai to Europe. And above all, that we will have peace with each other. Inshallah."
Nasrin Kadri will perform the "I Lived" concert at the Tel Aviv Art Museum on October 21 as part of the Piano Festival.
A Bit Different
Lyrics: Avi Ohayon
Music: Avi Ohayon and Assaf Tzruya
Understand, I live in the city center
Right by the winery, in the city of Rishon
I love
I am just like anyone else
Music flows in my blood
I think
I also know how to read between the lines
I relax with a drink with my girlfriends
I sit down
A simple girl with a fragile heart
One of those walking with their head in the wall
I hurt
Hurt
I want to live, I want to hope
I deserve just as much
It's true I sound a bit different
But what does it matter?
The exact same melody
So what if it's not from the same neighborhood
I don’t buy stories
I have a place for everyone in my soul
In my soul
Understand, I've had enough of prejudice
I can’t swim in a sea of masks
I get carried away
I know what people usually think about me
When will you understand it’s not appropriate?
I am angry
Angry
I want to live, I want to hope
I deserve just as much.
