Two Israeli-Iranian Singers Strive for Friendship Between the People of Two Countries

An Iranian-born Israeli aunt and her nephew are working towards fostering friendship between the people of Iran and Israel worldwide. The article discusses the well-known aunt and nephew duo, Rita Jahanforuz and Liraz Charhi. Rita, a singer who has been performing on Israeli stages for 28 years, has intensified her efforts to promote friendship between her homeland and Israel, the country she has lived in for the past 46 years. Meanwhile, her nephew Liraz Charhi, after years of acting in Israeli television and cinema and singing in Hebrew, has recently turned his artistic endeavors towards Persian and has called upon Iranians worldwide to collaborate with him. Christiane Amanpour, the famous Iranian-born journalist at CNN, invited Rita for a television interview during her visit to London, where Rita introduced herself as a singer with strong Iranian roots and spoke about her life and connection with Iranians and her family, who still exhibit Iranian behaviors. Rita, born in Tehran to a Jewish family with Isfahani roots, shared with Amanpour that she immigrated to Israel with her family at the age of eight. She noted that upon arriving in Israel, even at a young age, she noticed the 'shocking' contrasts in the behaviors of people from Iran and Israel. Rita mentioned one of these contrasts was that Iranians tend to express their feelings in layers and with subtlety, while in Israel, people speak openly and loudly. However, Rita recalled that after serving in the Israeli army's music unit, she was warmly embraced by the Israeli public when she released her first songs, and this popularity has continued to this day. Rita has been chosen as Israel's top singer for many years; she has performed for world leaders, including U.S. presidents during their visits to Israel, and one of her highlights was performing at the United Nations three years ago in a special program initiated by former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. In her CNN interview, Rita explained that after her divorce five years ago from her husband (a famous singer in Israel named Rami Kleinstein), she became more attentive to her Iranian roots, which led her to dedicate an entire album to Persian songs. In one of the songs, her mother accompanied her. Rita stated in the CNN interview that there is no conflict or animosity between the people of Iran and Israel, adding that if it were up to her, this unnecessary dispute would be resolved quickly. She encouraged the efforts that have emerged in recent years to renew friendship and closeness between the people of Israel and Iran, stating that she is familiar with these initiatives and has actively participated in them. When faced with the request from Amanpour to perform a song in the CNN studio in London, Rita sang the famous song 'In This World' in Persian. Rita previously mentioned that her mother used to sing 'In This World' with sadness when many of their relatives had left Iran, leaving them alone, and that is how the song penetrated her heart. Liraz Charhi, Rita's 38-year-old nephew, who was born in Israel, has recently invited Iranians worldwide to help him create a new music video for the song 'Ameneh,' which he has sung in memory of Aghasi. Liraz has also invited Iranians within Iran to participate in this collaboration, stating that if they have concerns about their faces being seen in a video of an Israeli singer, their faces will be pixelated in the clip. He has demonstrated two dance moves and asked everyone to repeat these moves in their participation in the 'Ameneh' song video. Liraz mentioned in interviews with Israeli media that his interest in establishing a stronger connection with Iranians increased when he traveled more to America and became acquainted with many Iranians in Los Angeles, where he would hear Persian-speaking voices and Iranian music. Liraz has covered several popular Persian songs like 'Ameneh' and performs them on stages in America and Israel. He has been involved in television and theater scenes in Israel from a young age and has acted in several films and series, but a few years ago, he first showed his love for singing. Liraz stated in interviews that he had been so intimidated by his aunt Rita's success as a great artist that he was afraid to inform her of his interest in singing for years. Nonetheless, Rita and Liraz performed a joint artistic program for the first time in 2012.