Palestinian singer Mohammad Assaf received world-wide media coverage recently for winning the second season of “Arab Idol” and bringing joy to the Palestinian people.
Dear Mohammad Assaf,
You may be wondering why I, a young Israeli, am writing you, the winner of Arab Idol from Gaza City.
You may think we are not alike. True. We were raised an hour away from each other, but lived light-years apart: you in Gaza City and me in Jerusalem. At many crossroads, we took different paths. At 20 you sang at weddings, whereas I was serving in the Israeli Defence Forces. However, we have much in common: we are both young, we have seen too much blood and we both call this piece of land home.
You are the most beloved young Palestinian today. When you sang in the Arab Idol finals, you charmed Arabs and non-Arabs worldwide. I wanted to write to you because for people in Ramallah and Khan-Yunis you are not only charming, you are a source of hope — rare commodities for all of us living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.