Israeli society presented positively on a PA TV channel
Official PA Filastin 48 TV program Bilbalad Show, interview with Israeli Jewish ultra-orthodox Arabic-language singer Ziv Yehezkel
Official PA Filastin 48 TV interviewer: “I wish to return to the topic of the wide-scale presence of Eastern (i.e., Sephardi) Jews at your performances. I also wish to mention that I was in shock [when I saw] the [Arab Israeli] singer Violet Salameh who gives performances in Ashdod and Ashkelon, and the Eastern Jews fill the hall and all the tickets to her performances are sold long before the performance. How do you explain their devotion to the classical Eastern art, people who came out of Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Yemen, Lebanon, and Syria, how do you explain their devotion despite their being in the State of Israel that makes great efforts to erase Arab culture? How do you explain their devotion to their culture?”
Singer Ziv Yehezkel: “It is not true that the state is trying to erase this culture.”
Interviewer: “Today, Ziv, you are here. You noted at the beginning that when you entered Ramallah you were surprised because you had a certain picture in your mind. You thought you were entering a scary refugee camp, or that you were entering a place in which there is a tank to the right and a rocket to the left, and today you see Ramallah, a charming city.”
Yehezkel: “A beautiful city like Tel Aviv.”
Interviewer: “What message would you like to convey to the Israeli public that sees you? Tell them: I am in Ramallah now, and Ramallah is like this and that. How will you explain the matter to the Israeli public?
Yehezkel: “I say: Stop believing the politicians. You are of course a media person, but stop believing the media. Come check for yourselves. Do not believe what they say, and what keeps the Arabs from the Jews.”
Official PA Filastin 48 TV interviewer: “I wish to return to the topic of the wide-scale presence of Eastern (i.e., Sephardi) Jews at your performances. I also wish to mention that I was in shock [when I saw] the [Arab Israeli] singer Violet Salameh who gives performances in Ashdod and Ashkelon, and the Eastern Jews fill the hall and all the tickets to her performances are sold long before the performance. How do you explain their devotion to the classical Eastern art, people who came out of Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Yemen, Lebanon, and Syria, how do you explain their devotion despite their being in the State of Israel that makes great efforts to erase Arab culture? How do you explain their devotion to their culture?”
Singer Ziv Yehezkel: “It is not true that the state is trying to erase this culture.”
Interviewer: “Today, Ziv, you are here. You noted at the beginning that when you entered Ramallah you were surprised because you had a certain picture in your mind. You thought you were entering a scary refugee camp, or that you were entering a place in which there is a tank to the right and a rocket to the left, and today you see Ramallah, a charming city.”
Yehezkel: “A beautiful city like Tel Aviv.”
Interviewer: “What message would you like to convey to the Israeli public that sees you? Tell them: I am in Ramallah now, and Ramallah is like this and that. How will you explain the matter to the Israeli public?
Yehezkel: “I say: Stop believing the politicians. You are of course a media person, but stop believing the media. Come check for yourselves. Do not believe what they say, and what keeps the Arabs from the Jews.”