Friday, December 28, 1984 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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Moving up, but not out
BY DAVID HOLZEL
Special to The Jewish News
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Jerusalem — Ever since Israeli
singer Ofra Haza took second
place in the 1983 Eurovision Song
Contest, her popularity has
soared and she has criss-crossed
the western world, delivering to
concert audiences her blend of pop
and traditional songs.
Just back from Holland where
she had taped three songs and an
interview for a Dutch Television
special, the slim, attractive, 25-
year-old singer seemed to be sur-
viving, even enjoying, the hectic
pace of her career.
The Dutch TV special was a
commemoration of the 40th an-
niversary of the liberation of Hol-
land from the Nazis, Haza ex-
plains. "It's supposed to be broad
cast in about five European coun-
tries, with Israel's resident,
Chaim Herzog making a guest
appearance."
One of the challenges that Haza
has set for herself is maintaining
her base of operations in Israel.
Other Israeli artists have left the
country in their search for star-
dom. "I'm searching for the right
way to work both inside and out-
side of Israel. I want to succeed
without leaving Israel perma-
nently. Israel is my home," she
emphasizes.
So, to pursue her international
career, Haza `commutes' to work.
A week in Europe for concerts,
then back to Israel for recording
sessions and local concert and
television appearances. Then
back to Europe again.
Tours of America are more
lengthy. There she has performed
in New York City, Los Angeles,
and in Florida. While these areas
of heavy Jewish concentration are
naturally attractive to Israeli per-
formers, Haza maintains that "all
sorts of people come to my con-
certs. Not just Jews or Israelis."
Haza would like to be the Is-
raeli version of Julio Iglesias, a
truly international superstar.
One thing that Haza and Iglesias
do have in common is fan mail
from all over the world. It is
doubtful, however, that the
Spanish singer's fans are quite as
dedicated as Haza's, nor are their
words of affection quite so mov-
ing.
"I've just received this one,"
Haza says proffering an envelope.
"It's from the Soviet Union." The
letter, in neat Hebrew script, - was
written by one of a group of 22
young Leningrad Jews who study
and speak Hebrew together. To
these dedicated Zionists, Ofra Ha-
za's career is a beacon, and her
songs like rays of hope: "We re-
ceived your record (Hai) . . . We
want to tell you that in the USSR
we listen to your songs and love
you . . . We are very glad that you
sang a song about the People of
Israel . . ."
"Much of my fan mail comes
from non-Jews," Haza says. Some
of the letters are sent from coun-
tries like Poland, which have no
direct links with Israel. These let-
ters follow a circuitous course
through two or three inter-
mediate countries until they fi-
nally reach Haza. "Sometimes
they're just addressed to `Ofra
Haza, Israel,' and I receive them.'
These are the happy by-
products of a career which began
in Tel Aviv's poor Hatikva Quar-
ter where Haza grew up, the
youngest child of • immigrants
from Yemen. At age 12 she be-
came involved with a local corn-
munity theater. The theater's di-
rector, Bezalel Aloni, is now Ha-
za's manager. After her army
service, she established herself as
a popular local singer, and now,
thanks to the Eurovision and a lot
of hard work, she is known
worldwide.
An album recorded in the
United States will be released
soon, she says, featuring
English-language versions of
-
Haza would like to be
the Israeli version of
Julio Iglesias, a truly
international
superstar.
some of her old songs, and some
new numbers as well.
Haza is currently involved in a
new Israeli musical in which she
will sing old and new Israeli love
songs as well as songs of love for
Eretz Yisrael. The script, she
says, is being written by re-
nowned Israeli composer and
songwriter Ehud Manor, who
wrote the lyrics to the title song
from Hai.
Will we soon be seeing Ofra
Haza teaming up with Willy Nel-
son on a country ballad? Will
Barbra Streisand join in on a
Yemenite folk song? With Haza,
all things seem possible. Mean-
while she pursues her path: sing-
ing to the world, but remaining at
the address that everyone knows
her by: Ofra Haza, Israel.
World Zionist Press Service
Marine on trial
in Israel
Tel Aviv (JTA) — A 20-year-old
U.S. marine who 'allegedly raped
a 72-year-old Haifa woman the
night of June 26 while on shore
leave from a Sixth Fleet vessel,
will stand criminal trial in the ci-
ty's District Court on charges of
breaking into the apartments of
two elderly women on Mount
Carmel.
The marine allegedly smashed
furniture in one of the women's
apartments and ripped off his
clothes, then burst into the second
apartment and beat and raped the
72-year-old woman.
The rape victim was awarded
12 million shekels (about
$20,000) as an ex parte payment
by U.S. authorities. The woman's
lawyer, a representative of the
Sixth Fleet and the Naval At-
tache at the U.S Embassy in Tel
Aviv reached the out-of-court set-
tlement. The U.S. authorities
stressed that the award should
not be regarded as admission of
responsibility for the crime.