A new song featuring verses in seven different languages and eight separate singers from around the world was released this week in celebration of the State of Israel’s 75th anniversary. The song, titled “Ma Nishma, Israel” is the culmination of a collaborative production spearheaded by the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and the Zionism 3.0 (Z3) Project.
To gather the talent for the song, singers were encouraged to submit an audition video on the following prompt: “What you’d like to say at this moment about yourself, about your life, about your relationship to Israel?” The open-ended prompt elicited musical responses that went in many different directions.
Shelley Kedar, director of Connecting the Jewish People Unit of the JAI, first hatched the idea last summer. “If we give people a voice that generates connection, that’s something that we believe in very strongly,” Kedar told the Journal. “We brewed the idea — which seemed very crazy at the time — to actually reach out to people around the world and say that we’ll give you a platform to share your voice, your opinions, your actual words, and tell us what you would like us to speak about at Israel 75.”
Kedar and the JAFI then combined forces with the Z3 project. Together, they called it the “Voices Together Project.”
An online submission platform was created where singers could submit their words or a voice recording. There was a recording booth at the 2022 Z3 conference at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto to help spread the word.
In the end, eight performers were selected; they performed in seven different languages, including American Sign Language.
Kedar and Amitai Fraiman recruited recording artist Sha’anan Streett of the Israeli hip-hop/funk band Hadag Nahash, to lead the way with the production and direction of the eight artists. Artist and music producer Michael Cohen, (also known by the mononym Cohen) joined for the production of the music video.
“It really was as organic of a songwriting experience as there is,” the Z3 Project’s Fraiman told the Journal. “Sha’anan led the way and had the vision for it. There were many conversations beforehand, but once it came to the musical components, it was in the hands of the musicians.”
The singers would all take turns recording their part in a Tel Aviv studio. The goal from the beginning was to create a song to embody the spirit of what 75 years of Israel means today.
The singers would all take turns recording their part in a Tel Aviv studio. The goal from the beginning was to create a song to embody the spirit of what 75 years of Israel means today.
The song opens in Hebrew with Sha’anan singing, “It’s the same talk in every language, it’s the same talk all around the world, a talk that flows, say ‘What’s Up, Israel.’”
One of the performers in “Ma Nishma, Israel” is Noah Shufutinsky, a hip-hop artist from San Diego who goes by the name Westside Gravy.
“I had the chance to get on a call with Sha’anan and a few of the other artists just to hear more about the song a few weeks before we would be going to the recording studio,” Gravy told the Journal. “We spent 20 minutes or so brainstorming ideas for the song and just discussing what we individually wanted to represent in the song. By then, I’d heard a draft of the beat and it just hit me. After about 20 minutes I had my full verse ready to go. The writing process was in the moment, and full of excitement — followed only by more excitement when it came to the recording process and sitting in the studio with so many talented musicians.”
The verse in German was performed by Lea Kalisch, also known as Rebbetzin Lea. She was born in Switzerland, has performed in numerous Yiddish plays, and is best known for her debut single “Eshet Chayil of Hip-Hop.” The Russian verse was performed by the Belarus-born Pinhas Tsinman (aka MC Pinhas), who emigrated from Ukraine to Israel about a year ago.
Deres Worknech, (aka Dere Work) performed his verse in Amharic. Dere Work made Aliyah from Ethiopia when he was 11, and has been rapping in Amharic since serving in the Israel Defense Forces. The hook of his verse: “To be thankful for creation — isn’t it the secret of living?”
Sandro Koren (aka MC Sapinho), a rap and reggaeton singer originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil sang his verse in Portuguese. Judith Hasin, known for participating in the Israeli reality performance show “Rising Star” in 2019, performed in French. Her verse ends with, “Everything will pass, except the strange feeling of being in the right place.”
Jonah Baron Cohen (aka JBC), an Australian-born, U.K.-raised singer, ends his verse with, “Look who you’re friends with, are they ready for anything?” And yes, Sacha Baron Cohen is his uncle.
The chorus is also performed in American Sign Language by Hila Almog, vice president and deaf community manager of the Tel Aviv company Sign Now, which offers free, real-time sign language interpretation via smartphones.
The music video also features dancers Viktoriya Bakhova, Polina Gutkina and Sonya Zavelska.
When “Ma Nishma, Israel” was finally complete, Kedar and Fraiman were blown away. “It’s catchy and it’s an interesting undertaking — how do you create an anthem of sorts in multiple languages?” Fraiman said. “This song is meant to remind us all that even though we look different, sound different, have different kinds of backgrounds, language isn’t superficial, but an immediate kind of code to the many levels and differences between us. It is a powerful message to have, especially in these moments. We didn’t know how timely the song would be. There’s the musical element on how this all came together, and now, the timing couldn’t be more perfect. The project couldn’t be more needed.”
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