It was a Copenhagen evening to remember when the Ambassador of Israel, David Akov, and the Ambassador of Morocco, Khadija Rouissi, hosted a joint, high-profile event in March to mark the first anniversary of the signing of the Abraham Accords. Amidst the beautiful setting of the old nobility mansion, Moltke’s Palace, envoys from several embassies in Copenhagen and VIP guests from different areas of Danish society celebrated the significant strengthening of ties between the two countries since the normalization agreement was inked in December 2020.
Moving keynote speeches delivered by former Danish-Kurdish member of Parliament, Ms. Yildiz Akdogan (Soc.Dem.) and Israeli Knesset member Nira Shpak (Yesh Atid) were beautifully framed by a spectacular cultural performance by Livnat Ben-Hamou, an Israeli singer with Moroccan roots, and pianist Yotam Mahler. The pair played Jewish-Moroccan songs to emphasize the close cultural ties between the two countries.
On the previous day, the Israeli Embassy, in cooperation with a local Jewish organization, invited Ben-Hamou, an important figure in promoting Mizrahi music in Israeli society, to perform at an event at the Danish Jewish Community House. More than one hundred people experienced an unforgettable evening of music and conversation that took the audience on a journey through the development of the Mizrahi music scene of the 1970s and 80s through today’s contemporary treasures of Mizrahi melodies. The evening also served to emphasize the importance of the immigration of Mizrahi Jews to the State of Israel and to clarify the close connection between the two countries to a larger audience.