Israeli singer Dudu Tassa and Emirati singer Mohamed Al Shehhi released a new song they recorded together in Dubai, marking a significant milestone in the post-Abraham Accords world.
In a rare performance of the two popular singers from two countries that have never previously performed together in person, the new song launched America Abroad Media's annual gala last Thursday. The show was this year streamed online due to the coronavirus pandemic restrictions.
Tassa visited the UAE for the very first time on the week of November 24th to record the song in person alongside Al Shehhi. This joint performance reflects and honors the historic recent normalization of ties between Israel and the UAE.
“We thought Dudu would be ideal for this collaboration because of his huge success in Israel and his deep roots in the Gulf," said Dr. Aaron Lobel, founder and president of America Abroad Media, referring to Tassa's family history in Kuwait and Iraq.Indeed, Tassa is the grandson of a Kuwaiti musician Daoud Al-Kuwaiti, whose music was famous in the Arabic world as far back as the 1930s. His music was banned in Iraq by Saddam Hussein once he found out that the singer was not Arabic at all, but Jewish.
"His history has shaped his own music and identity as an artist, we thought it would be very moving for him to return to his roots for this performance,” he continued, adding that “Dudu’s involvement sends a strong message to the region about the history of Jews in the Middle East, and the fact that the majority of Israelis share these roots.”
America Abroad Media, based in Washington DC, is a nonprofit that empowers and supports local voices in the Middle East through creative content and media programming.