Do you present Eurovision?
Yes, in the Eurovision contest I am one of the four presenters from Israel.
Will Israel participate this year?
Yeah.
Despite the war?
Yes. And the surveys already give us winners.
Yeah? With what song?
We don’t have a song or a singer, yet.
And despite that…
Many votes will go to Israel just as they went to Ukraine because of the war: international solidarity. No matter how good Israel’s song is, it will win Eurovision.
What role will you have?
Now I host the TV show Rising star: several candidates are competing to represent Israel at Eurovision 2024.
Are they well-known singers?
Anonymous. I like some a lot, but I shouldn’t decide, I should be neutral.
How many times has Israel won?
Four times: 1978 (Abanibi), 1979 (Hallelujah), 1998 (Diva, with Dana International) and in 2018 (Toy, by Netta).
What should a good Eurovision presenter have?
Be used to live. And don’t use local references.
How did you become a presenter?
At first I wanted to be an actor, but in some rehearsals they called me a “faggot.” And I abandoned. I was still in the closet and I hated that no one labeled me.
And the TV?
I went to some tests, without an audience, in which I had to improvise something and sing.
What I sing?
Laisse-moi t’aimer, by Mike Brant, my favorite song! I did wonderfully, I won the test and that’s how I got into television.
What television landscape is there in Israel?
A public channel where I work and two commercial ones.
Are you coming to Barcelona for work?
Albert, my husband, is from Barcelona. Our daughter has three passports: Spanish, Israeli and American (by her surrogate mother).
Is being gay in Israel like here?
Equal.
How did you and Albert meet?
I came to Barcelona in 2011, to the Madonna concert. I stayed at the Axel hotel and I saw him at the pool, so handsome, with friends… I didn’t dare speak to him.
How shy…
I talked to one of his friends and asked, “Who is the guy on the lounge chair?” “Quit, he’s straight,” he told me.
It was true?
I stayed at the bar drinking mojitos. The third time Albert came and I told him: “It’s a shame you’re straight.” He looked at me: “Who told you that?” he asked me. I pointed to the friend. “He’s my fiancé,” he told me. They were going to get married!
The boyfriend had sensed danger.
I have fictionalized the scene in my upcoming television series, comedy-drama. I already wrote the series The beauty and the baker.
Is your family native to Israel?
Some of it does, another comes from Yemeni Jews, although we are not religious.
Do you have Palestinian friends?
Clear! My Eurovision co-presenter, Lucy Ayub, is Palestinian. Many Israelis are Palestinians and hold high positions. Joseph Haddad, Israel’s defense lawyer, is Arab. We live side by side.
Would you bet on two neighboring states?
There is no time to talk about that while Israeli citizens continue to be kidnapped by Hamas. The priority now is for them to return.
And then what will he play?
Hold Netanyahu accountable: how was the Hamas attack, murdering entire Israeli families, possible?
¿No vote Netanyahu?
No, but that’s democracy. I like Benny Gantz, from the left: now he supports the Netanyahu Government, because now it’s time to be united. And I hope one day Gantz governs.
Would you go to war, if called?
In Israel we are all soldiers: if Lebanon or Syria attack us, we will all go out to fight them, and so will I.
Thousands of Gazans are dying…
A group of terrorists breaks into Barcelona and kills entire families and you are at home… Wouldn’t you go out and defend your house?
I would defend myself, yes.
Among the eight billion humans, only fifteen million are Jews, and only nine million in Israel: our home!
Are you afraid?
Today we hear that if Jews dominate Hollywood, that they are rich, that they decide presidents, that they enjoy killing Palestinians… Pure anti-Semitism! If it’s scary.
What would you want to happen?
What every person you ask wants, whether Palestinian or Jewish, whether in Gaza or Israel: to live in peace and be happy!
