Zehava Ben

Infobox Musical artist

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Name = Zehava Ben
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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Zehava Ben
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Born = birth date and age|1968|11|8
flagicon|Israel Be'er Sheva, Israel
Died =
Origin = flagicon|Israel Be'er Sheva, Israel
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Genre = Mizrahi
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Zehava Ben ( _he. זהבה בן, born November 8, 1968) is one of the most popular Israeli female vocalists in the Mizrahi music genre; the Middle Eastern-style of singing rising from Israel's Mizrahi Jewish population, dominating Israeli music in the 1990s and popular ever since.

Early life

Zehava was born in Beer-Sheva, the capital city of the Negev in Southern Israel, to a Moroccan Jewish family. She was born in a poverty, crime and drug struck neighborhood.

Zehava is very proud of her Moroccan heritage, and most of her music is quite distinctive of that, singing both in Hebrew and Arabic. She has appeared in many music festivals outside Israel, namely in Sweden and France.

Music career

Zehava became familiar in Israel in 1990, when the title track of a film she took part in, called "Tipat Mazal" (A Bit Of Luck), became a hit throughout Israel, primarily among Israel's Mizrahi Jews (Jews of Middle Eastern and North African backgrounds) and Arab Israelis.

Despite her music being banned in some Arab countries due to a boycott on products of Israeli origin, Zehava is also popular throughout the Arab world as an Arabic-language singer. Among her repertoire are re-makes of traditional Arabic hits, including "Enta Omri" (You Are My Life) by legendary Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum.

Zehava appeared in the 1996 election campaign for 'Meretz' (left wing civil rights movement), singing the famous "Shir LaShalom" (Song For Peace).

One of her famous songs, "Ma Yihye" ("What Will Be") from 1994, was featured in the Buddha Bar collection.

In 2005, Zehava Ben entered a song contest to represent Israel in the Eurovision song contest with the song "Peace And Love" (sung in Hebrew, Arabic and English). She reached second place to winner Shiri Maymon (another Jewish Israeli of Moroccan heritage).

Records and Discography

1999: Best of Zehava Ben
2000: Arabic Songs
2000: Crying Rainn
2000: Stop the World
2000: What Kind of World
2000: Whire Stork
2000: Super Gold
2001: Coming Home
2001: Real King
2001: To Be Human2002: Melech Amiti (A Real King)
2003: Beit Avi
2003: Laroz Variations
2003: My Father's House

External links

* [http://212.68.147.44/Zehava-ben/index.html "Zehava Ben Official Web Site"] – Zehava Ben's Official Web Site.