Rita: No quarrel between Iranians, Israelis

Ynetnews

There is "no quarrel" between the Iranian and Israeli people, Iranian-born Israeli singer Rita told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an interview aired over the weekend, which presented her as "a pop star with a foot in both worlds."

"It's between the government or the leaders or something like that," she said. "I'm very Iranian; and I'm very Israeli. And with my existence, I can show that everything can intertwine with each other, amazingly."

In the interview Rita also addressed her latest album, "My Joys," which is comprised of songs sung entirely in her mother tongue, Farsi. The album, CNN reported, is quite popular in Iran and far from being shunned by Israelis.

Asked by Amanpour why she chose to record an album of songs in Persian nearly three decades into her career, Rita explained: "I felt suddenly that I have to record the soundtracks of my family life and my life."

She said she had gotten "a lot of amazing" emails from Iranians. "The cutest one – he wrote me, ‘Rita, you know I want to see your concerts so much that even the punishment will be three years' jail and 70 whiplashes, I would still rather to try to come to your concert.'"

Rita told Amanpour that she had left Iran when she was eight, and said she hoped to be able to perform there one day. She described the album as an attempt to talk "people to people."

"There is a wall between us. And as much as we will make scratches and holes, little holes, we, the people…will be in charge on our lives and our destiny," she said.