イスラエル・ＵＡＥ歌手が共作、国交正常化後初の音楽コラボ

【エルサレムＡＦＰ＝時事】アラブ首長国連邦（UAE）とイスラエルのアーティストが一緒に歌う動画が話題だ。遠隔で共作し、UAEとイスラエルの国交正常化により生まれた初の音楽コラボレーションとなった。（写真はイスラエルの自宅で、UAEのアーティスト、ワリード・アルジャシムさん＜画面内＞と共作した曲の動画に合わせて歌うイスラエル人歌手のエルカナ・マルツィアーノさん）
　動画の舞台はＵＡＥのドバイからイスラエルのテルアビブに切り替わり、歌詞はアラビア語からヘブライ語、英語へと流れる。曲調は少しキッチュなエレクトロポップ。曲名の「アハラン・ビク」は、アラビア語で「こんにちは、あなた」という意味だ。
　イスラエル人歌手のエルカナ・マルツィアーノさん（２８）は「これは歴史的な瞬間だ」と語る。ＵＡＥのアーティスト、ワリード・アルジャシムさんと共同制作した動画は、９月３０日にユーチューブに投稿されて以来、再生回数１１０万回を超えた。
　マルツィアーノさんは米国のオーディションテレビ番組「ザ・ボイス」のイスラエル版で優勝した経歴を持つ。アラビア語を話し、アラブ諸国のユダヤ人、ミズラヒム文化の影響を受けている。
　マルツィアーノさんがＡＦＰに語ったところによると、アルジャシムさんとはビデオ会議サービス「ズーム」でやり取りし、曲は部分的にドバイで、他の部分をイスラエルで収録したという。マルツィアーノさんはお互いの関係について「すぐに理解し合った」と話した。
　シェイクト・シャロンの名前でオンライン上に投稿されたコメントには「この曲で新しい中東を感じられる」と書かれていた。
　イスラエルとＵＡＥは長年にわたり経済と安全保障の分野で控えめな協力を続けてきたが、今年８月、米国の仲介により国交正常化で合意したと発表した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/10/19-12:31）

The scene cuts from Dubai to Tel Aviv, the lyrics switch from Arabic to Hebrew to English and the song is a slightly kitsch electro-pop duet by artists who, for now, remain apart.
The normalisation of ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates has produced its first musical collaboration: Ahlan Bik, or Hello you in Arabic.
This is a historic moment, said Israeli singer Elkana Marziano, whose duet with Emirati artist Walid Aljasim has clocked more than 1.1 million YouTube views since it was posted on September 30.
Marziano, 28, is a former winner of Israel's version of The Voice, a singing competition TV show, and an Arabic speaker influenced by the Mizrahi culture of Jews from the Arab world.
He told AFP that he and Aljasim had collaborated over the Zoom video-conferencing service, with some parts of the song recorded in Dubai and others in Israel.
The understanding was immediate, Marziano said of the partnership.
One online commentator, who posted under the name Shaked Sharon, said: With this song, you feel the new Middle East.
- The 'new Middle East'? -
In August, Israel and the UAE announced that they had reached a US-brokered deal to normalise ties, following years of discreet economic and security cooperation.
Israel's parliament, the Knesset, approved the UAE deal on Thursday.
Bahrain ultimately joined the pact known as the Abraham Accords signed at the White House last month, making it and the UAE the third a fourth Arab states to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel.
Israel signed a peace agreement with neighbouring Egypt in 1979 and with Jordan in 1994.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has boasted that the Gulf deals highlight shifting priorities in the region.
The right-winger has insisted that more Arab states want ties with Israel even though its conflict with the Palestinians remains unresolved.
The UAE's Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has said the pact opens the way to a new era of cooperation.
Palestinian leaders have condemned the deals and called on the Arab world to withhold establishing ties with Israel until it reaches a viable peace with the Palestinians.
While some YouTube commenters have celebrated Ahlan Bik, others have condemned the song and Israeli-Emirati normalisation, while calling for the creation of a Palestinian state.
- Live concert -
The song was written by Doron Medalie, who also wrote Toy, which won the 2018 Eurovision contest in Israel.
The chorus -- I hear you friend far away, far away -- is repeated in the three languages, while the music video's action pivots from Marziano dancing with friends in Israel to Aljasim in Dubai.
Marziano said that peace was a common theme in Israeli music, which has regularly been in conflict with its neighbours since its founding in 1948.
He said it was a personal victory to see young Israelis and Emiratis interacting online to discuss the song on his YouTube page, adding that he is planning a live concert with Aljasim when the coronavirus pandemic ends.
I am very moved by the idea of singing this song, and others, on the same stage (with Aljasim), Marziano told AFP.