Zehava Ben
| Zehava Ben | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Zehava Ben |
| Born |
November 8, 1968 Beersheba, Israel |
| Genres | Mizrahi |
Zehava Ben (Hebrew: 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.
Zehava was born Zehava Benisty in Beersheba, the capital city of the Negev in Southern Israel, to a Moroccan Jewish family. She was born in Shikun Dalet (Neighborhood D), a poverty, crime and drug-infested 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, including in Sweden and France.
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 the left-wing political party Meretz, singing the famous "Shir LaShalom" (Song For Peace).
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