The 19th Israel festival opened Tuesday in Jerusalem with the composition “Baladi” (Arabic for “My Homeland”) by the Egyptian composer Gamal Abdul Rahim. The piece was played by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Zubin Mehta, but the composer himself was not present. He was reportedly banned from coming by the Egyptian authorities. “If Abdul Rahim listens to us,” said Mehta in the live broadcast, “we want to tell him that we miss him here.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
