Miri Mesika
Trilingual song to be sung at UN for International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Three Israeli performers to sing stirring song in official UN ceremony for International Holocaust Remembrance Day; song will be in Hebrew, Arabic, English, written from perspective of last living Holocaust survivor, writer says.
On International Holocaust Remembrance Day,
January 27, three Israeli performers will sing a stirring song in Hebrew, English and Arabic, dedicated to the catastrophe's survivors, at a United Nations (UN) ceremony marking the somber day.
"And a million eyes are gazing at me now, I am the last one left to tell (the story)," go the lyrics of the song "The Last Survivor", written by Moshe Klughaft and composed by Amir Benayoun, who will be joining Miri Mesika and David D'Or onstage in singing the song.
Survivors anthem
"Every day, some 40 Holocaust survivors die in Israel, and this song declares their desire—to never cease sharing their account," said Klughaft, the song's writer. "While writing it, I imagined a future reality in which there will only be one Jew left alive who experienced the Holocaust. The song was written with him in mind."
Amir Benayoun
The UN ceremony will be attended by ambassadors from all over the world as well as Holocaust survivors in honor of International International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which correlates to the liberation of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. It also marks 30 years since the Walk of Life event was initiated.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon, who invited the singing delegation to the event, said, "Especially at the UN, where we are exposed to modern anti-Semitism, there is a need to declare loud and clear: never again!"
In the words of the song's composer, Amir Benayoun, "Soon there will be no more survivors left to speak. Our duty is to be their voice. We will have to combat Holocaust denial and this song, in three languages, will be one of the tools."
Ahead of the performance at the UN, a music video was recorded with the participation of Holocaust survivors from the Israeli organization "Amcha", which offers psychological and social services to Holocaust survivors and their families, who were filmed alongside photos of themselves as children.
