Lucy Aharish and Tzachi Halevy talk interfaith love on CNN
The newlyweds told Christiane Amanpour that they received a lot of backlash 'from both sides.'
By AMY SPIROUpdated: DECEMBER 19, 2018 06:37Lucy Aharish and Tzhai Halevy talk interfaith love on CNN.(photo credit: CNN SCREENSHOT)
In their first joint interview as a married couple, Lucy Aharish and Tzahi Halevy talked politics, love and Fauda on CNN.Aharish – an Israeli-Arab TV journalist – and Halevy – a Jewish Israeli actor and singer – were the subject of much controversy when they wed in October in Israel – after secretly dating for years.The couple is believed to be the first celebrity marriage in Israel between a Muslim and a Jew, and they were the subject of a great deal of attention when news of their wedding broke.The couple appeared live from Tel Aviv on Christiane Amanpour’s CNN show on Monday. Amanpour asked the couple about the reactions from the Israeli public to news of their wedding.“We got a lot of backlash, I have to say,” said Aharish,” there were a lot of bad comments from all over – from the Arab side and the Jewish side – extremes from both sides.” But she said she would rather focus on “the enormous amount of love that we got from so many in Israel – Jewish and Arab – that at the end of the day said, ‘you know what guys, this is your life, do whatever you want, if you love one another, let love win’ – the biggest cliche ever.”Halevy, known for his starring role on Fauda, chimed in to say that they understand that a wedding like theirs “is not very typical – although it does happen here in Israel... we can understand why, for people it’s hard – whether it’s on the Muslim side or the Jewish side – [they want us to] keep the heritage, everyone has their own ideas.”Asked by Amanpour about the prospects for peace in the region, Aharish said she remains optimistic.“I’m living in a democracy, in the only democracy in the Middle East,” said Aharish, “and as an Arab, as a Muslim, as an Israeli, I know that in one way or another I’m standing on some kind of a bridge, and this bridge gives me the opportunity to look at things in a different way.”For six years, Aharish has hosted a regular news program, most recently on Reshet 13. But earlier this week she received some bad news, when it was reported that her show is not expected to return to the air when Reshet 13 and Channel Ten merge next year. The network reportedly said that it expects Aharish to continue with the station after the merger, though it is not yet clear in what role.
