Barbra Streisand and Rita sing Hatikva in honor of Independence Day
The track combines two recordings of Hatikva: a 1978 recording of Barbara Streisand and a new recording by Rita.
By DONNA RACHEL EDMUNDSBarbra Streisand & Rita singing HaTikva with DJ Offer Nissim (photo credit: YOSSI MADAR)
A very special version of Hatikva featuring the best of old and new has just been released in honor of Israel's Independence Day 2020.The track combines two recordings of Hatikva. The older of the two is of Barbra Streisand singing Israel's national anthem to the former Prime Minister of Israel, Golda Meir, at a celebratory gala held in 1978 for a US television special: Stars Salute Israel at 30.Streisand sang Tomorrow, People and Happy Days are Here Again before chatting with Meir at her home via an old rotary phone. Meir says "It's wonderful to hear your voice, I wish I could see your face," to which Streisand replies "Modern technology has not gotten us that far yet." Streisand, somewhat star-struck, then honors Meir with a version of Hatikva. The new recording of Hatikva is a freshly laid-down track by the Israeli pop singer Rita, who has been one of Israel's biggest stars for decades. Born in Iran to a Sephardi Jewish family, she sings in Persian as well as Hebrew and some of her recordings have become popular in Iran.The combination track has been created by Israeli DJ and record producer Offer Nissim, who has in the past worked with Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Cher, Dana International and the Pet Shop Boys, among others, while the artistic director is film producer Gal Uchovsky.
