Sameach - Citizendia

Sameach
Eurovision Song Contest 2000 entry
Country	Israel
Artist(s)	PingPong
Language	Hebrew, English
Composer(s)	Guy Asif, Roy Arad (Chicky)
Lyricist(s)	Guy Asif, Roy Arad
Conductor(s)	Dvir Wolk, Ovad Efrat
Place	22nd
Points	7
Lyrics	from the Diggiloo Thrush

"Sameach" (Hebrew script: שמח meaning Happy in Hebrew) was the Israeli entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000. The Eurovision Song Contest 2000 was the 45th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on May 13, 2000 in the Globen Arena in Stockholm Although geographically not in Europe, Israel is allowed to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest as a member of the EBU and did so for the first time PingPong (פינג פונג is an Israeli pop quartet that represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2000 with the song Sameach (שמח Roy "Chicky" Arad ( רועי "צ'יקי" ארד, born 1977 is an Israeli Poet, Singer, script-writer and Artist. The Hebrew alphabet (אָלֶף-בֵּית עִבְרִי alephbet ’ivri) consists of 22 letters used for writing the Hebrew language. Although geographically not in Europe, Israel is allowed to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest as a member of the EBU and did so for the first time The Eurovision Song Contest 2000 was the 45th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on May 13, 2000 in the Globen Arena in Stockholm It was performed in Hebrew by the pop band Ping-Pong, a quartet consisting of two males (Guy Asif and Roy Arad) and two females (Yifat Giladi and Ahal Eden), who had originally entered the contest as a joke [1]. PingPong (פינג פונג is an Israeli pop quartet that represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2000 with the song Sameach (שמח Roy "Chicky" Arad ( רועי "צ'יקי" ארד, born 1977 is an Israeli Poet, Singer, script-writer and Artist. At the end of the performance the group waved small flags of both Israel and Syria; the waving of the Flag of Syria led to the performance being disendorsed by the Israeli Broadcasting Authority after the group had refused to withdraw the use of the flag for the final [2]. The current flag of Syria ( علم سوريا) was re-adopted in 1980. Israel Broadcasting Authority (often referred to as the IBA; רָשׁוּת השׁידוּר Rashùt Ha-Shidúr) is Israel 's state broadcasting The performance also garnered controversy when the group, at the last minute, decided to sing the song's English title ("Be Happy") in place of the Hebrew title, after previously having stated that they would sing the song entirely in Hebrew. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States

The song qualified for the Eurovision Song Contest after defeating 83 other acts earlier in the year, without incident. However, upon brandishing the new dance and flag routine at the dress rehearsal, which coincided with Independence day of Israel, Israeli talkbalk radio and newspapers were inundated with complaints at a period when Israel had withdrawn from southern Lebanon due to guerilla attacks by the Hezbollah militia, which was supported by a Syrian government which did not recognise Israel's sovereignty. An Independence Day is an annual celebration commemorating the Anniversary of a Nation 's assumption of independent Statehood, usually after ceasing For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية Hezbollah (حزب الله, literally " party of God " is a Shi'a Islamic political and Paramilitary organisation Upon being disendorsed, Gil Samsonov, the chairman of the Israeli Broadcasting Authority stated that PingPong would have to pay for the costs of entering the competition, saying "They will compete there, but not on behalf of the Israeli Broadcasting Authority or the Israeli people… They are representing only themselves. " It was the last straw for the IBA after the group had released its video clip for the song the previous month, which included male-male kissing and suggestive acts with a cucumber. "It started with sexual provocation and now it has turned to political provocation," Mr Samsonov said. "What is this meant to be about? Everyone knows that the Israeli people want peace with Syria" [3].

The song also went to the top of the Israeli charts, despite being shunned by the Eurovision voters [4].

The artistic director of the band, the film director Eytan Fox defended the performance despite noting the protests ― "As soon as we got off the stage, the faxes started coming from Israel saying not to appear with the Israeli and Syrian flags". Eytan Fox (איתן פוקס (born on August 21, 1964) is an Israeli Film director. He refused to back down claiming that the song was a peace message ― "The song is about love and peace so we thought it would be a good idea to use Syrian and Israeli flags, because we would like to have peace with Arab countries,". Fox claimed that his group was being targeted by conservative facets of society, stating "We represent a new kind of Israeli who wants to be normal and have peace. We want to have fun and not go to war, but the right wing is not happy about that message. "

The song describes an Israeli woman on a kibbutz who appears to be depressed, having a torrid affair with a Damascus man, who appears in the video in a traditional headdress, or keffiyeh. A kibbutz ( Hebrew: קיבוץ קִבּוּץ lit "gathering clustering" plural kibbutzim) is a collective community in Damascus ( دمشق,, also commonly known as الشام ash-Shām) is the capital and largest city of Syria. The keffiyeh (كوفية, plural ar كوفيات kūfiyyāt) shmagh, shemagh or yashmag (ar شماغ) (from Turkish It makes references to wars and natural disasters such as floods, and when the reference to the cucumber is made, the singers sing into cucumbers. It also used the suggestive line "I want to do it with him all day long".

The song was performed first on the night (preceding the Netherlands' Linda with No Goodbyes). The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Linda Wagenmakers (born 30 november 1975, Arnhem) is a Dutch singer "No Goodbyes" was the Dutch entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000, performed in English by Linda. At the close of voting, it had received 7 points, placing 22nd in a field of 24.

It was succeeded as Israeli representative at the 2001 Contest by Tal Sondak with En Davar. Although geographically not in Europe, Israel is allowed to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest as a member of the EBU and did so for the first time The Eurovision Song Contest 2001 was the 46th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on May 12, 2001 in the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen Tal Sondak is an Israeli Singer. His musical career started at the age of ten as a member of a boys Choir. "En Davar" ( Hebrew script: אין דבר, English translation "Never Mind" was the Israeli entry in the Eurovision

References

Kennedy O'Connor, John (2005). The Eurovision Song Contest: The Official History.
from the Diggiloo Thrush

References

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