African-American Spirituals in Israel [Hebrew]

by Noa Ben-Sadia --

On June 25th, 2018, Noa Ben-Sadia presented a paper (in Hebrew) in the framework of the "Minheret HaZman" Conference, hosted at Beit Berl College. Ben-Sadia discusses the influence of African American spirituals in the Israeli musical sphere during the 1950s and 1960s. She traces their growing popularity in choral and solo performance thanks to their Biblical content but also suggests that they were misunderstood both musically and politically. Their popularity, she argues, may also be attributed to the renown of the African-American singer, actor and activist Paul Robeson who was highly appreciated in Israel at the time. Ben-Sadia contextualizes questions of local “Blackness” in Israel, and the irony that arose from the fact that the main performers and audiences of African American spirituals were Ashkenazi Jews.

Noa Ben-Sadia is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where she earned her M.A. degree under the supervision of Professor Ruth Hacohen Pinczover and Professor Louise Bethlehem. She was an MA Research Fellow in the ERC project APARTHEID_STOPS, and is a music teacher and musician.


Noa Ben-Sadia, Beit Berl College, 25/6/2018

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