"When I cry, I cry for both of us..."Nothing says 'sanctimonious' at Eurovision quite like an Israeli anthem. From Shalom Olam to Leha'amin, the war-torn nation state has encouraged us to light candles with Sarit Hadad and hands-up-and-amen with Liora whilst building a wall along the West Bank and unleashing force it is happy to admit is excessive on the Gaza Strip. Every invocation to peace has rung hollow, more like an exercise in fishing for sympathy (or worse, a PR opportunity), and has only ever paid lip service to the aspect of the Israeli situation that makes their 2009 entry - the aptly titled There Must Be Another Way (Einaich) - the poignant success that it is: the fact that both sides, ordinary Arabs and Jews, are impacted by the reckless politics of their leaders; equally aware of the other's suffering; and equally desperate to effect a resolution.
Not that anyone would be so naïve as to assume that a Eurovision entry could bring about an end to an impasse as complex as the one that exists between Israel and Palestine, who are each as much to blame as the other for the ongoing conflict. Nor can the West claim innocence, but that is one of the bases There Must Be Another Way covers and one of the points Noa and Mira Awad make in the English lyrics of the song. The balance created in the fusion of Hebrew, Arabic and English is a remarkable achievement, and the importance of Israel delivering only the second song in the contest's history with lyrics in Arabic cannot, and should not, be downplayed.
Balance is something There Must Be Another Way abounds in. From its effective use of languages to its exquisite harmonies - which are every bit as complex as the situation they are employed to illustrate - and which underline the message at its heart more effectively even than the lyrics - the song bears all the hallmarks of having been carefully crafted to work on a number of levels. This can also be seen (or rather heard) in the way the composition builds, with the three parts of the song - the Hebrew, Arabic and English - receiving distinct musical 'keys' which are then combined to form an acoustic and percussive whole. The subtlety of it is impressive, to say the least.
Sadly, what makes There Must Be Another Way the subtle accomplishment it is is also likely to make it a lot harder for the song to qualify. First impressions count, and most voters will probably experience the same cynical reaction to it that I did upon its undeniably engineered victory in the Israeli national final. When you add to this the fact that it is nevertheless the least clamorous (and certainly least pious) anthem the country has given us and that it will probably be eclipsed in viewers' affections by the Icelandic ballad that shortly follows it, its chances of qualification seem slim.
And yet the mere fact that we can put the terms 'subtle' and 'Israeli anthem' in the same sentence is reason enough for There Must Be Another Way to receive a second airing. It has taken the IBA more than 30 years to produce an act at Eurovision as vitally representative as Noa and Mira Awad, and they have done so in a sublime and understated style I would never have given them credit for. As with Israel's 2005 and 2008 entries Hasheket Shenish'ar and The Fire In Your Eyes, There Must Be Another Way is easily one of the best songs of the year, and I hope against hope the audience recognises its sincerity.
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