Sameach - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

"Be Happy" redirects here. For the song, see Be Happy (song)
Be Happy (song)
"Be Happy" is a song co-written and performed by American R&B recording artist Mary J. Blige. Alongside Blige, the song was written with Chucky Thompson, Diddy, Arlene DelValle and J.C. Olivier, and produced by both Thompson and Combs. The song is featured on her second album, My Life...

.

"Sameyakh" (Hebrew script

Hebrew alphabet

The Hebrew alphabet , known variously by scholars as the Jewish script, square script, block script, or more historically, the Assyrian script, is used in the writing of the Hebrew language, as well as other Jewish languages, most notably Yiddish, Ladino, and Judeo-Arabic. There have been two...

: שמח meaning Happy in Hebrew

Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

) was the Israeli

Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest

Although geographically not in Europe, Israel is within the European Broadcasting Area and can thus participate in the Eurovision Song Contest. Israel is a member of the European Broadcasting Union, and made its first appearance in 1973. Israel has participated in the contest 34 times, and has won...

entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000

Eurovision Song Contest 2000

The Eurovision Song Contest 2000 was the 45th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 13 May 2000 at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden, following Charlotte Nilsson's victory in Jerusalem the previous year. It was the first time since 1996 that the contest was held on mainland Europe. The...

. It was performed in Hebrew by the pop band Ping-Pong, a quartet consisting of two males (Guy Asif and Roy Arad

Roy Arad

Roy "Chicky" Arad is an Israeli poet, singer, script-writer and artist.-Poetry:Arad has published three books. In his first book, “The Nigger”, he formed a style that he called "Kimo" and defined as "a Hebrew adaptation of the Japanese Haiku": it consists of three lines of 10, 7, and 6 syllables...

) and two females (Yifat Giladi and Ahal Eden), who had originally entered the contest as a joke . At the end of the performance the group waved small flags of both Israel and Syria; the waving of the Flag of Syria

Flag of Syria

The flag of Syria was re-adopted in 1980. The flag was formerly the flag of the United Arab Republic.-History:The first modern flag of Syria was adopted in 1920, and was similar to the current flag of Jordan with the green and white colours reversed...

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 . The performance also garnered controversy when the group, at the last minute, decided to sing the song's English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

title ("Be Happy") in place of the Hebrew title, after previously having stated that they would sing the song entirely in Hebrew.

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

Yom Ha'atzmaut

Yom Ha'atzmaut commemorates Israel's declaration of Independence in 1948. It is celebrated on 5 Iyar according to the Hebrew calendar. Yom Ha'atzmaut is preceded by Yom Hazikaron, the Israeli Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism Remembrance Day.-History:...

of Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

, Israeli talkbalk radio and newspapers were inundated with complaints at a period when Israel had withdrawn from southern Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

due to guerilla attacks by the Hezbollah militia, which was supported by a Syrian government which did not recognise Israel's sovereignty. 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" .

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

The artistic director of the band, the film director Eytan Fox

Eytan Fox

-Biography:Fox was born in New York City and moved with his family to Israel when he was two. His father, Seymour Fox, was a Conservative rabbi and a leading professor of Jewish education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His mother, Sara Kaminker-Fox, was the head of the Jerusalem city...

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". 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

Kibbutz

A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...

who appears to be depressed, having a torrid affair with a Damascus

Damascus

Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...

man, who appears in the video in a traditional headdress, or keffiyeh

Keffiyeh

The keffiyeh/kufiya , also known as a ghutrah , ' , mashadah , shemagh or in Persian chafiye , Kurdish cemedanî and Turkish puşi, is a traditional Arab headdress fashioned from a square, usually cotton, scarf. It is typically worn by Arab men, as well as some Kurds...

. 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

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

' Linda

Linda Wagenmakers

Linda Wagenmakers is a Dutch singer. She represented her country in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 in Stockholm, Sweden, and finished the competition in 12th place with the song "No Goodbyes".-External links:* *...

with "No Goodbyes

No Goodbyes (song)

"No Goodbyes" was the Dutch entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000, performed in English by Linda.The song is an up-tempo number, with Linda telling a former lover that their relationship is over. She sings that she wants "no more questions, no more lies", as well as "No more cheating",...

". At the close of voting, it had received 7 points, placing 22nd in a field of 24.

It was succeeded as Israeli representative

Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest

at the 2001 Contest

Eurovision Song Contest 2001

The Eurovision Song Contest 2001 was the 46th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 12 May 2001 in the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was the first time in 36 years that Denmark hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, thanks to the Olsen Brothers' win the previous year in Stockholm...

by Tal Sondak

Tal Sondak

Tal Sondak is an Israeli singer.His musical career started at the age of ten as a member of a boys choir. He received several first prizes at children's song festivals, most recently as a 15-year-old, where he won with a song that he had written himself.He has represented Israel at several music...

with "En Davar

En Davar

"En Davar" was the Israeli entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001, performed in Hebrew by Tal Sondak....

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