Edan Tamler

@nasdaily Thank you for your courage, achi

Personal Thoughts: (not for everyone, feel free to skip) For the longest time, I struggled with my identity. A Palestinian kid born inside Israel. Like…wtf. Many of my friends refuse to this day to say the word “Israel” and call themselves “Palestinian” only. But since I was 12, that did not make sense to me. So I decided to mix the two and become a “Palestinian-Israeli” I thought this term reflected who I was. Palestinian first. Israeli second. But after recent events, I started to think. And think. And think. And then my thoughts turned to anger. I realized that if Israel were to be “invaded” like that again, we would not be safe. To a terrorist invading Israel, all citizens are targets. 900 Israelis died so far. More than 40 of them are Arabs. Killed by other Arabs. And even 2 Thai people died too. And I do not want to live under a Palestinian government. Which means I only have one home, even if I’m not Jewish: Israel. That’s where all my family lives. That’s where I grew up. That’s the country I want to see continue to exist so I can exist. Palestine should exist too as an independent state. And I hope to see the country thrive and become less extreme and more prosperous. I love Palestine and have invested in Palestine. But it’s not my home. So from today forward, I view myself as an “Israeli-Palestinian”. Israeli first. Palestinian second. Sometimes it takes a shock like this to see so clearly.

This weekend I had the great honor of reciting the memorial prayer “El Male Rachamim” in one of the first holocaust memorial ceremonies in the UAE, hosted by @uae_ccm. Present were the Israeli National delegation to the UAE, German, Albanian and of course Emirati representatives.

We have a special pre-Shabbat Zoom planned for tomorrow with @EdanTamler who will lead us in a special rendition of 📖 Yedid Nefesh 📖 Lecha Dodi Join us tomorrow at: 15:00🇧🇭🇸🇦🇶🇦🇰🇼 16:00 🇴🇲🇦🇪

From X Factor 👨‍🎤 to Chief Cantor 🕍 of Denmark 🇩🇰 This 25-year-old singer songwriter plays a unique role in Copenhagen's ancient Jewish community. @Jerusalem_Post m.jpost.com/diaspora/artic…

Earlier this week I had the honor and privilege of performing for Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark in the Great Synagogue of Copenhagen to celebrate the 400 year anniversary of Jewish presence in Denmark! Truly an incredible and unforgettable expereince to be a part of!