I met Achinoam Nini, internationally known as the singer Noa, in Florence on May 31, 2025.

She is a peace activist, and she says: “Our role as artists is to create an alternative reality”. What I appreciate is that her commitment to peace doesn’t end with her speeches, which are moving and beautiful—like the last one in Florence (you can see the video and read the text below); Noa embodies her commitment to peace: she joins protests, with her drums and voice. This weekend, she was part of the “White March,” a three-day event in which Jews and Arabs marched to the Gaza border to stop the war of annihilation.

I would say that, when we met in Florence, we talked about peace as a concept of courageous action. Peace is often misunderstood as a naïve and “thin” vision of quietness. On the contrary, peace takes courage—the courage to imagine an alternative reality and to transform conflict into an opportunity for coevolution.

The first thing Noa shared was the upcoming event that will be hosted and supported by the city of Florence next September: Re-Imagine Peace. It seemed to me that the main ingredients of this event are: a future-oriented intention, the essential role of joint, Jews and Arabs, grassroots movements, and, of course, the role of the arts as a catalyst for transformation, dialogue, and imagination.

“Florence is giving us an amazing opportunity to create a festival called Re-Imagine Peace. It’s mostly about the future. I will quote our amazing friend, Maoz Inon, who says, ‘I can forgive the past and I can forgive the present, but I cannot forgive the future’, meaning ‘I cannot forgive us for not trying to fix the future’. This is the direction we need to look at. Right now, it’s a deep well of darkness and pain. The big question is: Where are we going? Are we sentencing ourselves and our children to eternal warfare, bloodshed, hatred, fear, and deterioration? Or are we giving ourselves and our children a different chance—to live differently? That’s what this festival is about. There will be artists and musicians of all genres—from classical to choirs, from folk artists to hip hop, rap, and electronic music. There will be inspiring speakers like David Grossman, who has agreed to grace us with his presence at this event. There will be many organizations coming together: Combatants for Peace, Women Waging Peace, Women of the Sun, the Parents Circle, Standing Together, to mention a few. These are Israelis and Palestinians who have taken the courageous step to work together—which, today, is truly an act of bravery. The prevailing social order demands taking sides.”

It seems that Noa and I share a commitment to amplifying the voices of joint, Jews and Arabs, grassroots movements in Israel-Palestine. So we delved into the accusation of ‘normalization’.

During an interview on CNN, journalist Christiane Amanpour said to Rula Daood, the co-director of ‘Standing Together’: “Some Palestinians have criticized you. They accuse you of somehow normalizing the occupation. The BDS movement has said that this is normalization…”. Rula replied: “… When you’re sitting in the comfort of your home in the United States or Europe, it’s much easier to look at us and not understand the realities we live in… Sometimes it may be due to ignorance… I’m a Palestinian citizen of Israel, and life is not easy. We are second-class citizens… So coming here and boycotting the only activists—both Palestinian and Jewish—who dare to stand against this government, to speak a different language, to say that this occupation must end, that this war must end, that there must be an agreement on the table so the hostages can come home… That simply means going against the will of the people. If you are truly revolutionary, you understand that there are people suffering, and there are governments.”

Noa agrees with Rula Daood and commented on the ‘normalization’ charge:

“I have a big problem with BDS. In my opinion, it has hurt the Palestinian cause for years—by hurting those who support the Palestinian cause, who happen to be Israeli, like me and other artists. Opposing communication between Israelis and Palestinians and attacking activists, as they do, is normalizing hatred and bloodshed. As if it’s not enough that people like us pay a price from the Israeli right, we then pay a price from the Palestinian left.”

Noa talked more about the ‘Standing Together’ movement and their work: “I think ‘Standing Together’ is one of the most wonderful organizations working on the ground today. They are amazing. It’s no secret that some of them were recently arrested for going down to the Gaza border to oppose the war. They stood in the Old City of Jerusalem to protect the Arab citizens from the insane settlers who came to act violently against the inhabitants. It’s shameful for anyone who is Jewish to see a person wearing a kippah behaving in such an atrocious way.”

On Holocaust Memorial Day, Noa posted a video on Instagram, saying: “Never again means never again for anybody.” More than once, when she speaks, Noa uses this formula: “As a Jew, as an Israeli, as a woman, as a mother, as a human being, I say: not in my name.” I asked her to reflect on ‘identity’: how it nurtures our need to belong to a community, and how it can become a trap.

“My longstanding musical director made this beautiful observation about identity: there are two vectors in identity. There are people who concentrate their identity to a single speck. So, they’re Jewish—but they are Jews of Sephardic origin. Of Moroccan origin. Moroccan Sephardic Jews. And they are men. They live in this town. They wear this hat. They like this football team. Their eyes are brown. And they will die for this—they will sacrifice their life to ensure their sense of identity is untouched. Then there’s the opposite vector. I’m an Israeli woman, but also a citizen of Israel, of the Middle East. I’m a woman, but also a part of the human family. I’m connected to trees, plants, and birds. It’s the opposite direction. I open my sense of identity and spread my wings. I do this for the sake of life. When you open your wings, you’re able to fly. When you close them, you’re protecting yourself. That’s a place of fear, as opposed to a place of trust. This is our challenge: How do we find the balance between the importance of identity and the importance of oneness and connectivity”.

Finally, we returned to political imagination. Inspired by Elise Boulding, I invited Noa to describe a future rooted in cultures of peace.

“I’ve spent a lot of years of my life thinking about that. It’s just a matter of a two-state solution. Israel would live alongside the state of Palestine. I don’t see one state—not yet. Maybe later. First, we need our identity, our independence. Both countries would be ruled by leaders who serve as public servants. I’d love to see women in leadership roles. I envision social democracies. I believe in equal opportunities for all. Religion would have its place, but not in the foreground. Religion is a beautiful, spiritual, private thing. It would be wonderful if everyone spoke Hebrew, Arabic, and English. I imagine free and open borders so we can travel. For me, it’s a dream to travel by car all around the Middle East—to go to Yemen, where my family comes from, and where I’ve never been. And on top of that, we have to find a way to work together for Mother Earth.

Do I think it’s possible? Absolutely. It would be wonderful.”

“Before I sing, I must speak.”

Before I raise my voice to call the angels, to summon the holy spirit to open the hearts and minds of the human family, before I call the goddesses, the matriarchs, the prophetesses, the female warriors of old, the primal mothers of all things and beg them to instill compassion and kindness in the hearts of all their children, before I spread my wings of light, and transform into a bird, flying high above the land, high above the folly of men, high above the pain and sorrow, cruelty, greed, crippling fear, blinding madness, horrible violence.

Before I open my arms and invite you to join me on this journey, I must speak in clear terms. As an Israeli, a woman, a jew, a mother, a human being, I call for an immediate end to the horrific war being waged in Gaza, which was justified momentarily as retaliation for the monstrous attack on Israeli civilians on October 7 th, where Hamas massacred, raped, maimed and kidnapped men women and children, but has since warped monstrously into a war of messianic, insane, illegal and immoral attack on innocent civilians including thousands of children, who are being starved and killed indiscriminately. It is beyond words, beyond imagination, I’m devastated and disgusted and furious, I want to raise my voice clearly and unequivocally: not in my name is this being done, nor in the name of millions of Israelis who have been tricked, brainwashed, lied to, betrayed and kidnapped, yes, kidnapped!…by an insane, corrupt demonic group of individuals who will lead not only Gaza but Israel too, to her death, if they are not topped. It is important that you know, we in Israel are fighting valiantly against these criminals, as the Gazans, even in the unspeakable tragedy they are suffering, raise their courageous voices against Hamas often on pain of death, and we all need your help.

We ask you to stand with the Israeli people, NOT the Israeli government, just as you should stand with the Palestinian people, NOT with Hamas. We need you, we need the international community, but NOT with more hatred and war mongering and poisoning, NOT more propaganda, lies, antisemitism and islamophobia, NOT more weapons, NO, no more bombs! we need clear, firm diplomatic action, we need our friends to denounce the insane leadership of BOTH sides and support moderate leadership, insisting on the IMMEDIATE end to the war, the IMMEDIATE return of all hostages, the IMMEDIATE commencement of a diplomatic process that will ensure the security and prosperity of both Israelis and Palestinians. Recognize Palestine alongside Israel, not Palestine instead of Israel.

Do not seek to fix one tragedy as you create another.

That is a recipe for eternal bloodshed, and nobody will be spared. Not in the Middle East, not anywhere. Support the two state solution, we all need to have a place of security in which to flourish, with our language, culture and identity…nobody wants to force themselves on the other, occupy and rule and abuse another, rather, from a balanced place, a confident place, we seek to reach out to each other and build bridges and bonds, for the mutual wellbeing of all. It will take time; we are two deeply wounded, traumatized people, but this is the road we must take. We cannot fix the past, but we can definitely fix the future. In a few months, my dear Florentine friends, you will have an opportunity to raise your voice for peace together with us, here in your city, in a beautiful, unique 24 hour festival we are organizing together with dear Mayor Sara Funaro, city hall and all our partners, called “Re-Imagine Peace”…Sept 13+14, just as the summer comes to an end. We will bring to you speakers, organizations, artists, and musicians of all genres, Palestinian and Israeli working together, bravely re-imagining our present and future, spreading light and hope, running where the road is broken, singing where no words are spoken. From the city of the birth of the Renaissance, we hope to encourage a new renaissance of compassion, co-existence, and peace. Entrance will be free. Join us, bring your friends and children, come to learn and support and listen and share and sing and dance the dance of hope. We need you. Thank you!”

Noa, full speech at the Concert in Florence, 29th May 2025