A-WA’s “Habib Galbi”: An Israeli Hit Sung in Arabic
A-WA
2015
Credits
A-WA, "Habib Galbi" (2016). Produced and arranged by Tomer Yosef.
The Israeli band A-WA—sisters Tair, Liron, and Tagel Haim—rose to global fame with “Habib Galbi” (“Love of My Heart”), sung in a Yemenite Jewish dialect of Arabic. Mixing traditional melodies with electronic beats, the 2015 hit redefined Mizrahi music, celebrating Arabic language and Yemenite identity in Israeli pop. The vibrant music video, featuring the sisters in pink hijabs, became a sensation across Israel and the Arab world, highlighting the power of music to reconnect shared cultural roots once divided by politics and history.
Why do you think the Haim sisters choose to wear these particular items of clothing for the music video?
Do you think there are any political statements being made by the decision to perform music this way in Israel? What might they be?
What role does gender play in these artistic decisions and their public interpretation?
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Creator Bio
A-WA
A-WA (Yes) was an Israeli musical band that played traditional folkloric Yemenite music blended with modern dance music styles, like hip hop, reggae, and indie rap. The band was made up of Tair, Liron, and Tagel Haim, three sisters from a Yemenite Israeli family of six children. They grew up in Shaharut, a small village in southern Israel. Their father was the son of Yemenite immigrants from Sana’a, who played several traditional instruments, while their mother was Ukrainian and Moroccan. A-WA was formed in 2011, and their breakout song was Habib Galbi (Love of My Heart), sung in the Yemenite dialect of Arabic. Their first album, also named Habib Galbi, was released in 2016 and their second, Bayti Fi Rasi (My Home Is In My Head), in 2019. Bayti Fi Rasi is based on the experience of their great-grandmother when she was airlifted to Israel from Yemen in 1949/50 during “Operation Magic Carpet,” and reflects on the difficulties of new Yemenite immigrants in the transit camps.