KARLA TALLAS - GOING IN DEPTH KOBI FARHI & CHEN BALBUS | Page 4

You come from Jaffa, which is one of the oldest
cities in the world and also a crossroads for
several ethnic groups, implying some form of
cultural and religious diversity. What were your
feelings about the city, especially while you were
growing up? Was it natural for you or were you
also confused by it?
I think it was both because like you said, Jaffa is
a very, very old city, having a lot of archeology
and history. Jaffa is even mentioned in the Bible
when Jonah was trapped in the belly of the beast.
Growing up in Jaffa was an amazing experience. As
a kid, it was a very personality-shaping experience
for me. The population of the city consisted of
people from Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The
music from your neighbors was always different.
I could hear the Synagogue, I could hear Arabic
music from our neighbors, I could hear the church.
Three places with such a huge distance between
them, this is only happening in Israel, in Jaffa. Of
course, also in Jerusalem, but there it is more
something that is very related to the holy land.
I remember when I was a kid, people used to tell me
that I was living in the city that celebrates the most
holidays in the world. This city celebrates Jewish
holidays, Muslim holidays and Christian holidays.
I always used to see it in the windows. The crosses
if it was Christmas, the crescent if it was Ramadan
or the hanukkiah if it was the Jewish Hanukkah.
I have always found it to be very multicultural. My
grandparents, they had a textile factory and they
used to have employees from all the people of
Jaffa. These were Christians, Muslims… I remember
walking around them and seeing that there was
a very good vibe between them all. Great harmony,
great friendship, they were working and laughing
all the time, eating together, drinking together…
This is definitely my biggest inspiration for the
creation of the lyrics for ORPHANED LAND, for the
concept and things that I stand for. I take my home
city and my childhood as a very big influence.
So, when did the biggest source of confusion start
inside you?
The biggest confusion for me started when
I became a teenager. I started to get fed up with the
newspapers and other people’s opinions, whether
if it was about Muslims or about Christians or
the opinions of Muslims about Jews. For a short
period, I was very confused and thought that
maybe an Arab wanted to kill me or something
like that. There were always some stories about
bloodshed in Jaffa. It was not 100 percent stories
of coexistence and friendship. There were stories
of both kinds. I am trying to be a positive being.
I strongly remember the positive stories. I embrace
them and take them with me. I was confused
because they always taught us even in school that
Isaac and Ishmael, they were brothers. Isaac is the
father of Judaism and Ishmael is the father of Arabs
and both of them are the sons of Abraham. I was
always confused why we are fighting with the Arabs
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