Azerbaijan is sending a Jewish singer to Eurovision with a message of ‘peace and love’
Asaf Mishiyev, the lead singer of Mamagama, says he never faces antisemitism in Baku, and offers support to Israel’s Yuval Raphael: ‘We’re proud of her and we hope she will shine’
Amy Spiro is a reporter and writer with The Times of Israel
If anyone can bring a bit of peace and harmony to the Eurovision Song Contest this year, Mamagama believes that it is up to the job.
The three-man band from Azerbaijan, made up of a Jewish singer, Lebanese-Russian guitarist and ethnic Azeri drummer, will represent their country this year at the annual competition and hope to also represent a symbol of coexistence, tolerance and love.
“We’re like a big family, really, in our band,” Asaf (Safael) Mishiyev, the lead singer of Mamagama and a proud Mountain Jew (also known as Kavkazi Jews), told The Times of Israel in a recent Zoom interview.
“I think our band can demonstrate this because we’re just like a tolerant Azerbaijani model, because I’m a Jew, Hasan, my friend is a Lebanese Arab and my friend Arif is Azerbaijani,” he added.
The trio got together not too long ago, with Mishiyev — who started Mamagama in 2021 — recruiting Hasan Heydar to join him on guitar and Arif Imanov on drums more recently.
The group will be competing at the Eurovision in Basel next month with their song “Run With U,” a techno-pop tune that somehow blends ’80s vibes with futuristic notes and the appearance of the saz, a traditional Azerbaijani string instrument.
Mishiyev, 32, grew up in Azerbaijan’s small Jewish community, which lives peacefully in the Muslim-majority nation.
“We are Mountain Jews, we are originally from the city of Quba, but I was born in Baku,” he said, referring to the ancient Jewish community from the Caucasus region. “My mother is Jewish, my father is Jewish, in Azerbaijan we have two Jewish schools, we have a music school and I’m a teacher in this music school.”
Mishiyev said he speaks a smattering of Hebrew, has many friends and family in Israel and has visited twice, once on a Taglit Birthright trip and another time to take part in a music competition.
Azerbaijan melting pot
The band members all agree that in Azerbaijan, their ethnic backgrounds are never an issue.
“It absolutely doesn’t matter, your nationality, your religion, traditions or anything… everyone lives here in peace and love,” said Mishiyev.
Heydar chimed in that the community can “identify themselves freely as Jews and there is no harassment about it.”
At the same time, Mishiyev said, “Every Jew who is born here in Azerbaijan feels like Azerbaijan is his motherland. Azerbaijan is my motherland, I’m very proud that this year I can represent Azerbaijan at the Eurovision.”
Mishiyev has long set his sights on the Eurovision, entering a TV competition in 2014 aimed at representing Azerbaijan. In 2020, he competed on Russia’s “The Voice,” auditioning with a song by Israeli singer Asaf Avidan. And in 2023, Mamagama submitted a song to the internal selection committee and was shortlisted but ultimately not selected.
Last year, Heydar helped write and produce “Özünlə apar,” which represented Azerbaijan at the competition in Malmo. Finally, this year, the newly formed trio was selected by an internal committee to compete in the Eurovision with “Run With U.”
“It’s a great opportunity — it was always a great opportunity to show the music, show our talents,” said Heydar.
The group hopes that the international exposure from Eurovision would help catapult their careers to the next level, and have a number of songs lined up to release following the contest. They’re also opening for pop-rock band One Republic at their concert in Baku later this month.
‘Shout out to Yuval’
With the contest just six weeks away, the trio is excited to begin taking part in the pre-contest gatherings and meet their fellow Eurovision competitors. They’ve already been listening to the 36 other songs and picking their favorites — pointing to songs from Malta, Austria, Albania, Ireland — and Israel.
“We love Israel’s song, it’s a very touching song, a very beautiful song,” said Mishiyev, sending his love to Israeli singer Yuval Raphael, who will perform “New Day Will Rise” at the contest in Basel.
“Shout out to Yuval, big hugs to her, we’re proud of her and we hope she will shine,” added Heydar.
Their attitude is in sharp contrast to the repeated efforts to have Israel banned from the competition and those who plan to boo or boycott Raphael, as many did last year to Israel’s Eden Golan.
“We are very sad about this because Eurovision is a music contest, music is first,” said Mishiyev. “We are very sad when someone is mixing politics or something in a music contest.”
Heydar said that if “someone is harassing another contestant for politics or something like that, we’re very sad about it, because this is a music contest and not a political debate,” while Imanov chimed in: “Music should unite people.”
Azerbaijan itself is no stranger to geopolitical controversy, with its own ongoing conflict with Armenia often coming into play in Eurovision tensions, and Baku also facing some criticism over its participation.
But for Mamagama, the competition is just about the music.
“The melody is first for us,” said Mishiyev. “It’s our message.”
The Times of Israel Community.