Israeli folk icon to star as evil granny
Miri Aloni, known for her street performances, calls role in new TV series a much-needed break
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
The years haven’t been easy for Miri Aloni, the Israeli folk singer known for performing many Israeli classics.
It was Aloni who sang “Shir LaShalom” (Song for Peace) next to former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, minutes before his assassination at a 1995 peace rally.
However, the platinum blonde singer, now 65, who performs on Tel Aviv’s Nahalat Binyamin Street every Friday, may be getting the break she’s been waiting for.
Aloni will play a lead role on YES’s new series, “Laharog et Savta” (Kill Grandma), about a manipulative, evil matriarch who controls her family’s crime business.
“This is the break I’ve been waiting for,” she told a reporter from “Good Evening with Guy Pines.”
The singer, who first rose to fame at the age of 18 during her army service, and spent years performing on stage and recording albums, also spoke about her estrangement from her son, Yirmi Jeremiah Umani, who hasn’t spoken to her in 15 years.
The 30-year-old, who is now a rapper and performs in local commercials, stopped speaking to Aloni when she moved to Germany to record an album while he was still a child. At the time, her then-husband, Samuel Omni, underwent eye surgery and their two sons ended up at a children’s home in Tel Aviv, she told the Guy Pines reporter.
“You learn to live with the pain,” she said. “It’s pain like any other chronic pain.”
Aloni said she wanted to get her son a role on the new YES series, but was told that he wasn’t interested in her help.
“He doesn’t realize it’s all about your connections,” she said.
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