Israeli singer Noa has a hug for the pope in Poland
‘It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. What a wonderful man he is,’ songstress writes on Facebook
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Israeli-born singer Achinoam Nini, known by her stage name Noa, met Pope Francis in Poland for a meeting that ended in a warm embrace.
Noa posted the “beautiful and moving” pictures of the Krakow encounter on her Facebook page, expressing her joy at what she said was “one of the most beautiful moments” of her life.
In the text accompanying the series of images, Nini thanked the Israeli envoy to the Vatican, Zion Evrony, for orchestrating the meeting, and said that she presented the pope with a copy of Israeli author David Grossman’s 2011 book, “The Hug.” She then asked the pontiff if she could actually hug him, and his reaction was to “open his arms wide.”
Nini said also the two discussed a peace initiative with which she is involved, which promotes dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians. In 2009, she was Israel’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, performing a duet in Hebrew, Arabic and English with Arab Israeli singer Mira Awad.
Dear friends,here are beautiful and moving photos of my meeting with Pope Francis in Krakow. I was so honored to have…
Posted by Noa (Achinoam Nini) on Thursday, August 11, 2016
The singer has previously performed at the Vatican for Pope Francis, and in 1994 she also sang for Pope John Paul II. According to the Israel’s Walla website, the singer has performed at least 10 times for heads of the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis also traveled to Poland last month, on a trip that included a visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. He met there with Holocaust survivors as well as Poles who saved Jews from the Nazis, and walked through the camp in silent contemplation.
The Times of Israel Community.