Ya Ghorbati

In the multimedia album Ya Ghorbati: Divas in Exile, singer Laura Elkeslassy musically excavates her family’s history in Morocco, France, and Israel/Palestine, coming face-to-face with forgotten ancestors and reclaiming a lost family name. Developed in collaboration with music director Ira Khonen Temple, this project weaves together the stories of Judeo-Arab divas from the last century with new performances and interpretations of their music. Ya Ghorbati looks across time and space to tell a tale of political upheaval, exile, and displacement—ultimately questioning the supposed binary of Arab and Jew.