Aussie singer a reality hit

SADDLED with a rucksack and dreams of travelling the world, Sydney native Savannah Zwi left Australia to live on a kibbutz and backpack through Europe.

More than five years later, the 27-year-old singer-songwriter has found herself married to an Israeli and starring in a new online reality series called Is.Real, which tracks the lives of four 20-something Israelis from diverse backgrounds living in the often chaotic and colourful reality of Israeli society.

Initiated by the Tel Aviv University branch of StandWithUs – a non-profit international organisation that aims to educate the public about Israel and combat extremism – the series is being screened on YouTube and is quickly becoming an internet sensation.

Zwi said she had no qualms about appearing in a reality series in a foreign country or how she might be portrayed as the resident oleh chadash, or new immigrant.

“I didn’t distrust [the producers] for a minute, nor worry about being portrayed badly,” the Masada College graduate told The AJN this week.

“We have the same interests at heart – to change public opinion about Israel for the better. The way I see it, I’m just a humble musician, and this is my opportunity to help change the world.”

Zwi appears alongside Yair, a 21-year-old tour guide from the West Bank; Shay, a 26-year-old professional basketball player for the Israeli national team; and Ayman, a 20-year-old Arab-Israeli who works in fashion and lives in Tel Aviv.

As part of the project, each participant was given a video camera to document their daily happenings.

For Zwi, it meant that, for three months, she carried the camera as she traipsed to performances, gigs, rehearsals, friend’s flats and popular local hangouts across Tel Aviv.

“I took the camera everywhere with me, even on a trip with my husband’s family to Bulgaria on a family roots tour,” said Zvi, who speaks fluent Hebrew.

But from time to time, a crew came to film her. “In May, I had a series of huge performances singing with the Ashdod Symphony Orchestra and in events like this, a full camera crew was present.”

She is working on her second album, A Call From Home, which will be a compilation of translated Israeli songs that she delivers with her own jazz-oriented twist.

To watch the latest episode visit youtube.com/user/IsReal2011TLV.

CHANTAL ABITBOL

Savannah Zwi. Photo: Aner Tal