Aussie singer honours Bibas family

“My only intent – and nothing else – was to express that I, along with a nation of people and its diasporan congregation, care profoundly about what has happened to you and want to restore and lift your spirits – for a moment, or for the rest of your life, if that’s what you want. As the Hebrew saying teaches, ‘what comes from the heart, enters the heart.’”

These are the words shared with Yarden Bibas by Liana Levin, a semi-retired government public policy advisor, performer and vocal recording artist from Canberra. They accompanied her re-imagined recording of Amen, dedicated to Yarden and in honour of his family, Shiri, Ariel and Kfir who were killed by Hamas terrorists in captivity following their abduction during the October 7 massacre.

Amen, composed by Moshe Datz with lyrics by Hamutal Ben-Ze’ev, was performed by Liora as Israel’s entry to the 1995 Eurovision Song Contest. It’s a powerful anthem for peace and love and for Levin, the word which is said in unison after brachot and tfilot, “expresses our collective as Am Israel. Saying Amen in one voice, becol echad, galvanises us. Unites.”

“When an entire nation of people lined the streets the length and breadth of Israel, to stand with Yarden in mourning – I was struck by this powerful symbol of unity. That we all shared his loss,” Levin told The AJN when asked why she chose the song. “I wanted to re-create a visual and aural metaphor of that moment, that broadcast, which reinforced our togetherness with Yarden, and for all who have suffered through this terrible crisis.”

Levin recalled that the sight of everyone lined up to support Yarden struck her, compelling her back into the recording studio after a 20-year hiatus.

“Music has always been my default form of expression, when words fail. It also gives me a way to contribute and connect to my Jewish world,” she said. “It’s always been a focus of my community life – I’ve sung in the Sydney and Melbourne Jewish communities – and in the mainstream – since I was eight.”

Levin explained that she chose close harmonies and a large a capella chorus to create the metaphor of a choir. The song was arranged by Adam Starr, who Levin described as “the best arranger in town”.

For Levin, Yarden is emblematic of the sacrifice the Jewish world has made in the name of a free Jewish homeland.

“I was struck by the unravelling of his family’s tragic story and could not process the enormity of it. In the words of a James Taylor song, ‘cos there’s way too much emotion, to hold it in your hand.’ I couldn’t sit back and be a spectator. I had to reach out,” Levin explained.

In the letter sent to Yarden, Levin said she hopes the rearrangement brings him comfort.

“To avert your pain, even momentarily, maybe to help find meaning and hope from our collective grief at your experience and loss. A tiny drop to add to the ocean of respect and love the world has for you,” she wrote.

Proving that music transcends differences, Levin shared that the song moved even the toughest of heavy metal bands.

Following the recording of Amen at Canberra’s Lake City Records, owner Kojo Anjah (also known as Citizen Kay) met with members of a heavy metal band to discuss a potential project.

“Young head-bangers, typically kitted out with long wild hair, scary expressions, combat boots metal stud chokers and piercings in every orifice. You get the picture,” Levin described. “They asked him what kinds of music he’s produced and recorded. He replied, ‘all types – even Chinese Opera. I even recorded a Hebrew song over the last couple of months’. To his surprise, the heavy metal band was keen to hear it. When it finished playing, the band’s drummer, the scariest looking one of all, said ‘I have goosebumps’.”

In Levin’s version of the beautiful song, Yarden’s name is sung in harmony in place of “amen”. She said she hopes the song helps “make the human spirit strong”.