The Eurovision is still far away, but Dana International already has one prize in her pocket. Dana received the prize for the best video clip of the year for the clip she shot for ‘Cinque milla’, the hit from her last album. Dana got the prize in the Israeli "Golden Feather" awards show held on January 6. The prize itself, NIS 15 000 [US$ 5000], will be shared between four people: Ofer Nisim, for the music; Guy Sagie, the director; Toby Hochstein, the camera man; and Dana herself for the lyrics and performance. Three judges picked this video clip: Guy Maymon, Nicole Goldwasser and Yoav Ginai, who also wrote the lyrics for Dana's Eurovision song 'Diva'.

Dana got on stage with a special costume and a stunning hairstyle together with Nisim, her personal manager, and Sagie, the producer of her video clip. Dana was the only one to speak and she said with big excitement that she was very proud to get this prize and hoped that everyone will learn from Sagie's excellent directing. The 'Cinque milla' video clip was photographed at a cost of US$ 15 000, and it won a prize a few months ago in the Haifa Movie Festival. These days, Guy Sagie is cooperating once more with la International in directing the new video clip for 'Diva', the song which will represent us in Europe. Good Night.

 

Since Dana International was chosen to represent us in the Eurovision Song Contest, she has excommunicated the Israeli media. Why waste time on Gidi Gov and Dan Shilon, when the world media are chasing after her, the international record companies are offering her contracts, and even Jean Paul Gaultier is asking her to let him design her a dress for the contest.

Since Dana International was chosen to represent us in the Eurovision Song Contest, we hardly see her here. On the other hand, out in the big world she is the star. The foreign media interest in the Israeli singer is huge, and not only in Europe. Bob Simon, an American CBS reporter, has accompanied Dana the last few months in order to make a documentary program about her. The extravagant French weekly magazine 'Paris Match' devoted five pages to her, television stations from Argentine to Australia are begging for her to come and be interviewed and offering to broadcast her music videos, but eventually almost all of them receive a negative answer.

The huge interest out in the world is the reason why Dana lately has been forced to refuse, almost to a point of irritation, invitations from the most prestigious programs in Israel. Not only the classic talk-shows like "Dan Shilon Show", "Lila Gov" and "Weekend", but also actuality programs like "Fact", "Journal" and the weekend edition of the news. Someone who can refuse all these offers apparently must have a good reason.

After interviews for "Good Morning America", "Sky News" and "CNN", Dana has no strength left. Ofer Nisim, her musical and personal manager: "It's really exaggerated what's happening in the world these days. We can't keep up with the rhythm. I talk about television. In the beginning in was very fun, but there no end to it. Television and radio stations, in every country, more and more. Enough."

"The international media just cannot understand this matter", said Yoav Ginai, who wrote the lyrics for 'Diva'. "They cannot understand how a country like Israel, with the whole religious and confidence crisis, a country which seems to be very conservative, is sending someone like Dana. It looks very weird to them."

The summary of the last chapters, for those who have not been here lately: Two months ago Dana was chosen by the professional committee of Reshot ha-Shidur (The Israeli Broadcasting Authority) to represent us in the Eurovision Song Contest which will take place in Birmingham, England in four months. She will sing the song 'Diva', written by Yoav Ginai and Tzvika Pik, a song that the public still haven't heard.

The recording of the song ‘Diva’ ended last week. The recordings were done at the "Village" studios in Herzliya, a town north of Tel-Aviv. The backing vocals of the song were made by Shirley Tzapari and Galit Dahan, two unknown singers. A very big surprise was the addition of opera backing vocals by Efrat Rotem.

Since the minute of her winning until this moment, International's life has not been the same. All the media in Israel and Europe are putting pressure on her day and night, record companies abroad send her seductive offers of contracts ready for signature, she is asked to do shows all over Europe as well as outside. In brief, the world is upside down.

Dana has sold more than 90,000 copies of her last three albums in Israel, but that is only the tip of the iceberg - if you believe the promises made by the international record companies which show interest in her. Dana and Ofer Nisim took one offer seriously, and simultaneously with the work of 'Diva' for the contest, these days they are working on a foreign album. Nisim: "It will be an album with eight songs, among them 'Maganona' and 'Power' in club remixes. Maybe we should make a new version of 'Ani lo yekhola'. Everything is adapted to a dance floor audience."

- What about 'Yeshnan banot'?
"If we do 'Yeshnan banot' we will go all the way and do it like 'Barbie Girl', and believe me, it will be much more interesting. The goal is that most of the songs that we are working on will be channeled in house and trance directions. It could open many doors for us, especially in the gay community in Europe. We get endless offers of doing shows from them. Dana is really an idol for all the communities in Europe."

In order to demonstrate the hysteria, Nisim told us that last week he got a fax from Jean-Paul Gaultier who asked them the privilege of preparing Dana’s dress for the contest.

The answer was negative. The reason: A dress design contest which will be arranged for her by the students of Shenkar, a famous Israeli design school in Tel Aviv. The winning dress will go with Dana to the Eurovision. Nisim: "That's what Dana decided. She felt very Zionistic." But still, Gaultier's offer is very tempting.

The last few days, Dana and her team have been working on a crazy schedule. Last week they finished recording 'Diva', and besides, adds Ofer, "We are busy most of the day refusing offers."

"We said no to German television, which offered to make a documentary film of Dana, and to three primetime programs in France. We are making an effort not to lose all proportion, and to see how things are progressing."

Dana International is not a long-time gimmick, but a very popular singer in the local market, who even won the title ‘Singer of the Year’. It all began in '93 when the song 'Sa'ida Sultana' was released to the radio, then she was just Dana. Her second song was 'Dana International', and since then the name has stuck.

With the songs, the rumors about the unclear past of the singer began. And eventually people found out: Dana was once Yaron Cohen, a lean Yemenite boy who had sex change surgery in May '93. From this moment Dana stopped hiding and started to speak freely about this matter. She even once told 'Ma'ariv La-no'ar' that she wants to adopt children, but "Not before I have a sound economic basis."

Her career was managed, almost from the beginning, on two parallel channels - the musical and the scandalous. And she didn't have a lack of scandals. Once her show was canceled because of pressure from the orthodox, another time Rabbi Ovadia Yosef passed a sentence according to the Jewish law that no one is allowed to dress up like Dana International, and there was more of the sort.

Because of this, MK Shlomo Ben-Izri’s (Shas) attack on Dana when he found out that she would represent us was quite expected. "An abomination," he said about her. "Her choice represents darkness onto the Gentiles. I'm ashamed of this decision and I will do anything to change it." He also had an original idea: To replace the singer with the orthodox star Avraham Fried.

- Ofer, doesn't this exaggerated interest in her personal matters, instead of her musical matters, bother Dana?
"The truth is that she is sick of all this interest in her personal life, but that's not the main thing these days. It's obvious that all this interest is also because of the gimmick, but when a country turns to us more than 20 times, and in another country, 5 television stations compete for an interview with her, then I imagine that her 'Cinque milla' music video and the madness of her music can definitely interest the world."

- How do you deal with the declarations of Ben-Izri and others?
"It's only a minority of the country, and it does not make us think that there is more openness in other countries. I'm sure that there are some countries that are much more primitive than ours."

- How did she react to the things the kippa-wearers said about her?
"The truth is that she is kind of used to it. It's not the first time the orthodox attack her. The last time was in a show in the Luna-Park. The orthodox made a riot and someone turned off the electricity."

- Doesn't it hurt her?
"Dana usually reacts in these situations, and I'm sure that she said a few sentences. But she is very strong. It can be a burden and make her sad, but she gains strength and understand that this is only a minority. It doesn't represent the country."

- What was Dana's first reaction when she heard about her choice to represent us in Europe?
"She said 'I cannot believe it'. She was very shocked and very excited. She didn't scream, she just sat open-mouthed for five minutes, she couldn't digest it. But afterwards she said: 'Of course. It couldn't be different'. She feels people’s love for her every time she walks in the street."

- Can she walk in the streets?
"She really makes an effort. When she walks in the street, she wears new sunglasses and a new hairstyle every time. But it makes it all more fun to her."

Dana was not always such a big idol. At the beginning of her career there were many who didn't know how to react to her. One of them was Yoav Ginai, who wrote songs for her anyway: "They turned to me and ask me to write for them. It was simply a boy that became a girl. I wrote ‘Fata Morgana’ for her as a reaction to that thing. I remember there was a line in the song "My name is Danny or Dana, Fata Morgana." She wouldn't sing it. She was very frightened to emphasize this matter. She didn't want to make a matter of her sexuality. All the idea was to come across as a normal singer. Then we changed the line."

Dana, for all that, is known as an artist who does not hide her opinions, and accordingly she has many times been accused of being provocative. Ginai: "She always says her opinion about anything. She never hides what she is and who she is. She didn't hide the fact that she believes in God for example. She is against religious coercion. She has an extraordinary ability for expression. She always expresses herself and speaks in a clear and unequivocal way"

Ginai was among the first to write for her. "At the beginning it was madness to write songs to that thing, but what impressed me was her determination. She came across with a lot of power and ambition. It made a big impression on me, that she, as a transsexual, came out to the Israeli entertainment world at the beginning of the 90s and wanted to be a singer."

Later Ginai wrote more songs for Dana, among them 'Layla tov, Eropa', from the '95 Kdam-Eurovision two years ago (she ended up second) and of course now 'Diva'. Ginai: "Yes. It's true, I wrote more songs for her, but afterwards it was no big deal. All the big writers wrote for her, even Ehud Manor. It was already legitimate. We can say that today she is embraced by all Israeli celebrities. But she achieved that in her nails. It was very important for her to escape the gimmick thing, to prove herself as a singer. And she is a very good singer."

- What are the chances of 'Diva' to win, in your opinion?
"The song is excellent. It's a very 'up to date' song and it is not similar to the songs Israel has sent to the Eurovision before. It's very connected to the rhythms of today. It's a dance song and it's much more happening and made for a young audience."

Ofer Nisim is sure that the song will succeed big time: "Every one who heard it said that it should come first, and it will. Dana and I hope that it will go peacefully, that Dana will represent Israel with honor and get to the top."

We just have to wait and see. It's almost four months until Dana will go on stage in the Eurovision, and give all she has for three minutes, and hope for the best. Of course we want her to return with the trophy. "But even if she doesn't come back with the trophy", said Ginai, "she already will have in a way. She added a very liberal and correct facet to the image of our country. We are quite special. Dana International is ours."

 

Two and a half months after the selection of ‘Diva’, and the public still hasn't heard the song yet. According to European Broadcasting Union rules, the release of Eurovision songs was allowed from the beginning of this month. But at the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, people aren't in a hurry to publish the song, and count on a high rating at the premiere showing, probably at the Amnon Levy show ‘Sogrim shavu'a’ [Week-end] early next month. Only after then, the release of the song to radio stations will be allowed.

But what we'll see at ‘Sogrim shavu'a’ is still not clear. It won't be the video-clip which the singer is shooting in these days at a cost of US$ 20 000, produced by Guy Sagie, the one who directed Dana's winning ‘Music Video of the Year’ - ‘Cinque milla’. In the video-clip, Dana will show as ten different ‘Diva’ characters of, taking the chance to show her acting skills, different and strange hairstyles, dresses - among them dresses designed by Yaron Minkovsky and Galit Levy.

This video-clip, which uses very modern editing techniques and is supposed to promote the song and the singer in television stations and dance clubs around Europe, doesn't match the ‘soft’ and ‘solid’ exposure which is demanded for ‘Sogrim shavu'a’. There, the ‘Diva’ will have to look as similar as possible to the planned performance at the Eurovision, including the backing vocalists (until now, only three out of the four have been chosen: Galit Dahan, Shirley Tzafari and Lilach Koch). A copy of that performance will also be given to the BBC, the producer of the Eurovision at Birmingham, by March 23rd, for it to be included in the compilation of the contest songs which will be distributed to the participating countries.

By the way, because of the big demand in Europe to show the songs before the Eurovision, the secretariat of the European Broadcasting Union made it clear that every country may broadcast its song inside its borders for an unlimited number of times, but only once the songs of the other countries, as and then as part of the compilation (read above), so that "No song will have any advantage over the others."

 

Guy Sagie is the best music videos director in Israel. After the amazing 'Cinque milla', he is launching Dana International to the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Diva'. A story of a champion. By Hamutal Kinen.

Everyone wants to be on television. If not as an interviewer, then at least being interviewed, and if not to speak about themselves, then to be backstage and direct some kind of series for primetime viewing. Maybe it will come as a surprise for you, but there are some types who don’t relate to all this bullshit. Take for Guy Sagie example, the best music videos director in Israel.

Sagie is the one responsible for 'Diva'. The music video that will go with Dana to the Eurovision Song Contest coming May. Their relationship started when he directed the amazing music video for 'Cinque milla' for her, a killer music video of international standard. Sagie proved with that work that he understands pop culture and her image in a way no one did in Israel until then.

His catching visuals, combined with the rare artistic abilities of the designer Reuven Cohen, created a real masterpiece. Dana rode on a huge banana, walked on a catwalk, changed hairstyles and colors, and was simply divine. Guess thanks to whom? The music video won a trophy in the Haifa video festival as well as the 'Gold Feature' prize.

Guy Sagie was born in Naharia, lived for two years in London, studied one year in 'Camera Obscura', and decided that cinema is all he wants to do. So he attended cinema school in Jerusalem. Today, he earns his living from directing advertisements, like everyone else. And since you asked about 'Cinque milla', the work on that one started like this: "Helicon brought me the album and wanted me to direct a music for one song from it. The minute I heard 'Cinque milla', I insisted it had to be it. I had a completely different script in my head, but when Ofer Nisim shortened the song for the clip, it sounded much more noisy, in a crazy Techno-House style. So I went in a fascistic direction. I wanted to present Dana as a singer with good acting skills, a very dominant woman."

- How did you arrive at the giant banana part?
"When I heard the song, the only thing I understood from all the gibberish was: 'Come on everybody, buy for me a big banana'. So I said to myself: if she wants a banana, she will get one. Dana is an excellent performer, and I wish the best of our singers would behave like her. She works 14 hours, and changes at least 10 outfits. Everyone is almost fainting from exhaustion, and she still performs everything easily. She has a body women would kill for. We can get her into a size 36. Look at her in the video, she looks different from before."

The work with 'Diva' finished recently. From the first pictures it seems that 'Diva' is a much calmer product from 'Cinque'. But still, Dana is Dana, and she is going to destroy Europe with that music video. Expect it sometime the next few weeks. It will be fire. "We should have been more gentle," Sagie continues, "you know, it's going to the Eurovision. I have no intention of scaring a grandmother in Finland. So we did a video, a beautiful one, with a strong musical context. In the clip, Dana is presented on 10 different album covers, in each one of them she looks like another Diva, and the covers are changed in a three dimensional way."

- There is no intention to tell who Dana really is in the clip?
"No. Not on the level of a guy disguised as a woman. We didn't want to approach it that way. I think it's repulsive."

- It seems like you succeeded once more with the look.
"In Haifa I did an editing shift with 'Flame' (a progressive editing tool). You see, it costs $5000 for one shift. But in one shift we didn't manage to finish everything. So the people at 'Gravity Post Production' gave us a hand. They helped us in a creative way. The 'Flame' brings out a colorfulness in the video that we don't often see in this country."

- A suggestion for Dana, before the big contest.
"Dana has all the tools to 'make it'. She doesn't need my suggestions. She will look terrific and the song is very communicative. Even if she doesn't win, she is going to succeed in Europe and abroad. She will destroy Europe. You will see!"

 

What exactly took place behind the scenes with the decision to expose 'Diva', which will represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest, in the news program 'Mabat' [view] on Channel One? It seems Dana International's managers were quite unsatisfied with Reshot Ha-shidur’s attitude.

Reshot Ha-shidur wasn't willing to invest in filming a music video of the live performance, or in the resources and the investment that a rating explosion like Dana International deserves. In addition to this, the Reshot saved half a million dollars on not arranging the Kdam-Eurovision - showing a very stingy attitude. Eventually, Dana was forced to film a music video, herself investing US$ 20 000, and gave it to the television.

Very tense and nervous negotiations began between the parties. Channel One suggested that the premiere screening of 'Diva' would take place in the Meni Peaer’s program, but the singer, her manager Ofer Nisim, and her artistic advisor Shai Kerem made it clear that they wouldn't allow the premiere screening of 'their' music video in his program, but would like a more important program with more viewers. The representatives of the singer also postponed other offers made by Channel One like 'Closing the week' with Amnon Levi, and the main Purim program 'Where we are'. Dana didn't agree.

After more consideration it was decided to adopt the position of the singer and her people, and to broadcast the music video as a final item in the news edition 'Mabat' next Sunday. The day after Dana will go to Paris and Rome in order to take part in television shows. In Paris, she will also meet with the known fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier.

The premiere live performance of 'Diva' like it will be performed in the Eurovision will, despite all this, happen on Channel Two. It will be in the 'Queen of Beauty Ceremony' of La-isha, on 24 March. The ceremony will be held at the 'Cinerama' in Tel-Aviv, and it will be broadcast live.

 

The dispute around the first broadcast of 'Diva' is still on. The decision of Reshot Ha-shidur [The Israeli Broadcasting Authority] to broadcast the premiere of Dana International singing her Eurovision song in 'Mabat' (View) next Sunday, survived only three days. Yesterday morning a new timing was decided on: ‘Closing the week’ with Amnon Levy, this Shabbat evening, 13 March.

"We succeeded in convincing Rafik Halabi, the manager of the news section, to include the music video in 'Mabat'. But still, they had big doubts. "We’re not entirely convinced," one of the people in the television told us. "It's not 'Mabat' material. We had doubts, and we came to the conclusion that it would be more correct to broadcast it on the Amnon Levy show 'Closing the week'."

"Levy gave up on having Dana present in the studio and agreed to broadcast the music video, although all singers in his show only sing live. Dana and her managers agreed to this solution too."

- And what about the religious viewers?
"We take them into account. We haven't decided yet if there will be a rerun of 'Closing the week' after the Shabbat, but we will surely put the music video in other shows."

Managers at Channel One yesterday said they were "fed up" with the singer and her managers, their refusal of their other offers, among others, with the argument that there was a lack of time. But then they found the time to do rehearsals for Dana's show at the 'Queen of Beauty Ceremony', which will be broadcast live, and besides that in a competing channel, Channel Two.

 

'Diva', the song which will represent us in the Eurovision Song Contest, will be broadcast tonight in a premiere on Channel One. The song is performed by the singer Dana International, and will be broadcast in the program 'Closing the week' with Amnon Levy.

The song won't be performed live because of a dispute between the singer and her representatives on one hand, and the Israeli Broadcasting Authority on the other, regarding the required investment in the filming of the song, and how to introduce it. Instead, a music video of 'Diva' will be broadcast in the program. The music video was directed by Guy Sagie, photographed by Toby Hochstein and produced by Dalai Medial.

'Diva' is short for ‘divine’, an epithet given to big stars in opera and rock. The writer of the song, Yoav Ginai, tried to find parallels between names of women ‘greater’ than history and mythology and the character of Dana International, in life and on stage. The images in the video were designed to look like covers of stars from records from the past.
The Eurovision Song Contest will be held on 5 May in Birmingham, England. The Israeli song will be the eighth among the 25 countries that will take part in the contest.

Here are the words of the song 'Diva' (lyrics: Yoav Ginai - music: Tzvika Pik) for the first time:

There is a woman greater than life / She has senses nobody else has / There is magic and there are hard days / And a stage which is all hers // For the angels, Diva is an empire / On stage, Diva is hysteria / All of her is a love song // Viva, we will shout in joy, Viva Victoria Aphrodite / Viva La Diva Viva Victoria Cleopatra // There are women, the tears of life / They will say a wordless prayer / For the angels, Diva is an empire / On stage, Diva is hysteria / All of her is a love song...

 

Israel’s Eurovision representative is visiting France these days and is stirring up a lot of curiosity: 30 media people attended a press conference she held. "I represent courage," she said, "the orthodox believe in things that happened thousands of years ago, but I believe in democracy. And Israel is a democratic country." By Boaz Bysmot.

"Dana International was once a man? No. It can't be. She was born a woman, but the smart Jews decided to tell stories in Europe in order to get attention and bring Israel its third victory in the Eurovision."

Is this a surprising discovery which contradicts all we know about the popular singer? No, not really. But the French are so agitated by the perfect feminine look of the Israeli representative to the Eurovision, that in Paris someone spread a rumor that the whole sex change story is a fat lie.

"Maybe it's an idea of the institution?" asked a handsome man who met Dana in a homosexual club "Queen", where Dana spent some time a few days ago. The possibility that this woman who was standing beside him was once a guy named Yaron Cohen seems to be bordering on the illogical.

Dana arrived in Paris a few days ago in order to meet the famous fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier and to take part in a television program devoted to the Eurovision. Since landing here, the excitement around her is big. The French show a lot of interest in Dana's personal story: When she was chosen to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest, the respected daily newspaper 'Le Monde' devoted an extensive report at the first page to her, and yesterday she gave a long interview to the newspaper 'Libération' and held a press conference.

30 reporters came to the 'Square' hotel in order to meet the singer. Television photographers were there too. Dana came dressed in tight jeans, a blue-white sweater and black boots with her personal manager Ofer Nisim and her artistic adviser Shai Kerem who said with pride : "All the radio stations want to interview her." On the screen, her music video for 'Diva', the song for the Eurovision, was repeated again and again.

Dana told to the reporters that her show in the Eurovision Song Contest is a dream come true for her. "Since I was 8 years old I have wanted to be in that contest." But most of the reporters weren’t interest in the music. They preferred to focus on her special personal story and the treatment she gets in Israel. As a reaction they got a detailed explanation from Dana about the central place of the orthodox parties in Israeli politics.

"I represent courage," she said. "The orthodox don't want women to sing because they are not allowed to hear a woman’s voice. They believe in things that happened thousands of years ago, not democratic things. But I believe in democracy. And Israel is a democratic country."

One of the reporters asked Dana if she doesn't fear for her life. "I believe in God," she answered, "And I believe God will take care of me. At least until the Eurovision Song Contest".

Yesterday morning Dana met the singer Marie Myriam, who gave France the '77 Eurovision victory with the song ‘L’oiseau et l’enfant’, and later she went to take some measurements at Gaultier’s studio. Despite the secrecy of the event, it seems that Gaultier will be the one to design Dana's dress for the Eurovision.

In the evening she took part in the filming of the program 'Viva L' Eurovision', which will be broadcast the coming weekend at 22.55 on the channel 'France 2'. Dana is not the only Israeli who will be mentioned in the program. Yizhar Cohen will be mentioned there as well because of his beloved song ‘Abanibi’.

 

The Magistrate's court in Rechovot has issued an arrest warrant against the singer Dana International, after she failed to arrive for the second time to discuss the matter of a criminal indictment against her. An arrest of this kind may have far-reaching repercussions as the singer is supposed to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest in May. By Itzik Saban.

In November '95, Dana International's show in the coffee house Kapulski in the Kenyocol was stopped because of a small incident. According to the indictment Dana attacked two women, one waitress and one guest. Dana didn't show up for the first discussion of her case in the Magistrate's court in Rechovot, accordingly the judge, Ilana Gat, issued a habeas corpus against her.

"I didn't show up because of a lot of stress in my work," the singer Dana International wrote to the judge: "I'm aware of the importance of the matter and I'm asking forgiveness." She also promised to be stable by any other date to be set for her.

But despite her promise, the singer didn't show up last Thursday for a discussion set up for her. This time judge Gat decided that Dana would be arrested and not be released until she was brought in front of her. The complete story will be published at the end of this week in the local newspaper Ma'ariv 'Arim' [Cities].

 

She believes in God, hates liars, is scared of spiders and dreams to replace the Prime Minister for one day. For her show in the '98 Queen of Beauty Contest' with the song 'Diva' - here are 50 things that you really didn't know about her. By Hagar Lev.

1. She has never done a diet.
2. She doesn't need to do special efforts in order to keep her figure: A little exercise, meals at fixed hours and totally abstention from sweets do the job.
3. Of all kinds of food, her favorite one is Chinese: Beef in a sour Szechuan sauce.
4. For drinks she is a lot less choosy: Mineral water, and if you want to make her something hot: She likes one teaspoon of sugar in instant coffee and two in tea.
5. The most romantic thing she has ever done was having a bubble bath in a room lighted by candles, with relaxing music in the background.
6. The most romantic thing someone did for her was to send hundreds of flowers to her home for the evening of her 23rd birthday. She, by the way, is not willing to reveal who was the one to do it.
7. The most romantic place in her view is Venice. (In Italy.)
8. Her first love was at the age of 22, as usual, she is not willing to say who it was.
9. She is mad about the Luna-Park, and her favorite way of spending time is a visit to 'Disneyland'.
10. She likes to read. Her two last books were 'The Alchemist' and 'The Dream Merchants'.
11. She likes movies, especially comedies. The last movie that she saw was "The Owl and the Kitten".
12. Her favorite singer is Ofra Haza. "No one has a voice like she has," she explains.
13. If she had the possibility to become an animal, she would have chosen to be a black widow spider. An interesting fact taken fact number 43 into consideration.
14. She is not interested in mysticism, and does not believe in astrology or reincarnation.
15. Her least favorite character trait with Israelis is their tendency to gossip too much.
16. Generally, she is satisfied with her body, but if she had the possibility, she would have preferred to be born with bigger eyes and a different chest.
17. The most feminine thing she can think about is a petticoat.
18. If she didn't chose a career as a singer, she would probably have studied law and become a criminal lawyer.
19. Still, her biggest childhood dream was to become a singer or an actress.
20. Her favorite subject in school was English.
21. Her favorite sportswoman is Nadia Commanech. Because of her perfection.
22. If there is something that she feels sorry about, it is her tendency to swear in problematic situations, instead of letting things take care of themselves.
23. And that's not her only problematic habit. She has one more: She likes to fool people.
24. The most irritating thing to annoy her are connected to bad behavior: Betrayal, theft and lies.
25. Still, that does not stop her from lying to others, but she doesn't do it much. Only "when I need to," and she makes an effort to invent only white lies.
26. She is at her happiest only when she is in love. To be more precise: During the first months of love.
27. Movies excite her, and sometimes they even make her cry. The last movie she cried to was 'Breaking the Waves'.
28. It's hard for her to say that she enjoys her publicity. "Only sometimes I enjoy it." She admits "the penetration into my privacy and the yellow press disgust me."
29. That’s why she finds herself missing the time when she used to be anonymous.
30. The most sad thing for her is find out that she hurt someone without intending to. She can even cry because of things like that.
31. She reads newspapers daily, and especially she spends time on the first page and the headlines.
32. She dreams to sing a duet with Cindy Lauper. "But only God knows if it will happen."
33. She has no problems with giving her autograph, even if she is in the middle of something. She always stops, smiles, and signs for everyone.
34. She likes basketball (only Maccabi Tel Aviv) and football. ("I like different players and not the teams".)
35. When she sees a pregnant woman in the street she is always excited. "It's so wonderful to see a woman carrying her child."
36. She is mad about body creams. On her toilette there is more than 10 different creams with different smells.
37. When she gets a new song, she must show it to someone. No matter whom.
38. These days she does not have a boyfriend.
39. Her favorite perfume is 'Le Must de Cartier'.
40. The expression she uses the most is 'Speech is silver, silence is gold".
41. The children's fairy tale that she especially identified with was Cinderella. "Especially because of the prince," she says.
42. If she had the possibility to be another person for one day, she would have chosen to be the Prime Minister.
43. Her worst fear is of animals. And not just animals, but also spiders and crabs.
44. Dana has one sweet animal at home: A poodle named Leri, which Dana is really proud of. It is the only one of its kind in this country.
45. She is impatient and she knows it. Actually, this is the first character trait she would rather get rid of.
46. She is not a television addict, but she is mad about the 'X-Files'.
47. She believes in God. But she does eat nonkosher food, drive on Shabbat and does not light candles. However, she always fasts on Yom Kippur.
48. If you see her in the street, you can assume she will be without any make-up, or maybe only light make-up. She saves the heavy make-up for her shows.
49. Going to a lonely island she would have taken two men: One as a lover, and one as a chef. “But first,” she says, “I would have inquired what there is on this island.”
50. She does not feel sorry about any interview she has given to the media. "I simply don't feel sorry about marginal things in my life."

 

Yesterday, the Israeli beauty queen of ‘98 of was chosen in a very impressive ceremony held in the Cinerama hall in Tel Aviv. The show was broadcast live on channel 2. Dana International’s show, our representative in the Eurovision Song Contest, with 'Diva', was one of the climax moments of the ceremony.

After we have had the opportunity of watching the excellent music video of our entry for this year’s contest - 'Diva' (lyrics: Yoav Ginai - music: Tzvika Pik), we were finally able to see the song performed live as well.

Dana returned from abroad especially to be the star of the Israeli beauty contest and as usual for Dana, she didn't give any interviews to the Israeli press (she only gives interviews to the foreign press!). She was on stage for three minutes only performing the Israeli entry, and then she disappeared.

Dana wore a very special red evening dress designed by Galit Levy, with a long and impressive trail. The four backing singers, who were standing about ten meters behind her, wore black dresses -also by Galit Levy. The choreography was quite disappointing, as Dana and her singers hardly moved at all - in contrast to the choreography of the 1995 entry "Laila tov, Eropa", but still the performance was good and very powerful.

Ofer Nisim, the personal manager of the singer, told us yesterday that this choreography is not going to be the final one for the contest. "It was the first time Dana sang 'Diva' live. We didn't want to focus on the choreography because we thought that the vocal performance is much more important, at least at this moment. Dana came back from France 2 days ago, and she didn't have time to rehearse."

Anyway, there is still more than a month and a half until the Eurovision Song Contest, and we all keep our fingers crossed.

 

The madness, the naughtiness and the quality are outstanding on Dana International’s new compilation album collection.

After the broadcast of 'Diva', Israel’s song for the Eurovision, it's time to sell it. During the last few years of the Kdam-Eurovision, an album of the participating songs was released a day after it. And with Dana? After prolonged negotiations with the record companies, the format for offering 'Diva' to the public has been set. The PR offer of 'Hed Artzi' [a large Israeli record company] to release it as a single or a mini-album (an EP) with three or four songs was postponed in favor of la International’s first compilation album. The lawyer Yohay Hay, the singer’s legal adviser and business manager, was the one who made the decision after he was convinced that the other format is perceived as an inferior one, as well as being short-lived. Truly, a collection will kill Dana’s back catalogue, but it will sell for years and serve her well in the future.

In 'Diva - The Collection' there are 17 songs, 11 have already appeared on her previous albums, and will show her progress as a singer, and how up-to-date her production has been: from 'Fata-Morgana', 'Sa'ida Sultana' and 'Shushu' through 'Petra', 'Yeshnan banot' and 'Don Quixote' ending up with 'Maganona 98' and 'Cinque milla'. The other songs are released on an album for the first time: The exclusive duet with Aron Tzur, 'Sex acher', the progressive house of 'Power', the rising and beautiful cover version of 'Zemer shalosh ha-tshuvot', Dana's first Eurovision attempt in 'Layla tov, Eropa', the gorgeous piano version of 'Ani lo yekhola', and of course 'Diva' with Dana's new motto "There is a woman who is larger than life." This is an extravaganza in action. The phenomenon, the daring, the madness, the queerness, the naughtiness, the folly and the quality. An international sound with an Israeli flavor.

The album is adorned with photographs from her new video clip and a new logo: Like 'Supergirl' with a big 'D' on it. The collection is the result ofcooperation between 'Dana Music', the new production company of la International, the label 'IMP Dance' , on which Dana released her first two albums, and 'Helicon', where she released her last album.

 

The decision of Ilana Gat, the judge of the Magistrate's Court: The arrest warrant against Dana International, the Israeli representative in the Eurovision Song Contest, will not be withdrawn, and therefore she will be arrested and she will be brought to court. "No more mercy."

The decision of the judge was given as a response to the appeal of International's defence, the lawyer Shmuel Zeng, who asked to have the arrest warrant that was taken out against his client withdrawn, towards a commitment to deliver a guarantee promising that she would present herself at the next hearing on her case. "There is no reason to agree with the request, since the accused has already been freed from the condition of bail, but that did not guarantee her coming to court," the judge determined yesterday. On 19 March, judge Gat took out an arrest warrant against the singer accused of attacking a waitress, after International failed to arrive twice to discuss her case.

According to the indictment that was presented against her in November '95, International attacked a waitress and another woman during a show at the "Kenyochol" at Rishon le-Zion. The singer was accused of attacking and of causing intentional damage. As a result from the fact that Dana failed to arrive to previous hearings, a habeas corpus was taken out against her, but it was put off at the instructions of the court, after International committed herself to arrive to the next hearings in her case. But despite her commitment, the singer didn't come for a hearing set to 19 March this year. Judge Gat was furious about it, and decided to take out an arrest warrant without exemption against Dana International. The judge determined, that the singer would be arrested - and released only presenting herself court. International has rented the services of lawyer Shmuel Zeng, and through him she appealed yet again to the compassion of the court. This time the judge determined that there is no more compassion. The request of the lawyer was denied despite his promise that "there is no doubt that his client will arrive in court from now on." The arrest warrant which was taken out against International was delivered to her mother, after the judges who arrived at her house didn't find her there.

 

One month before the Eurovision Song Contest and Dana International has no time to spare. A first version of the song 'Diva' will be sent to a video production team abroad this week. Next week, she will go to France, for a meeting with the fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier. Tal Pery was at the rehearsals towards the big moment.

A month before the journey to the Eurovision Song Contest in Birmingham, England - and the signs of the physical and mental efforts are starting to show in Dana International. She arrived with a cold for her first rehearsal of the song 'Diva', held in Friday noon. When the team took breaks, she went aside and wiped her nose with a handkerchief. "It's because of the dust," she explains, but when the playback starts to run again and the four backing singers settle in the original position, Dana forgets everything.

Her public relations team is working overtime these days. This week, she released a compilation album which includes 'Diva'. Next week, she is flying to France to take part in a prestigious program, and for a second meeting with Jean Paul Gaultier, who will design her dress for the Eurovision. Dana's backing singers will have to be content with Galit Levy's 'Made In Israel' designs.

Before the journey to the contest, held on 9 May, there are a lot of rehearsals. The director Ofer Shafrir, whose past experience includes three Eurovision Song Contests, was asked to do the choreography of 'Diva'. His key sentence is "Less is more". He creates an impressive minimalist choreography to the song, which will keep Dana in the center of the main camera most of the time, while her backing singers move in slow steps, properly scheduled, from one side of her to the other, and make up an aesthetic humane background, without stealing her focus for even a second.

"It's a classic choreography for the cameras," explains Shafrir, "We don't base ourselves on a stormy dance and a lot of movements. On the contrary: The goal is that every little movement will get a much stronger effect because all the girls will do it together. The truth is it's really good. Only today I showed the girls the steps for the first time, and by half an hour everyone got the principle. Now we mainly need to polish it more."

The four backing singers who will accompany Dana in the Eurovision are Lilach Koch, who will provide the opera backing vocals, then Shirley Tsapari, Galit Dahan and Talia Eldar. The team, which accompanies her every step towards the contest, also includes her personal manager 'Ofer Nisim, and her artistic advisor Shai Kerem. While Shafrir is running the choreography over and over again, Nisim and Kerem examine every movement with interest together with the composer of the song, Tzvika Pik. Shafrir ends a another run of the song. He is fixing things here and there. Everyone is full of praise.

"There is a site on the internet where people are gambling on the songs which will participate in the Eurovision this year," Nisim informs us, "In the last three weeks, a majority of betters put 'Diva' in the first place and it's giving us a lot of stress, as it creates a lot of expectations. But we keep working and do everything to be as professional as we are able to."

Dana International has given most of her attention to the media in Europe the last few weeks. She is very aware of the fact that she is the gimmick of the Eurovision this year, and she is planning to enjoy every second. Lots of television channels and foreign journalists have already interviewed her, big press conference have been held for her in France and in Italy. In Israel, on the other hand, she does everything in order to keep a low profile. No big interviews, no demonstration of presence in the armchairs of Amnon Levy and Dan Shilon. Her public relations team postpones their requests again and again. Only yesterday morning Dana got the green light for a short interview in the radio program "The Weekly Diary" of Yigal Ravid on Network B [Reshet Bet].

"The reason I keep a media silence in Israel is that I have nothing new to say," she explained in the interview, "I was chosen to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest, and the most important thing right now is to do it in the best possible manner. I have no new musical or cultural comment beyond that, and I prefer you to wait for the contest and let me surprise you there."

"I'm interviewed by the media in Europe, because for them I am something new. They don't know anything about me and they are curious. Here I'm considered a senior. Actually, the questions they ask me there are exactly the same I was asked in the first interviews here. I'm not saying anything new there, only repeating the same answers again and again. The subject of my sexuality usually gets the first two questions, and then it's about the orthodox and what they have against me."

"There is a very wrong concept about life in Israel in the European media. They think we are a country of Jewish religious law, and I explain that there is a majority of secular people here that wants to live its life by their way, and I see myself as a part of that majority. They are very surprised to hear that."

Ofer Shafrir and Ofer Nisim are planning the schedule of the coming week. Between other things, they are supposed to film a video of the first version of the choreography of the song for the production team of the Eurovision Song Contest, in order for them to preadapt their camera placing according to the demands of the Israeli team. "Usually there are no problems with them," explains Ofer Shafrir, "They are very considerate towards us and they have the technical ability to do anything, because they have a lot of cameras there."

Dana refused to bet on her chances to win the Eurovision Song Contest. She is only willing to promise she will do her best. "I have already heard the songs of France, Germany and Turkey," she said, "And the truth is that I do not expect a real contest from them. But there are 25 countries, and every artist will do his or her best. We will wait and see."

Only Tzvika Pik holds total optimism. "Everything depends on the three minutes on stage," he sums up, "Not on the political situation of Israel or anything. If the show is an explosion, no-one will think about politics and she will win on a major scale!"

 

In tight jeans, a green sweater, with her hair loose and wearing dark sunglasses Dana International Wednesday morning arrived at the Magistrate's Court. The Israeli representative to the Eurovision Song Contest, who is accused of attacking two women, didn't bother to arrive for the hearings in her case until today. The defence of the singer decided that she would arrive in court herself in order to avoid arrest and its implications. By Ichik Saban.

According to the indictment which was presented against her in November '95, International attacked a waitress and another woman during a show that she did at the 'Kenyochol' in Rishon le-Zion. The singer was accused of attacking and causing damage with intent. Despite all that, Dana didn't bother to arrive for the hearings in her case. On 19 March, the magistrate Ilana Gat took out an arrest warrant without bail against the singer, after she failed to arrive for three hearings set in her case. Yesterday, the singer took time-out from her business and arrived in court, accompanied by a policeman and her lawyer. With a big smile, and in a good mood she entered the hall of judge Gat, and sat in the stand of the accused. Her presence awoke a lot of interest. Her defence claimed in the hearing that the singer did not fail to arrive in court "because of contempt or a lack of attention. It was a misunderstanding. The matter fell between the chairs." Dana added: "It was a mistake. I didn't intend to show contempt of the court and it won't happen again."

At this stage the judge Gat turned to International who then stood up, and asked her if she knew when the next hearing in her case would be held. International answered positively, and marked the date - 8 June this year. The judge was interested to know if the singer also knows the hour when the hearing was set. International knew the answer and said it would be in the morning hours. "Not the morning hours, it's at 08:30 am, and if you arrive at 09:00 am I will take out a habeas corpus against you," the judge warned. At the end of the hearing the singer was released on a bail of 5,000 Shekels, and a self-guarantee of 10,000 Shekels, until the next hearing in her case in June. Dana hurried to leave the court to return to her preparations for the Eurovision Song Contest which will be held this May.

 

The representative of Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest doesn't want the composer of the song 'Diva' to go with her to the contest in England. Dana was not satisfied with the vocal arrangement that Pik made for her song, and a rift was created between them. The decision of Reshot Ha-shidur (The Israeli Broadcasting Authority): Pik can go, but he must pay his own way. By Amos Oren.

It is two weeks until the Eurovision Song Contest will be held on 9 May in Birmingham, England, and a change has taken place in the Israel’s official delegation to the contest: Tzvika Pik, the composer of the song 'Diva' which will represent Israel in the contest performed by Dana International - will supposedly stay at home.

Pik was supposed to conduct 'Diva' in the Eurovision, but in a discussion between Uri Porat, the new General Director of Reshot Ha-shidur, and the television Manager Yair Shteren - it was decided that Pik won't fly to England. It was stated from Porat's chamber that the reason for not financing his trip was budgetary. "It's a pity, no matter how many Shekels," the message said.

But despite presenting the problem as a financial one - only saving US$ 3000 - it stems, indirectly, from a deterioration in the professional and personal relations between Pik and Dana and her managers, Ofer Nisim and Shai Kerem. Nisim claims Pik contribution to the song only was consisted of writing the music, and he was not able - and didn't find time and interest - to fit the vocal arrangement of the song to the needs of Dana and her backing vocalists' performance in the Eurovision.

The decline in the relations between the two sides happened the day after the show Dana did in the 'Queen of Beauty Ceremony'. The song was performed there in a vocal arrangement made by Pik, and the result caused acute criticism. "Pik's vocal arrangement fitted the studio, not a live performance," claimed Shai Kerem, Dana's artistic advisor. "Unfortunately, we couldn't succeeded in convincing Pik to change the arrangement, and we were forced to recruit Dalit Kahana, Dana's vocal trainer, to work over the song with the four backing vocalists - Galit Dahan, Talia Eldar, Lilach Koch and Shirley Tzapari."

The fruits of Kahana's work were heard in Dana’s live performance in the 'Dan Shilon Show' last week. "Kahana saved our song," Dana's managers said.

To show their satisfaction with Kahana's work, Dana and her managers decided to invite her to join the Israeli delegation. But at this point, the problem with Pik was created: If the vocal arrangement was made by Kahana, it will be ridiculous to let Pik conduct an arrangement that wasn't his. There is no need to conduct an orchestra: the instruments will be playback.

Pik as expected tried to make a struggle, and after mutual blaming (Pik: "They changed my song." Dana: "He makes me feel uncertain."), the relations between the sides deteriorated into a real rift. The rift made Dana and her managers turn to Reshot Ha-shidur in order to reconsider the necessity of having Pik in the delegation.

"They expressed real dissatisfaction with Tzvika, and made a confrontation with him," one of the parties told us. "They are very anxious about the fate of the song, and we can understand them. They have invested a lot of money and do not want to miss the target." The estimation is that Dana International will invest more than US$ 100 000 in 'Diva' before the evening of the contest. A big part from that has already been invested.

As a result of this turn of events, there was a new discussion at Reshot Ha-shidur about the composition of the Israeli delegation. Eventually, it was decided that if Pik wanted to go to the Eurovision he would have to pay for it himself, like the writer of the song, Yoav Ginai, does. Tzvika Pik, refused to state his reaction to the case.

 

Three newspapers have devoted big articles to her, focusing on her personal story. By Orna Nagar.

Dana International is the only one among the participants of the Eurovision Song Contest which has already made waves in the British press. In the articles which have appeared until now about the Eurovision, Dana is almost the exclusive star.

Her personal story is the raw material of the most adored kind for the British newspapers, and not only the tabloids. The 'Daily Telegraph', 'The Times' and the 'Evening Standard' are some of the British newspapers that have devoted stories to our International. The headlines and the stories focus on the fact of Dana being a former man, and she is presented as the number one singer in Israel.

In one of the stories about Dana it was written that the Israeli health minister said about her that she was an abomination the like of which was never seen even in Sodom. Other stories emphasized the fact that she added the world 'international' to her stage name a long time before anyone thought she would represent Israel in the Eurovision.

The biggest surprise is that Israel, a country which other see as very religious and conservative, sends such a provoking representative, and it might be that after the Eurovision there will be many people who have changed their opinion and learned that Israel is very modern country.

The best of the Eurovision hasn't started yet. We guess that it will gather momentum next week.

 

Israel’s representative in the Eurovision Song Contest, the singer Dana International, will arrive in London this afternoon on her way to Birmingham. At the end of this weekend, we will know if Dana is a real Diva.

"I'm very excited and I'm ready to go. It seems that until the minute I go into Birmingham, I won't comprehend that I'm really going to be in the Eurovision," says Dana International on her way to the Eurovision Song Contest, which will be held this weekend on 9 May, with the song 'Diva'. Dana spent time the last few days in Paris with her personal manager Ofer Nisim and her artistic advisor Shai Kerem. According to the original plan, she was supposed to fly to the Eurovision from Israel with the other members of the delegation, but the schedule changed at the last minute and she went to Paris for a meeting with the super fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier, who designed her dress especially for the show. Today at noon, the members of the Israeli delegation will go from here to London, and there they will meet with Nisim and Kerem, and go to Birmingham in northern England together.

The Israeli delegation includes, among others, Dana's backing singers Lilach Koch, Shirley Tzapari, Talia Eldar and Galit Dahan. The director Ofer Shafrir, the vocal coach Dalit Cahana, and the head of the delegation, the producer Haim Maluban. Dana refuses to expose details about the special dress designed by Gaultier. "It's a real work of art", she said, "it's an amazing dress which we won't expose until the last minute. I really don't know if Gaultier will decide eventually to fly with us to the Eurovision. He asked four tickets from us, but it's his decision." According to what she told us, the betting related to the contest which places her song as the most likely candidate to win doesn't put her under pressure. "I heard all the other songs in the contest and I didn't faint. England has a very strong song, and Croatia too. I will do the best I can and hope for the best."

 

Dana International and the other members of the Israeli delegation to the Eurovision Song Contest arrived yesterday in Birmingham, where the contest will be held this weekend. Until now, Dana's song 'Diva' is placed among the favorites to win in all the fans clubs of the Eurovision Song Contest on the internet.

The singer, her personal manager Ofer Nisim, and her artistic advisor Shai Kerem, waited for the other members of the delegation at Heathrow airport in London. They arrived there after they had met the super fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier in Paris. From him they got the dress he designed especially for Dana for the contest.

In the airport, the members of the delegation were quite nervous for a few minutes when they found out that the equipment of the delegation's hairdresser as well as the dresses of the four backing vocalists didn't arrive with the other luggage. Finally, they found the missing luggage.

Dana is going to expose the special designed that Gaultier designed especially for her only at the general rehearsal, at noon on Saturday, in order "to keep the element of the surprise until the last minute," as Kerem told us. Gaultier hasn't yet confirmed his arrival to the contest, although he promised to do his best in order to do so. Anyway, he has already given Dana a kiss for good luck (as you see in the picture).

The dress coordination will be done by two designers from Gaultier’s team of personal assistants, and on Friday special make-up artist who will do Dana’s make-up for the contest is supposed to arrive in Birmingham from France.

The schedule of Dana and her companions the next week will mostly include rehearsals, in the hall where the contest will be held, but also in the hotel. This in spite of some guided tours and press conference being planned for the delegation.

Later in the week, Yoav Ginai, who wrote the song 'Diva', will come to Birmingham, together with the composer Tzvika Pik, who decided to fly separately from the other members of the delegation. Accroding to him, this is because of a conflict between him and Dana and her managers. The details about the conflict have already been published in the French press, and was widely published by last weekend.

Tzvika Pik’s reaction to the reports about a conflict between himself and Dana: "It's too small for me to react on it. I just hope that eventually Dana will give a good show in the contest, like all her blabbing."

 

The song 'Diva' yesterday reached the sixth place at betting shops in England for the Eurovision Song Contest. England’s song reached first place. After came the songs of Belgium, Sweden, Malta and Ireland. At the centre of Dana International's second day in Birmingham was the first dress rehearsal on the stage of Arena hall where the Eurovision will be held this weekend.

During the rehearsal there were quite a few controversies between the Israeli team, who wanted camera angles that would emphasize the presence of Dana and her dress as much as possible, and the British director who wanted to emphasize the decorations around Dana. Miri Ben Haim, the delegation’s producer said at the end of the rehearsal: "There are problems with the lighting. The camera angles don't emphasize the dress and Dana’s movements sufficiently. At the end of the rehearsal, we sat down with the British director for half an hour and gave him a long list of corrections."

Yesterday Dana succeeded in angering some representatives of the foreign press. As opposed to an earlier message stating that she was supposed to hold a press conference immediately after the first rehearsal, Dana chose to postpone the event for tomorrow afternoon. A lot of foreign journalists who came especially, reacted with big disappointment and accused the Israeli singer of behaving arrogantly. The singer’s spokespeople explained that Dana had preferred to postpone the press conference to the end of the second rehearsal when the pressures would lessen and she felt more relaxed.

The newspaper 'Daily Telegraph' yesterday published an interview with the singer Imani who will represent England. In the interview with the headline "Why must our girl win over the imitators from Europe?", Imani was asked what she thought about Dana. She answered: "Well, I think that she, he looks pretty good." The article also said: "Pretty soon, we will know the chances of our representative against the transvestite from Israel called Dana International." Ofer Nisim, Dana's personal manager, said: "The most important thing is that Dana is mentioned at every opportunity.

 

The journalists are storming her, the record companies are courting her, and the director of the Eurovision Song Contest believes that tonight after the Sabbath she will go up to the winners' stand. Dana International, three days before the big night: "It's not important which place I take. The most important thing is that I will give an unforgettable performance." By Amos Oren, Birmingham.

Dana International has conquered Europe in a storm: The Israeli representative is undoubtedly the central attraction of the 43rd Eurovision Song Contest, which will be held here this weekend. As someone with experience who has reviewed quite a few contests in the past, I can testify - with astonishment and great appreciation - that I have never seen anything like this attention. A day before yesterday night, in a special reception which was held by the head of Birmingham's municipality for the team representatives, Dana was the star of the event. She made a magnificent and late entrance, dressed in a silver dress, and when she went down the stairs leading into a spacious hall, the hearts of the present skipped a beat. In seconds the attack on her begun. The polite Europeans didn't manage to stop their curiosity, and only their innermost restraint prevented from them from stampeding her.

Dana crossed the hall elegantly, then all the curious people followed her as a human trail. Every time she stopped and tried to put something to her mouth, the journalists,fellow artists and local celebrities collected around her and asked for autographs, having their pictures taken together or quick interviews. International granted everyone politely. But after half an hour with that stress, Dana was forced to retreat. She went up to the stairs, left the hall, and went to eat a hamburger at the nearest McDonald's.

Speaking about food, and for the information of MK Shlomo Ben-Izri: Dana eats only kosher, vegetarian or fish. She stays away from seafood, and never touches meat unless it is served in a kosher restaurant, or a is made by a wellknown food company. In general, Judaism is very important to Dana, and she speaks its praise all the time.

I learnt about the huge size of the interest that Dana is creating from the deep disappointment of the media people of Europe who gathered a day before yesterday in the press center near the contest hall, and received the news of the cancellation of Dana's press conference. Unlike the demands of protocol, where each artist holds a first meeting with the media right after the first rehearsal, Dana decided to postpone the meeting for today, after the second rehearsal, claiming that then she would feel more fresh. She argued with exhaustion: "I need strength in order to speak and express myself," she said.

Not all the journalists bought this explanation. There were those who said: "We still think that her song is number one, but the singer herself is not any more." Later, at the reception, when they saw how polite she is, they tended to see it from her point of view. The British press is emphasizing the presence of the Israeli singer. In a local newspaper Dana is topping the list of articles about the foreign participants. The "Daily Telegraph" outdid itself when opened it's article about the chances of the British song with a frightened reaction to Dana International. "Dear God!" it quotes the words of the British singer, "She-he-it looks great!!!." And she was great also in the first rehearsal, when she went on stage in black jeans which emphasize her incredibly well-shaped hips, and a tight T-shirt.

The dress which was designed for her by Jean Paul Gaultier, Dana and her people are keeping only for the last rehearsal. They don't want to expose it to the eye of the media, lest it will ruin the surprise. The dress is made of a feather-jacket, at a value estimated at US$ 200,000, and a black dress, sown by hand by the designer, estimated "only" at US$ 40,000. Gaultier didn't charge for the creation, and didn't even decide with the singer and her representatives how the dress will be returned to him. He announced that he will do all he can in order to be free this weekend and to honour the Eurovision Song Contest with his presence. Anyway, he will send a hairdresser and a make-up artist to Birmingham, in order to keep the harmony between the dress and International's in look general.

The first rehearsal was successful from the point of view of balancing the vocals between the singer and the four backing singers, but less from a TV perspective. Dana's manager Ofer Nissim, her artistic advisor Shai Kerem and the director Ofer Shafrir presented a list of criticisms to Quinn Bishop, the director of the contest. "We want more light on Dana and less light show," Shafrir pointed to as the main point of their contention. "The British are filming from the side and from a distance, and we are asking them to film close and frontal shots, and especially that they won't cut out Dana's hand movements at the end of the song."

"The British team is very sympathetic," Dana said, "They promised to cooperate. I think that the cameramen should focus more on my face and less on the backing singers. What's the point? A transvestite from Israel came to the Eurovision. So let them see me, the upper part of my body. That's the matter."

The head of the Israeli team, the television producer Haim Merloven, said that in his discussions with Bishop, when he demanded corrections in the filming of the song, the British director calmed him down and said: "The problem you have this time is small. Next year your problem will be much more bigger." By this he hinted to the great chance of Dana winning the Eurovision, which means that next year the contest will be held in Israel.

And indeed, there is a chance. Yoav Ginai and Tzvika Pik's song 'Diva' is getting a lot of praiss, and the demand for the single is soaring. But because of the fact that the contracts with Sony Europe and CNR were signed only at the end of last week, it's hard to believe that the single will be released before the contest. According to Shai Kerem, the negotiations with the record companies were very tough. Both the record companies asked for a commitment that Dana would record a whole album for them, but the Israeli side insisted on a single only. Eventually, the Israeli side won, and the record companies agreed to Dana's conditions, where separate negotiations about albums will be opened only after the contest.

The betting agencies, on the other hand, still haven't seen the potential in 'Diva'. The "William Hill" agency is grading Dana from Israel only as a sixth place, together with the Netherlands. Before her: England, Belgium, Sweden, Ireland and Malta. But at the stand of the betting agency beside the hall of the contest, most of the bets are on Dana. Those reactions are warming the heart, but Dana, Nissim and Kerem ask us all the time to lower our expectations, especially from us [Israelis]. We don't want to disappoint you. "But from a career perspective, Dana has it all," claims Shai Kerem. "The hysteria in Europe is at its climax, and she has already made history by being the representative of Israel in an international contest. Personally, she is dealing very well with the expectations. She is the coolest one of all of us. But fifth place for example, which is generally a very honourable and good achievement, won't satisfy us. Only better."

Dana: "The placing is not important. The most important thing is that I will give an unforgettable performance. I'm asking to represent honourably the country which has chosen me, with all the problematic things that surround me, in order to give it pride and honour in its 50th anniversary. By doing the show in the Eurovision I will close a circle and return a due to my country, which believes in me, and to my family, especially my mother Bat-Galim, who supports me, and encourages me so much."

 

Two days before the big moment, Dana International admits that the Eurovision Song Contest is considered "a dead horse" - a fact that doesn't prevent her from being madly excited before the contest. In an exclusive interview to Ma'ariv La-no'ar she tells about the problems she had with the orthodox sector, about the plans to conquer Europe and a promise not to mess up.

The flowers for Dana
At the beginning of last week, Dana International quickly packed her suitcase and went to Europe in order to meet the fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier. "He was excited to see my pictures in Thierry Mugler's clothes, and decided I should wear something of his own styling," she says about him. In two days, she and her backing girls will get to the stage of the Eurovision Song Contest, that will be held this year in Birmingham, England, with the outfit that was especially designed for her by Gaultier. "He will be present in the hall," she says with excitement. "He asked us for tickets."

The Israeli song that will compete in the Eurovision this year, if you have just come out from hibernation, is 'Diva' by Dana International. Yoav Ginai and Tzvika Pik are the two creators responsible for the lyrics and music. A few years ago, Dana tried her luck in the Kdam-Eurovision with the song 'Layla tov Eropa', but then she only came second. This time, Dana was chosen by a special committee established for this purpose, and in that way we were spared the embarrassing Kdam contest. Dana, a perfect choice for this purpose, will represent Israel and will probably try to promote her interests in Europe. But until Europe falls to Dana's feet, she will release a hits compilation album in the local market, and stay in the center of activities with her mini-scandal in court, which she made after she failed to arrive for a discussion of a woman's claim that International hit her lightly during a show. Anyway, regarding the chances of our 'Diva' in the Eurovision Song Contest, we think that it will get in one of the first five places. In Europe, people even talk about the first place.

- Dana, how do you estimate you chances?
"Well, there are 26 countries and there is a lot of competition. There are some countries with very strong songs. But from my point of view, my victory has already been made. The fact that I'm going to represent Israel in the Eurovision is a very big achievement for me, and I will try to bring honor for my country. There is only one first place and I want it very much."

- Do you feel that this is an opportunity for you to break into Europe?
"All the chances show it. We now have a lot of contacts with different records companies in Europe. Get ready for a lot of surprises."

- Is there a surprise that you are planning for us in the contest?
"My outfit will be simply a masterpiece in an artistic way. Everyone will be elated by the look of my outfit, and apart from that, we all will work hard for my look to be international. We will sing the song in the best way, and I promise you that it will be one of the best representations Israel has ever sent to the Eurovision Song Contest. We have a very minimalist choreography, because the Eurovision is a song contest and not a dance contest. The song itself is very rhythmical and sweeping, and we wanted to moderate it by a moderate and conservative choreography. But me and my gorgeous girls will look like a million dollars, and it's too bad speaking."

- What will be the first thing you do if you are told that you are the winner?
"If I win, I will faint on the spot."

- The Eurovision Song Contest today is not like in the old days, and the contest has pretty much lost its prestige. Did you take that into the account?
"The Eurovision today is considered more or less as 'a dead horse', but it still has its prestige. Everyone remember its last years. 300 million watch it, and it's beyond every Israeli standard I have ever experienced. For me, it's still on a very very big scale, especially for international exposure."

- Do you feel you are going to represent all of Israel? There were a lot who were opposed to the fact that you are going to represent us.
"It's important to indicate - a lot from the orthodox sector. I want to say that the audience in the street gives me a lot of sympathy and encouragement. Most of the people are happy to see me as our representative, and if there are a few problems with the orthodox sector, it doesn't bother me. They can stay with their problems, their impermeability and their primitiveness. It's not upsetting me for one minute."

- Were you frightened that you wouldn't go because of that dispute?
"At the beginning I was very frightened because I know how much power this sector has in the government, and how much money this sector has, and money is influential these days. But we made thorough inquiries, and there is no legal way to prevent me from being Israel's representative in the Eurovision Song Contest. They can only turn around."

- How do you think Europe will accept you? Is there an openness to singers like you?
"Europe is much more open than Israel, and much more liberal. I can just tell you that we were on almost every television channel in Europe and we got enormous exposure in the press. Everyone is elated by the fact that someone like me can succeed in Israel. Everyone wish me success and keep their fingers crossed, and you will see that next year we will become international stars. I can promise you that personally."

- There is always a claim that Israel doesn't win because of political reasons. Do you believe in that?
"Well, it's a factual matter that every year Israel gets some zeroes. But I believe that we can overpower political obstacles if the song is good enough, and if the performance is good enough too - then everything is open. But winning isn't everything. My personal victory is that my country gave me official recognition and I'm the representative of Israel to the Eurovision Song Contest, and that's not a trivial matter."

- What do you plan to do after the Eurovision?
"I will take a time-out for a month or two. I want to go to New York because I miss my friends there. Moreover, I want to experience for a month the taste of anonymity and then, to come back home full of power and to roll all the new stuff that will appear after the Eurovision."

- What does your family say about your participation in the Eurovision Song Contest?
"My family was raised on the Eurovision. 20 years ago the Eurovision had a lot of power and my family remember it as an old friendship and doesn't believe I'm going there. I myself don't believe I'm going there. I still can't digest it. I'm very happy that this kind of opportunity fell in my hands, and I promise to do my best."

- By the way, which song from your competitors do you like the best?
"I like the songs of England and Croatia. I think it will be the outstanding songs in the contest. But it's only sport and we should take it in a sportive way."

- You had a court affair lately.
"This is a very foolish story and the matter will be made clear in court. I couldn't get to the previous discussions and the judge was mad. But we worked out the matter. All the interest in this case is only because I'm so famous."

- This lady claim you beat her.
"This lady can claim whatever she likes. Everyone can claim anything. That's why there is a court, in order to inquire those things."

- You have released a compilation album. Do you feel some kind of summing up a stage in your career?
"This collection is a summing up of my last albums and everything we have done in the last five years. Now we are turning a new page for my next album. This is actually a sum of my best hits. A collection is a thing that people usually like to have at home. It's hard to get all the albums, and the interesting songs get into a collection."

- A hint for the future.
"Let's find out after the Eurovision..."

 

Israel's representative in the Eurovision has held a big press conference. Most of the journalists that participated in it congratulated Dana: 'See you next year, when you will host the Eurovision Song Contest'. By Tal Pery.

A very stormy day passed yesterday for Dana International, the Israeli representative in the Eurovision Song Contest. In the morning hours, a fire alarm sounded in hotel 'Hyatt' in Birmingham where the Israeli delegation is staying. The hotel was closed immediately, and four fire fighters carrier were called in.

The fire fighters eventually arrived in the room of the Israeli representative, who opened the door in a dressing gown and couldn't understand the panic. It seemed that the hair dryer belonging to Miki Buganim, Dana's personal hairdresser, by mistake activated the smoke sensor while she was doing her hair.

After it was clear that hotel 'Hyatt' was not on fire, Dana was evacuated for the main assignment of the day: An additional camera rehearsal in the 'Arena' hall and a festive press conference. At the rehearsal, the representatives of the Israeli delegation and the British director managed to reach an agreement concerning most of the problems that came up at the last rehearsal last Monday. Still, there is still disagreement concerning a few of the filming angles that emphasize the stage and the decorations instead of the singer.

The press conference was a huge success. Dana was presented in front of the journalists as 'a symbol of courage, freedom and human rights'. She entered the room in a tight black outfit, taking with a storm the 400 representatives of the press that had come to the event, an unprecedented number in the Eurovision Song Contest, and many times during the event, Dana got raging applause. One journalist from Sweden [Actually it was Frode Nakkim from the Norwegian daily 'VG'. GS] asked Dana what exactly she did she do in order to become a woman. Dana answered: "Do you have enough time to spend with me?" And caused big laughter in the audience.

"Gorgeous," "Amazing," "Splendid," were only some of the compliments Dana received at the end of the press conference. The sentence that was repeated very frequently was "See you next year, when you will host the Eurovision Song Contest." Dana was also asked if she thinks her personal story will help her win the contest. Dana answered: "I will be very happy to bring my victory as a present to Israel, but I think that the thing that should determine people's opinion is the song. After all, it's a song contest, not a sex contest."

And there were also the regular questions about the struggle between Dana and the orthodox factions that oppose her. On this subject Dana said: "I have nothing to say to the orthodox, because I focus on people who love me. The Israeli people are nice, open minded, and accept me with big sympathy."

 

More than 100 millions viewers are supposed to watch the Eurovision Song Contest this weekend, which will be broadcast from Birmingham in England to 33 countries in Europe, as well as Canada and Australia. Dana International, the Israeli representative said yesterday: "I hope to give the first place - to all of us." By Tal Pery.

Two days before the big contest and a day after the successful press conference that Dana gave, the song 'Diva' still remains fourth with the bookmakers, after England, Belgium and Sweden. The Israeli delegation spent most of yesterday's hours doing the last rehearsals at the hotel and to rest, while Dana continued to give interviews to European television and radio stations.

Wednesday night the delegation was invited to a huge party in the club 'Doom' in Birmingham, where last year's winner of the Eurovision Song Contest, the singer Katrina, performed. Dana International was, as expected, the main attraction of the event. A team of photographers, who insisted on commemorating every one of her movements on the dance floor made her angry, and eventually she decided to retire from the party. Last night was also devoted to a formal event, and the members of the contest delegations took part in a festive dinner at an old castle near Birmingham.

Yesterday the composer of the song 'Diva' Tzvika Pik arrived in Birmingham, together with the Israeli producer, Yehuda Talit. A senior manager in the record company Sony, arrived too, in order to accompany to the Israeli delegation. Sony signed Dana for an European distribution contract for the English-language version of 'Diva'. The quotes from Dana's press conference went down well yesterday in the local press. The daily newspaper "Birmingham Post" devoted a huge article to her with the title "Dana is expecting a recording contract in England after the Eurovision." She was described in the article as "The most provoking singer that has ever participated in the Eurovision Song Contest."

Today in the afternoon Dana will do the first general rehearsal for the contest with all the other artists. Another rehearsal will be held on Shabbat at noon. In that last rehearsal, Dana will expose the dress which was designed by the famous fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier. The broadcast of the contest will start at 10 pm (Israeli time), and the name of the winner will be announced near 1 am.

In the picture: Dana in Birmingham- [Image]

 

Although Dana International has successfully exploited her sexuality for showbiz fame, most of the country's transsexuals must struggle to find their place in society. By Esther Hecht.

Three years ago, when transsexual singer Dana International gave a top-flight performance in the Eurovision Song Contest qualifying round but wasn't chosen to represent Israel, pundits said she lost out only because of her gender-bending identity. Now the popular dance-music performer is getting a shot at the international prize tomorrow night in Birmingham (see Time Out piece).

Optimists, including the flamboyant singer herself, like to believe her success heralds a new openness here to the right variety of human sexuality and gender. Israel's laws relating to homosexuals are among the most liberal in the world. Gay discos in the big cities are "in", especially for the straight crowd, and drag queens like Bnot Pesia have come out of the gay clubs all the way to weekly appearances on state-run television.

Dana International is the most visible transsexual in this country, but she is hardly alone. Fifteen Israelis have undergone sex-change operations since 1987 at Tel Hashomer's Sheba Hospital, the only one in the country authorized to perform the surgery, and four are scheduled to so in the near future. Many more, like the singer, have had operations at other hospitals, here and abroad. Yet others have chosen to live according to their gender identity without giving up the genitals they were born with.

Dana International speaks about her change of sexual identity in the most matter-of-fact way. But many transsexuals—those who are still experimenting with plucking their eyebrows or manicuring their nails (gestures the uninitiated wouldn't even notice) and those who have undergone the complex process of a full identity change—don't dare reveal who they are.

Bracha is one of them. So fearful is she of being found out that she agreed to be interviewed only by phone and asked that her real name not be used.

In a voice that is startlingly and unmistakable feminine, Bracha—today in her thirties—says she was only four years old when she began to sense that her male body was a cruel mistake. In her home in Europe, the boy lived in terror that someone would find out his secret desire to be a girl.

I was sure that if I ever let anything slip, everyone would know," she recalls. "I would fix in my head that something was a 'girl' thing, and I would stay away from it. For a long time I wouldn't wear white socks, because I saw my little sisters wore them."

The boy never felt he could tell his parents. Instead, they saw only the result of his pent-up frustration: uncontrollable rages. When he because religiously observant while in college, they saw this as yet another of his strange behaviors. When he married in his early twenties and decided to move to Israel, this was seen as even stranger.

One month after the couple arrived here, something snapped. He had thought marriage would help him live with his secret desires, but it did just the opposite. It was then he told his wife about his realization that "who I am is something I want, but what I am is a mistake. I'm not a guy with a mental problem, but a girl with a physical problem."

The couple managed to stay together for several years and have children. "I loved my wife, and I figured that by force of will I could fight this down," Bracha recalls.

Like other new immigrants, the young man enlisted in the four-month IDF basic training program, but was released seen after on medical grounds unrelated to gender. He even started studying for Orthodox rabbinical ordination.

But routine acts, like haircuts, revolted him. He hated shaving, yet he was also disgusted by how he looked when he let a beard grow, during the counting of the Omer, for example.

When he felt he could no longer live as a man, the marriage broke up.

Following their divorce, his ex-wife refused to allow him to see their children. It is a ban Bracha understands.

"It's difficult to explain to a child, and more difficult to a child you want to bring up religious." Nevertheless, she hopes to contest the ban someday in a rabbinical court, because she doesn't want her children to think, when they are older, that she was here along and didn't care about them.

Bracha says she has heard of couples who have stayed together while one of them was "transitioning"—going through the process of gender change—but this is rare. In the Orthodox world, it is virtually impossible.

And, for Bracha, it was an all-or-nothing decision. Changing her social identity without changing her body—as many transsexuals do—was out of the question, though, she confesses, "the idea of somebody changing their sex is as strange to me as it is to anybody else."

She turned in succession to a sex therapist, a social worker and an endocrinologist here but found them unhelpful. Nor could she learn much from magazines aimed at a transsexual audience. Today such publications are informative and sold openly in book stores, at least in the US, but at the time they were available only in adult book shops, and, Bracha recalls, "there was stuff in them that was pornographic. It made me feel very uncomfortable."

Desperate for help, Bracha moved to New York, where she started psychotherapy and then hormone treatment and began to live as a woman. She also experimented with her new identity in a transgender chat group on the Internet, and experience she says was very helpful. "You can be anybody you want, you can try out your personality, you can meet people from all over the world."

But it was only after the surgery that Bracha made another startling discovery about herself. Though she had become a woman in virtually every way, she found she was sexually attracted to women rather than to men. She became close friends with another Jewish transsexual woman and she met her first lesbian lover through the Internet.

Eventually, she returned to Israel a woman. The Interior Ministry says it does not issue a new birth certificate in such cases, but it will register a change in the ID card on the basis of a court order or on presentation of documents from a medical institution recognized by the Health Ministry.

Today Bracha works in the center of the country and lives in what she describes as "a committed relationship" with a gay, religiously observant woman.

Some people in the community suspect Bracha is gay. No one but her partner and her ex-wife knows she is a transsexual. Having grown up hiding her longing to be a woman, Bracha must now hide her former identity as a man. "Stealth"—the most extreme form of secrecy—is how she describes the degree to which she must conceal her sex change. At the same time, she revels in the success with which she has carried it off.

"There's an idea of 'passing,' but there's a level beyond passing—being a 'natural,' [so] even somebody else who is a transsexual might not guess," she says. "It's a very elitist thing. It's obnoxious. I'm guilty of it. Thank God I'm in a position to be guilty of it."

Unusual as Bracha's story is in the Orthodox community, it is similar in fundamental ways to others encountered by Dr. Ilana Berger, a lecturer at Tel Aviv University's Bob Shapell School of Social Work and director of the Israeli Center for Human Sexuality and Gender Identity, a private clinic in Tel Aviv.

Berger earned her doctorate in social work at Rutgers University and specialized in treating sexual and gender-identity problems at Cornell Medical College and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, all in the US. In the year-and-a-half since she opened the clinic with Dr. Simcha Lazar, a specialist in gynecology and endocrinology at Soroka Hospital, its services have become known by word of mouth, attracting 20 active patients, some from as far away as Karmiel and Dimona. Others are in touch with the clinic through the Internet. Some are married. Many are in high-level positions, including doctors, psychologists, university professors and members of the high-tech industry.

Today, she says, professionals use the term "transgender" as an umbrella term for all people who in some way—secretly or in public, part of the time or all the time, in dress or in behavior—express gender feeling that doesn't match their anatomy, hormonal systems and genetic makeup. Only a small part of this group—those termed transsexuals—feels a need to live fully as a member of the opposite sex.

Precise statistics are hard to come by, but research over the last decade in gender clinics in Europe and the US suggests that between one and three percent of the population expresses some form of transgender feeling, Berger says.

They come from all walks of life, socioeconomic groups and ethnic backgrounds. They are both men and women, though men outnumber women by a ratio of three to one. And, Berger adds, the phenomenon has existed in cultures throughout history, though not all have viewed it positively. "It's not a consequence of liberal attitudes in the 20th century," she says emphatically.

Berger is quick to dismiss other myths about the transgender community.

More than 80 percent of the cross-dressers (also known as transvestites)—who assume the dress or behavior of the opposite gender—are heterosexual men who feel a need to express the feminine elements of their nature, but don't experience the intense conflict between identity and body that transsexuals do. "It's a myth that they are [all] gay," she says. This is easier to understand if one considers that gender identity (a person's sense of who he is) and sexual orientation (the people to whom he is attracted) are separate facets of a person's being, Berger says.

Nor are most transsexuals prostitutes, as is commonly believed. On the contrary, she says.

Why some people feel so out of tune with their bodies is still a mystery, but some research evidence points to biological causes. One such study, at the Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, in Amsterdam, was reported in Time magazine in November 1995. In autopsies, researchers compared the brains of six male-to-female transsexuals with the brains of a control group consisting of two dozen men and women who were not transsexuals. Half of the men in the control group were heterosexuals and half were homosexuals.

The scientists found no important differences, except in a section of the hypothalamus, called BSTc, that is responsible for sexual behavior and orientation. All the men in the control group, regardless of their sexual orientation, had a BSTc that was 50 larger than the women's. But the BSTc in the transsexuals was more like the women's than the men's; in fact, it was on average slightly smaller than the women's.

The findings are not conclusive, because the transsexuals had been taking estrogen for many years and this may have caused a change in the size of the BSTc (though another finding suggests that estrogen has no effect on its size).
In any case, the researchers said, the size difference they found may not be the only biological motive for the desire to change sex. Whatever the precise biological causes, a mismatch of the body and the brain probably begins in the early stages of fetal development.

There are several syndromes affecting sexual identity that have a clear genetic cause, but they are unrelated to transsexualism, according to Prof. Ariel Rosler, deputy head of the endocrinology department at Hadassah-University Hospital in Jerusalem's Ein Kerem neighborhood.

Rosler's team has identified the cause of one syndrome—familial pseudohermaphroditism—that transforms "girls" into boys at puberty.

The opportunity to study it arose when Rosler set up an endocrinological clinic in the Gaza Strip in 1977. In the 10 years that the clinic operated, it treated more than 80 cases, all of which turned out to be from a single, large clan with a high rate of intermarriage. The condition effected one out of 100 to 150 males in the clan and rendered them sterile.

Because they lacked an enzyme that stimulates the production of the male hormone testosterone, they were born with female organs and were raised as girls. At puberty, their bodies produced a small amount of testosterone that causes facial hair and male sex organs to appear, and their personalities began to change. The "girls" said that they felt attracted to girls and not to boys.

According to Rosler, the transition was a cause for rejoicing: "In this society males are preferred; they were happy." But the team had no Arabic-speaking psychiatrist to monitor and deal with the emotional aspects of the change.

Treatment consisted of hormones to boost testosterone levels and surgery to correct the sex organs. Children brought to the clinic at a young age were able to undergo the transition before puberty. After the genetic cause was isolated, doctors could identify the defect in the fetus and start treatment soon after birth. But Rosler says treatment has not been available in Gaza since the clinic closed, in 1987.

Though this defect is virtually unknown in Israel, Rosler says his department sees about 10 to 20 Israeli Jews each year with a variety of conditions that affect sexual identity. These conditions, he says, are "medical," as opposed to transsexualism, which he labels "psychiatric."

How complex the relation between gender and biology is can be seen in cases in the US, where doctors operated on infants whose sexual identity was unclear at birth, assigning them the sex they most resembled. Some of those children grew up angry and frustrated, because even though surgery had corrected the physical anomaly, their gender did not match the sex the doctors assigned them, Berger says. They are now suing the doctors.

"This sheds light on the gender-identity issues of transgender people, who are biologically normal," Berger says. "Gender is not just what you have between your legs." In fact, the diagnostic labels used to describe transsexuals are changing, and so, consequently, is the approach to treatment. Instead of referring to "primary transsexuals" and "secondary transsexuals," professionals now speak of early presenters" and "late presenters," depending on the age at which the person first sensed gender incongruity.

This is no mere window dressing, Berger says. In the past, professional persuaded youngsters considered to be "secondary transsexuals" to behave in accordance with their biological gender. "Some of the attempted suicides are a consequence of the professional telling [youngsters] what they should be or are, or what they shouldn’t be," she adds.

The age limit at which treatment may begin has been eliminated in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM IV), the diagnostic bible of mental-health professionals. This means that the gender feelings of children can be acknowledged, though Berger says clinicians generally do not begin medical treatment before a child is 18. Her youngest patient is seven years old.

Though Dana International and Bracha speak matter-of-factly about the sex-change treatment and operation, it is actually a long, complex and highly regulated process. The protocol for the standards of care prepared by the Harry Benjamin International Society for Gender Identity, a society of professionals who treat transsexuals, requires at least one year of psychotherapy, two letters from mental-health professionals, hormone treatment, and living a full year in the gender they want to adopt (though some of these may be concurrent, Berger says.

The process normally begins with psychotherapy, an exploration of gender feelings that she describes as "very in-depth, very confrontational" and that can take a few months or as long as two years.

Trying out living as a member of the opposite gender and hormone treatment enable the person to start experiencing not only socially but physiologically what the other sex feels. The last stage is considering whether to have surgery, and if so, where.

For women, full-scale surgery entails removal of the ovaries, uterus and vagina, as well as breast tissue, and fashioning a penis. For men, surgery involves removal of the penis and testes, enlargement of the breasts and creation of a vagina.

In Israel, people seeking surgery are usually referred to Sheba Hospital for evaluation by a medial committee that includes specialists in psychiatry, psychology, social work, gynecology, endocrinology, urology and plastic surgery. The evaluation takes a minimum of two years, Berger says. The operations are done in the hospital's plastic surgery department.

Sex-change operations have also been performed outside of Sheba Hospital, in violation of Health Ministry regulations that require evaluation by a media committee (Sheba is the only hospital that has one). According to a recent report in Ha’aretz, one such operation come to light when a woman who had always felt she was a male had the contents of her breasts removed, then changed her mind and sought to have her breasts enlarged. The report adds that some of the men who approached the Sheba medical committee for approval had already undergone breast enlargements at other hospitals.

There has been at least one case here of a botched sex-change operation, also performed outside of Sheba. In 1994, Tel Aviv transsexual Daniella Nahmias won a malpractice suit against plastic surgeon Dr. Roni Moskona in which she claimed the operation had made it difficult for her to urinate and had left her "asexual" and unable to enjoy sexual relations.

But surgery is often not the treatment of choice, and there is a growing trend in the clinical professional community to offer other solutions, Berger says. Some of her patients say they are unwilling to forgo the pleasure they derive from their anatomical sexual organs.

After surgery, transsexuals are still able to achieve orgasm, but they say it takes them longer and that the quality of the orgasm is different.

"But that's not the main reason they wouldn't undergo surgery," Berger says. What is most important for her patients is "the ability to lead a truthful life that expresses their essential feeling of being male or female." She encourages them to give up the either/or view of gender and sex and embrace a more pluralistic view. This will make life less confusing for them, she believes. But, she says, some transsexuals are just as prejudiced as the rest of society when it comes to gender and sex, "and will go the whole 100 yards, including surgery."

It might be expected that sexual minorities would band together to lobby for acceptance and equal rights, and in fact this has started happening in recent years in the US. It has not happened here, thought the attitudes of homosexuals toward transsexuals are starting to change, according to Dr. Diana Luzzatto, a lecturer in gender studies at Tel Aviv University.

In the mid-Eighties, when Luzzatto studied the ways in which Israeli homosexuals had organized to promote their concerns, she found that they distanced themselves from transsexuals. "Their main, declared goal was to be accepted by society, and there was still a criminal law on the books, so it was important for them to present a 'normal' image. Transsexuals didn't fit that image," Luzzatto says.

She adds that now that Israeli society has become more accepting of homosexuality, the gay community still has a problem with transsexuals. In just the way that veteran immigrants tend to view with disdain those just off the boat, homosexuals tend to maintain their recently acquired legitimacy by stigmatizing another sexual minority.

But there are other voices in the gay community, she says. Among the letters to Hazman Havarod, the gay monthly, debating Dana International's representing Israel at the Eurovision, some have expressed satisfaction. One, in the December 1997 issue, even expressed identification with Dana International by referring to Shas MK's objections as being grounded in homophobia.

But despite the popularity of the singer, of drag queens depicted in the movie Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and of Bnot Pesia, when it comes to real life, Israel society at large is hardly accepting of transsexuals.

Nor has Judaism traditionally been tolerant of deviations from clear gender roles, so it has had to consider situations in which gender is in doubt. Talmudic literature grapples with the case of the hermaphrodite (a person born with both male and female characteristics and organs), as well as the tumtum, whose gender cannot be determined. There is also a debate over the case of a man who sprouted breasts from which milk flowed, after his wife died and left him with a newborn infant. And long before transsexual surgery was readily available, rabbis were discussing the many implications of apparent changes of sex.

According to a review of recent Orthodox considerations of sex-change surgery by Yeshiva University Talmud professor J. David Bleich, in his Contemporary Halakhic Problems (Yeshiva University Press, 1977), the operation itself is forbidden—for women because sterilization is prohibited, and for males because it involves castration, which is prohibited. The Gemara (Shabbat 110b) derives the prohibition against castration (of humans and animals) from the verse, "And that which is mauled or crushed or torn or cut you shall not offer unto the Lord; nor should you do this in your land." (Lev. 22:24)

Even hormone treatment for purposes of sex change may forbidden because of the broad interpretation of the commandment, "A woman shall not wear that which pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment." (Deut. 22:5)

After a person has undergone surgery, there are many practical halachic questions, including who is an appropriate sexual partner, whether a divorce is necessary if the individual is married, whether circumcision is required (in the case of a female transsexual), and which religious obligations apply.

How these are resolved hinges on whether or not a change of sex is deemed to have occurred in the eyes of Halacha, for which the external organs are generally considered the decisive factor.

Bleich's own position seems to be that since gender is irreversibly determined at birth and since the substitute organs are not capable of reproduction, there has been no true change. But he mentions the dissenting view of Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg, a judge in the Supreme Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem, who maintains that surgical reversal does effect a change.

Waldenberg's view in this matter is a minority position, according to Dr. Mordechai Halperin, a medical ethicist who is director of the Jerusalem Medical Center for Impotence and Infertility and also an ordained rabbi. Halperin sides with Bleich and adds that only if medical science were able to produce anatomically precise organs might there be room to consider that a change had occurred.

As Halperin sees it, the rule of thumb is that a person's subjective sense of gender does not make it permissible to violate a halachic prohibition. Thus, he says, prior to an operation a man who is a transsexual may not have sex with another man because sodomy is forbidden, and even after surgery it is not permissible because the operation has not changed the legal gender.

Can a transsexual contract a valid marriage? Bleich cites one source, the book Besamim Rosh, which says a man whose genital organs have been removed cannot contract a valid marriage as a man. Nor, Bleich infers, may a male-to-female transsexual enter a valid marriage as a woman, since there are no true female genitals.

Regarding divorce, Waldenberg has ruled that no divorce is necessary to permit the remarriage of a woman whose husband has undergone sex-change surgery. He argues that if the person in question can no longer contract a marriage as a male, this condition automatically terminates any existing marriage.

As for circumcision, in the case of a female-to-male transformation, it is clearly unnecessary, Bleich says. According to one source he cites, it would be unnecessary even if the new organ were physiologically similar to that of a male in every respect, since the requirement applies only to those who are male at birth.

Bracha, who studied in a yeshiva, was fully aware of the halachic prohibitions. "Halachically, I was wrong to transition," she says. She didn't ask a rabbi for a ruling, because if the answer had been negative, she wouldn't have been able to go ahead with the sex change.

"I look at it like this: It's forbidden to use the telephone on Shabbat, but if you life is in danger, you are obligated to use it. I was desperate. I had considered killing myself many times. I'd be dead right now if I hadn't transitioned."

As for her status following the surgery, she follows Waldenberg's ruling that she is now a female in the eyes of Halacha. This means not only performing the commandments to which women are obligated, but also reciting the appropriate morning prayer.

After years of having to bless God for not creating her a woman—"it was like swallowing broken glass"—she may now recite the blessing thanking God "who has made me in accordance with His will."

 

'I'm dying for Israel to win, and if it happens it will be a great gift for my country,' said singer Dana International last night, a day before she gets on the stage of the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, to perform the song 'Diva' in the 43rd Eurovision Song Contest. By Amos Oren, Eurovision correspondent

With that she added: 'The expectations in Israel are pressuring me greatly. Everyone expects me to take first place, and I'm not allowing myself to get euphoric. I'll do my best. At the end of the Eurovision I don't want to leave with a bad feeling, with an accomplishment less than first place. And besides, you can't forget it's just sport.' In her words, 'I'm drawing great encouragement from the interest and the response I'm receiving here, and feel that if I have an international career the road will be much shorter than in Israel. Still I've learned already that when dreams come true, they're never as nice as the dream itself.'

Until the contest tomorrow, Saturday night, at 10 p.m. (8 p.m. English time), Dana International has three more general rehearsals: Two today -- at noon and in the evening, and one - tomorrow in the afternoon, in the presence of a 4500 person crowd, that has paid 30 pounds sterling apiece for a ticket (as opposed to the competition itself, to which only invitees may attend).

The competition has not yet started but the Israeli singer already has a few conclusions: 'It was a very difficult week. It wasn't fun like I thought it would be. I didn't get excited the way I thought I'd get excited. Birmingham also isn't nice like I thought it would be. I didn't have time to breath. It's good that there are only two days left. The journalists were very nice at the beginning, but then they became more invasive, and it was really awful.'

What's stressing you most right now?
'Saturday night. The moment when song number 8, and my first minute on stage.'

In the betting market, there's been no change. Israel's chance of winning is still 8:1, as is Ireland's, with England (2:5), Belgium (5:1) and Sweden (7:1) ahead of it. Germany is in fifth place with a chance of 3:1 but also is in third place among countries whose chances of finishing last are good. At the head of this list is Hungary (odds of 3:1, whose song also is in last place in its chance of winning first place, with odds of 80:1.

Ofer Nissim, Dana's personal manager, and Shai Kerem, her artistic adviser, estimate that the most difficult rival is the British song. 'Us or England,' they say, 'if there's justice and logic, that's the battle of the contest.'"