Austrian-Israeli singer Timna Brauer performs in Zagreb: 'I am against boycotting artists, I don't want to be boycotted just because my mother is Israeli'

Austrian-Israeli singer-songwriter Timna Brauer is set to perform "Flowers of the Orient" at the Music Academy in Zagreb, a concert dedicated to Jewish musical traditions from medieval Spain and the Middle East. The performance will highlight Sephardic traditions originating from medieval Spain and the rich musical heritage of Yemeni Jews, reflecting Brauer's own background as half-Israeli with Yemeni roots.

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The focus will be on Jewish music of the Orient, but above all, it is about the Sephardic tradition that originates from medieval Spain.

Brauer explained that the music, rarely heard in Europe, often blends with other cultures. Jewish songs have been sung in languages like Greek and Turkish while retaining their distinct Jewish melodies. She emphasized her desire to present the breadth of Jewish music, which extends beyond the European klezmer and Yiddish styles to encompass Oriental and Arabic influences, mirroring her own ability to navigate these diverse worlds.

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Jews lived there for centuries, until the inquisition, and after being expelled from Spain, they dispersed throughout the Mediterranean, including Croatia, carrying their musical heritage with them.

Having lived in Vienna, Paris, and Israel, Brauer's music is deeply influenced by these cultures. She spent her early years in Paris, where her father, the renowned Austrian painter Arik Brauer, performed Israeli songs with her mother. This bohemian artistic environment shaped her early experiences before the family moved to Vienna, where she encountered a new language and culture.

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My mother is an Israeli of Yemeni descent, and in Yemen, where my grandparents lived, there was a large Jewish community even before the advent of Islam.