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December 9th, 2020 
Awake Goy 
Liraz Charhi performing at the Iranian American Jewish Federation (IAJF) 2020 Virtual Gala, Dec. 6, 2020. Photo: Screenshot.
Iranian-Israeli singer and actress Liraz Charhi, who stars in the thriller series “Tehran,” talked about relating to her on-screen character, her dual heritage and why she chose to sing in Farsi at a virtual event on Sunday night.
Charhi performed at the Iranian American Jewish Federation (IAJF) 2020 Virtual Gala from a venue in Jaffa. She sang one of her favorite Iranian songs, titled “Mahtab,” and said she once sang the same song on the set of “Tehran” with her Iranian co-stars, who were exiled from Iran.
Charhi’s parents were born in Iran and emigrated to Israel in 1970, when the two countries had strong relations before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Charhi, who recently released an album that she made in secret with Iranian musicians, said, “Iran is neither mine nor my parents’ anymore” and called the country “the home that I have never seen.” She also explained that she sings in Farsi as “a symbol of struggle against the suppression” women face in the Islamic Republic.
“I sing because of my muted grandmothers; because of muted women in Iran. With them and for them,” she said. “I will never lose hope and patience about Iran, and will always sing my heritage to the Iranian woman who should be free to sing, dance and rejoice.”
Charhi plays Iranian-Israeli Mossad agent Yael Kadosh in “Tehran,” which Apple TV+ is currently streaming. Talking about her “very complex character,” who must tap into both her Iranian and Israeli roots at various moments in the show, Charhi said, “We both grew up confused, being raised in two cultures with one big question I was always obsessed with: ‘Who am I? Am I Iranian or am I Israeli?” She added that the role “brought me even closer to my Iranian roots.”
Watch Charhi’s remarks and performance below:
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