Three decades ago, a young Israeli singer’s life changed so dramatically in a single instant that she still divides it into “before” and “after.”

Having recently performed “Ave Maria” before a live audience of 100,000 at the Vatican, Achinoam “Noa” Nini had enthusiastically agreed to perform at a Tel Aviv peace rally headlined by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in support of the Oslo Accords. Minutes after she left the stage, Rabin was gunned down.

Since that horrifying day in November 1995, Noa, as she’s known, has not only continued her musical career with a dazzlingly eclectic repertoire of songs, singing Yemeni tunes she learned from her grandmother, scatting with George Benson, harmonizing with Sting and performing with Stevie Wonder as her accompanist . . .

She’s become the Voice of Peace, intent on continuing Rabin’s legacy by using her voice to promote harmony and reconciliation.

After forgoing international touring in the wake of October 7 to dedicate herself to concerts in communities hosting refugees, hospitals and the homes of the bereaved, Noa is finally returning to the United States and to The Temple Emanu-El Streicker Cultural Center, with Grammy-winning Ukrainian Jewish pianist Ruslan Sirota and drummer Daniel Dor.

Their concert will feature both Noa classics and selections from her newest album, The Giver, which reflects the sorrow, anger and frustration she felt in the long months before the return of the hostages, as well as her strength of spirit, courage and light, which has kept her going.

A fourth-generation Israeli of Yemeni descent, Noa has released 16 critically acclaimed albums; graced the stages at the White House, the Montreux Jazz Festival. the Colosseum and Madrid’s Teatro Real; and has collaborated with artists from across the globe. She is currently organizing Re-Imagining Peace, a gathering of Israeli and Palestinian artists, thinkers and creators from all genres, in Florence in summer 2026, to energize a new movement of hope.