In celebration of the 25th anniversary of its founding, the Consulate General of Israel in Shanghai held a cultural event on June 17 to highlight the friendship between Chinese and Israeli people. Apart from wonderful sand painting and dance performances, participants also enjoyed a live concert given by Israeli singer, songwriter and musician Gilad Segev, who used his music to touch people’s hearts and bring them closer.

(Gilad performs on stage.)

Straddling folk, rock, pop and electronic music, the Israeli singer entranced the audience with a variety of Israeli music while playing the guitar. He also invited his Chinese friend, female singer Ha Hui, to step on stage and they performed two Hebrew songs together.

(First from right: Chinese singer Ha Hui.)

Born with Jewish, Syrian and Polish roots, Gilad is one of the outstanding Israeli musicians who enjoy a close relationship with China. Since 2014, he has toured Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Shenzhen many times, boasting over 520,000 followers on China’s Twitter-like Weibo (@Gilad-Passerby). He names his group “Passerby”, as they are a group telling stories of travelling via music. Gilad has so far released four albums (the two most recent, “We were meant” and “Voices of the Heart”, having gone gold), including singles like Achsav Tov, A Woman from the Sky, and Holy Day.

“Coming to China has changed my life,” said Gilad, who feels very much connected with the country. He still remembers his first shows in China, five years ago in Beijing and Shanghai. “What’s interesting is that the connection with Chinese people is directly from heart to heart.” He also recalled that right after the show had finished, suddenly there was a storm. “I felt so lucky that I finished the show.”

Obsessed with Chinese culture, Gilad said, “I think what is beautiful about Chinese culture is that it’s based on very deep traditional elements. In China, they don’t forget tradition. If we lose connection to where we came from, we don’t know where we are going.”

Being a frequent visitor to China, the Israeli musician has many Chinese friends, which he feels grateful for as they teach him a lot about Chinese culture and tradition. For instance, he has discovered that some ancient instruments in China and Israel sound very similar in terms of the frequency of vibration, and that has also instilled inspiration into his music.

Striving to create a bond connecting the Chinese and Israelis, Gilad is also active beyond the music arena. Serving as an ambassador of the Peres Innovation Fund (an organization named after former Israeli President Shimon Peres), he hopes that he can make his own contributions to promoting innovation exchanges between China and Israel.

According to Gilad’s team, his latest tour of China will soon kick off, and the last stop will be Shanghai.