Mohammad Jaber Abdul Rahman Assaf (Arabic: Ù…Øمد جبر
عبدالرØمن عسا٠‎; born 1 September 1989) is a
Palestinian pop singer well known for being the winner of the second
season of Arab Idol, broadcast by the MBC network. His victory
received worldwide coverage from the media and was welcomed with joy
by Palestinians and the rest of the Arab world. In 2013, Assaf was
named a goodwill ambassador for peace by The United Nations Relief and
Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). He was also named
ambassador of culture and arts by the Palestinian government and was
offered a position with "diplomatic standing" by the Palestinian
president Mahmood Abbas. Assaf's story is the basis of the 2015 film
The Idol, directed by Hany Abu-Assad. After Arab Idol, Assaf has gone
on to enjoy huge popularity in the Arab World and the Arab diaspora
and has released two albums and a great number of singles and
collaborations. Most of his music is sung in Iraqi, Khallegi dialect
not a Palestinian one.He was born in Misrata, Libya to Palestinian
parents. He lived there until he was 4 years old, when his parents
moved back to Gaza, he grew up in Khan Younis refugee camp to a middle
class couple where he attended UNRWA elementary school. His mother's
family hails from the village of Bayt Daras, which was captured and
depopulated by the nascent IDF in 1948 and his father's family is from
Beersheba. Assaf's parents moved to Khan Yunis Refugee Camp when he
was four years old. He is one of six siblings, three of whom,
including Assaf, have been involved in performing live music. Assaf's
mother Intisar, a mathematics teacher, has stated that Assaf began
singing at the age of five and "had a voice of someone who was much,
much older." Before his role on the television show he was attending
Gaza City's Palestine University majoring in media and public
relations. Assaf did not have professional training as a singer; he
started his career singing at weddings and other private events. He
entered the public view in 2000 during a popular local television
program where he called in and sung a nationalist song to the host's
praise. Afterward, he was frequently offered contracts with local
record companies. Sometime after his first performance, he sang in a
local event in Gaza attended by late Palestinian president Yasser
Arafat.Mohammad Assaf traveled from Gaza Strip to Egypt to audition
for Arab Idol. It took him two days to reach Egypt by car due to
complications on the border. At the beginning, he had to convince the
Egyptian security at the border crossing, where he was stuck for two
days, to leave Gaza. Once he reached the hotel where the auditions
were taking place, the doors were closed in which they did not accept
anymore auditions so he jumped over the wall. After he jumped over the
wall, he couldn't get a number to audition; he sat hopelessly in the
hall where other contestants were waiting for their turn. He started
singing to the contestants, and a Palestinian contestant, Ramadan Abu
Nahel, who was waiting to audition heard him and gave him his number
saying, "I know I won't reach the finals but you will."
عبدالرØمن عسا٠‎; born 1 September 1989) is a
Palestinian pop singer well known for being the winner of the second
season of Arab Idol, broadcast by the MBC network. His victory
received worldwide coverage from the media and was welcomed with joy
by Palestinians and the rest of the Arab world. In 2013, Assaf was
named a goodwill ambassador for peace by The United Nations Relief and
Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). He was also named
ambassador of culture and arts by the Palestinian government and was
offered a position with "diplomatic standing" by the Palestinian
president Mahmood Abbas. Assaf's story is the basis of the 2015 film
The Idol, directed by Hany Abu-Assad. After Arab Idol, Assaf has gone
on to enjoy huge popularity in the Arab World and the Arab diaspora
and has released two albums and a great number of singles and
collaborations. Most of his music is sung in Iraqi, Khallegi dialect
not a Palestinian one.He was born in Misrata, Libya to Palestinian
parents. He lived there until he was 4 years old, when his parents
moved back to Gaza, he grew up in Khan Younis refugee camp to a middle
class couple where he attended UNRWA elementary school. His mother's
family hails from the village of Bayt Daras, which was captured and
depopulated by the nascent IDF in 1948 and his father's family is from
Beersheba. Assaf's parents moved to Khan Yunis Refugee Camp when he
was four years old. He is one of six siblings, three of whom,
including Assaf, have been involved in performing live music. Assaf's
mother Intisar, a mathematics teacher, has stated that Assaf began
singing at the age of five and "had a voice of someone who was much,
much older." Before his role on the television show he was attending
Gaza City's Palestine University majoring in media and public
relations. Assaf did not have professional training as a singer; he
started his career singing at weddings and other private events. He
entered the public view in 2000 during a popular local television
program where he called in and sung a nationalist song to the host's
praise. Afterward, he was frequently offered contracts with local
record companies. Sometime after his first performance, he sang in a
local event in Gaza attended by late Palestinian president Yasser
Arafat.Mohammad Assaf traveled from Gaza Strip to Egypt to audition
for Arab Idol. It took him two days to reach Egypt by car due to
complications on the border. At the beginning, he had to convince the
Egyptian security at the border crossing, where he was stuck for two
days, to leave Gaza. Once he reached the hotel where the auditions
were taking place, the doors were closed in which they did not accept
anymore auditions so he jumped over the wall. After he jumped over the
wall, he couldn't get a number to audition; he sat hopelessly in the
hall where other contestants were waiting for their turn. He started
singing to the contestants, and a Palestinian contestant, Ramadan Abu
Nahel, who was waiting to audition heard him and gave him his number
saying, "I know I won't reach the finals but you will."
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