TÄRA: Meet the Italian-Palestinian singer bringing Palestine to the forefront of Italy's collective consciousness through music

Tamara Al-Zool and her family were once the only Palestinians in their village. Born in Frosinone, a municipality near Rome, the 22-year-old music artist, who performs under the name of TÄRA, used to feel that her Palestinian heritage was something she needed to keep hidden.

But not anymore. 

Recently, TÄRA has been making waves in both the Italian R&B and indie Arab music scenes, with her own genre of music, which she calls Arab&B, singing in Arabic, English, and Italian so seamlessly that you would not expect that at one point in her life, she struggled to feel at home in her identity.  

She makes no secret that growing up Palestinian in a small Italian province was at times both lonely and challenging. 

“I’ve met many Arabs, but not many Palestinians,” TÄRA tells The New Arab.

“That was pretty hard. Growing up in a Western country can be challenging — it's challenging to stay connected to your roots and keep your culture alive,” she adds.  

“But the two cultures are not so different. People in society want us to think there is a big gap between us, but in reality, we are all Mediterranean.” 

A little over 1,000 Palestinians are living in Italy. However, that number will have increased since the outbreak of Israel's genocide in Gaza, as 150 Palestinian patients are said to have been evacuated to the European country for medical treatment, along with 450 accompanying family members.

Being such a small community of Palestinians in the diaspora, it is easy to see why TÄRA felt disconnected at times. 

But watching her sing Ya Helwa Ciao, her Arabic rendition of Bella Ciao, while wearing her keffiyeh and with a tambourine in hand, you would be forgiven for thinking that was ever the case.

A Palestinian singing the infamous World War 2 anthem adopted by the Italian Resistance calling for freedom and an end to fascism exemplifies the way TÄRA has reconciliated her Palestinian-Italian identity and drawn parallels between Italy’s fascist past and struggle for liberation and Palestine’s reality today. 

“I really liked the idea of showing that we fight the same fight and the same resistance for recognition and independence,” she says.

“So, I thought that was a nice way to do a cover of the song. No one knows who the original writers of Bella Ciao are, but you can really feel the energy in the words.” 

Arab&B as a new music genre

Singing since the age of 15, art and music have always been part and parcel of TÄRA’s life, but it was in 2020 that she finally found the confidence to start releasing material — and she hasn’t looked back since.

TÄRA has made it her mission to show Italians and the rest of the world that Palestinians in Italy exist.

Last year, she was the first Palestinian to audition on X Factor Italia, wearing a keffiyeh as she performed Ariana Grande’s song 7 Rings before advancing to the next round. 

“It was surreal,” she says. “Being on X Factor was a dream of mine. I was happy I got to show I’m Palestinian on national TV. Wearing my keffiyeh on stage was a powerful moment.” 

TÄRA’s music is a powerful fusion of R&B and hip-hop beats mixed with Arabic melodies and Palestinian singing styles.

In a country where R&B and hip-hop are not as popular as they are in other European countries like Germany, she says pop is still Italy’s favourite musical genre.

Still, TÄRA’s blend of Western and Arabic music is a unique offering. It only makes sense that, as its pioneer, she would coin her own term for it – Arab&B. 

“I was trying to think up a way to show people in the West what we do, just a glance at our language and our music,” she explains.

“I've always loved R&B; it's one of my main inspirations, but Arabic music is also a big inspiration. I grew up listening to Fairuz and Michael Jackson. Arab&B just emerged from mixing these two genres, and I think it’s a way to display something that is really ours.”  

Exploring politics

Following the outbreak of the genocide in Gaza after October 2023, TÄRA decided that her music needed to adopt a political dimension.

Dunya is a powerful example of this; TÄRA’s in-your-face lyrics speak of censorship, misinformation and a world that feels increasingly dystopian since the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza began 21 months ago.  

“In the past, some Italians would have had an issue with me singing about Palestine,” she says.

“But now I think people are seeing the truth. Nobody can say ‘no you can't’ or ‘no it's not right’ because it's right in front of us. I'm happy that music helps connect people to this big issue that Palestinians have been facing for decades.” 

Not only has TÄRA been a witness to the power her music has to connect people, amassing over 85,000 followers on Instagram in addition to the hundreds of fans who attend her performances, but she has also seen the resurgence of popular support for Palestine in Italy.

The ‘90s saw Italian support for Palestine decrease in light of the government’s growing friendship with the Israeli government. However, Israel’s current war on Gaza has resulted in a cooling of that friendship.  

Last month, 300,000 Italians took to the streets in one of the country’s largest Palestine protests to date, and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni caved into pressure to condemn Netanyahu for his war on Gaza, calling for a permanent end. 

“I’ve seen some real effort from the Italian people,” TÄRA says. “I'm happy that my music somehow helped people connect the dots.” 

TÄRA’s music is available to play on YouTube, Spotify and all major streaming platforms

Yousra Samir Imran is a British Egyptian writer and author based in Yorkshire. She is the author of Hijab and Red Lipstick, published by Hashtag Press

Follow her on X: @UNDERYOURABAYA