Watch: Mohamed Hadid's Heartfelt Ode to Jerusalem

With what has been happening in Palestine, high profile Palestinians around the world are making their love towards Jerusalem known.

With a short video translated in different languages such as English, French, Russian and Spanish. Under the title and name of ‘a message of love”, The black and white short video includes Mohamed Hadid, businessman and father of models Gigi and Bella, as well as Academy Award-nominated and Bafta-winning filmmaker Farah Nabulsi, chef Fadi Kattan, mountaineer Mostafa Salameh and actors Yasmine Al Massri and Eyas Younis, and many others where they have shared their thoughts and love on Jerusalem.

Nabulsi loves Jerusalem “for the way it makes me feel when I’m there”. Journalist Dana Abulaban lauds “its magic”, while Al Massri reminisces about “the smell of the morning”. Chef and author Sami Tamimi, meanwhile, highlights “its people, diversity and food”.

Writer and actress Raede Taha also speaks of its diversity, while Younis points to its history. Jerusalem’s aromas and holy sounds are also cited as things to treasure, while Tanya Zabaneh, founder of My Olive Roots, highlights “its spirit that connects us all.”

The video was made using ‘Mawtini’ as the background music which served Palestine as the national anthem until 1996 when an official national anthem has been created.

 

 

 

 

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The initiative began by Omar Sartawi, the food artist, “I was having a conversation with my friend Dolores Al Shelleh and she mentioned us doing a video about current events. At 2am I sent a message to Diana Al Shaer, who has a production company,” he tells The National.

“I spoke with Fadi Kattan at 3am to start reaching out to our contacts to ask our Palestinian friends from across the globe to send us a five-second video where they tell us why they love Jerusalem,” he added.

Sartawi was initially aiming for 10 contributors and ended up with 17. “Everyone was phenomenal and their support and love was beautiful. We were all united in our love of that beautiful city, and I really don't believe we would have succeeded in doing such a video with no budget in such a record time if it wasn't for Jerusalem.”

Image Source: Mohamed Hadid Instagram