Ukrainian-born singer Viktoria Leléka made her first visit to Israel last week to perform with her band and Israel singer Ivri Lider in a concert that benefited Magen David Adom’s emergency efforts in Ukraine, reported The Times of Israel.
Leléka, who lives in Berlin, was invited to perform as part of a Europe Day celebration, organized by the European Union Delegation to the State of Israel, with portions of the concert’s proceeds supporting MDA. The musician’s band is comprised of artists from Poland and Germany who play a mix of European jazz and Ukrainian folk music.
The singer’s family was living in Ukraine when the country’s war with Russia began in late February, according to The Times of Israel.
During the first weeks of the war, she helped evacuate them all from Ukraine, including her sister’s family in Kyiv, and her mother, grandmother and father from Donbas, where Leléka grew up. She brought them all to Germany and helped them settle in different villages around the country. Leléka is still in close contact with friends in Ukraine and tries to help them when possible.
She said about participating in the Europe Day concert in Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Park: “I think every action, every concert helps.”
“Sometimes I get so tired because there are so many refugees and so many problems, and it’s easy to lose hope,” she continued. “But then you see people in another country gathering to celebrate Ukrainian culture, and you feel like you’re not alone, that people care. Maybe there is no solution, but it helps to talk about it.”
