A video of a violinist playing the Israeli national anthem on his balcony in Madrid amid the COVID-19 lockdown has gone viral.
In the video, the unnamed violinist is seen receiving a resounding standing ovation from neighbors on an empty Madrid street following his rendition of “Hatikva.”
Musical performances on balconies amid the pandemic have been recorded across the world, beginning in hard-hit Italy.
On Seder eve, tens of thousands of Israelis, locked down by the government and separated from their families on Passover, came out to their balconies to sing together. In cities and towns across the country people joined together to sing Ma Nishtana, or the Four Questions, a song traditionally sung by the youngest member of the household that asks: “Why is this night different from every other night?”
The festive meal, traditionally a large gathering of family or friends, was being marked by many in solitary quarantine, or only with those confined together in the same house with a countrywide curfew, keeping people to their homes for the first night of the holiday.
The act of solidarity was especially poignant with many elderly people unable to celebrate with their children and grandchildren.
