Lucy Ayoub ( ar, لوسي ايوب; he, לוסי איוב; born 21 June 1992) is an Israeli television presenter, poet and radio host, formerly of the
Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation
The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC; he, תאגיד השידור הישראלי, translit=Ta'agid HaShidur HaYisra'eli, lit=Israeli Broadcasting Corporation; ar, هيئة البث الإسرائيلي, translit=Hayyat al-Bathi al- ...
(IPBC) and currently working for
Keshet Media Group
Keshet Media Group, also known as the Keshet company ( he, קשת lit. "Rainbow"), is a private Israeli mass media company, which is headquartered in Tel Aviv. Its media and online news outlet Mako is one of the major Israeli ones.
The company ...
. Ayoub co-hosted the
Eurovision Song Contest 2019
The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, following the country's victory at the 2018 contest with the song " Toy" by Netta. Organised by the European Broad ...
alongside
Assi Azar
Assi Azar ( he, אסי עזר; born 10 June 1979) is an Israeli television host.
Biography
Assi Azar was born in Holon, Israel.[Bar Refaeli
Bar Refaeli ( he, בר רפאלי; born ) is an Israeli model, television host, businesswoman and actress. She is among the most internationally successful models to come from Israel, appearing on the cover of the 2009 ''Sports Illustrated'' Sw ...](_blank)
and
Erez Tal
Erez Moshe Tal ( he, ארז טל; born 27 July 1961) is an Israeli television host.
Early life
Born as Erez Moshe Ben-Tulila in Tel Aviv, Israel, to Jewish parents. His father, Aharon Ben-Tulila, immigrated from Algeria, whereas his mother Edna ...
.
Early life
Ayoub was born in
Haifa, Israel
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
. She is the daughter of an
Arab-Christian
Arab Christians ( ar, ﺍَﻟْﻤَﺴِﻴﺤِﻴُّﻮﻥ ﺍﻟْﻌَﺮَﺏ, translit=al-Masīḥīyyūn al-ʿArab) are ethnic Arabs, Arab nationals, or Arabic-speakers who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who l ...
father, and an
Ashkenazi Jewish
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
mother who
converted to Christianity
Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to Christianity. Different Christian denominations may perform various different kinds of rituals or ceremonies initiation into their community of belie ...
upon their marriage. Ayoub has one brother and three sisters.
Her paternal grandmother was the daughter of Palestinian refugees who fled to Lebanon during the
1948 Arab-Israeli War
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
, leaving her in a convent in Israel, and later was adopted by a prosperous Arab-Christian woman named Lucy Khayat.
Her maternal grandparents were
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
survivors: her maternal grandfather had been in a
Nazi concentration camp
From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...
, while her maternal grandmother from
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
survived among
partisans as a child.
Ayoub celebrates both the Christian and Jewish holidays with different parts of her family, while personally being an atheist, saying "I’m an atheist and it means nothing to me that I was
baptized
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
n church. She attended a
Catholic Carmelites school in Haifa.
She wrote stories and poems in both
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
and
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
.
Ayoub was enlisted in the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
, serving for two years as a flight simulator instructor in the
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...
.
Since 2016, she has studied
philosophy, politics, economics, and law at the
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
.
Career
![Presenters at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final Dress Rehearsal (Lucy Ayoub)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Presenters_at_the_2019_Eurovision_Song_Contest_Grand_Final_Dress_Rehearsal_%28Lucy_Ayoub%29.jpg)
She first gained public attention in 2016, when she read several pieces of her poetry in the framework of the
Poetry Slam
A poetry slam is a competitive art event in which poets perform spoken word poetry before a live audience and a panel of judges. While formats can vary, slams are often loud and lively, with audience participation, cheering and dramatic delivery. ...
Israel competition. In the same year, she joined the
Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation
The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC; he, תאגיד השידור הישראלי, translit=Ta'agid HaShidur HaYisra'eli, lit=Israeli Broadcasting Corporation; ar, هيئة البث الإسرائيلي, translit=Hayyat al-Bathi al- ...
(IPBC) and started writing and submitting videos. In 2017, Ayoub began to host a weekly cultural programme on the radio station. In the same year, she began hosting the daily TV programme'' Culture Club'' on
Kan 11.
Ayoub was the jury spokesperson for
Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Israel participated in and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. The Israeli broadcaster Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan) collaborated with the commercial broadcaster Keshet and Tedy Productions, which organised the reality sin ...
, where her presentation caused a media reaction due to the response of the
Israeli Minister of Culture and Sport,
Miri Regev
Miriam "Miri" Regev ( he, מִרְיָם "מִירִי" רֶגֶב; born Miriam Siboni on 26 May 1965) is an Israeli politician and a former brigadier-general in the Israel Defense Forces, in which she served as IDF Spokeswoman. She currently s ...
, who protested against the fact that Ayoub spoke Arabic during the live broadcast and did not mention
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
.
Ayoub hosted the
green room
In show business, the green room is the space in a theatre or similar venue that functions as a waiting room and lounge for performers before, during, and after a performance or show when they are not engaged on stage. Green rooms typically have ...
(artists' backstage) of the
Eurovision Song Contest 2019
The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, following the country's victory at the 2018 contest with the song " Toy" by Netta. Organised by the European Broad ...
in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
alongside
Assi Azar
Assi Azar ( he, אסי עזר; born 10 June 1979) is an Israeli television host.
Biography
Assi Azar was born in Holon, Israel.[Erez Tal
Erez Moshe Tal ( he, ארז טל; born 27 July 1961) is an Israeli television host.
Early life
Born as Erez Moshe Ben-Tulila in Tel Aviv, Israel, to Jewish parents. His father, Aharon Ben-Tulila, immigrated from Algeria, whereas his mother Edna ...](_blank)
and
Bar Refaeli
Bar Refaeli ( he, בר רפאלי; born ) is an Israeli model, television host, businesswoman and actress. She is among the most internationally successful models to come from Israel, appearing on the cover of the 2009 ''Sports Illustrated'' Sw ...
hosted the main event.
Before that, on 28 January, Ayoub and Azar hosted the contest's semi-final allocation draw at the
Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Tel Aviv Museum of Art ( he, מוזיאון תל אביב לאמנות ''Muzeon Tel Aviv Leomanut'') is an art museum in Tel Aviv, Israel. The museum is dedicated to the preservation and display of modern and contemporary art from Israel and aroun ...
.
She plays a role in the fourth season of the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
series ''
Fauda
''Fauda'' (, from ''fawḍā'', meaning "chaos") is an Israeli television series developed by Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff drawing on their experiences in the Israel Defense Forces. The series premiered on February 15, 2015. It tells the sto ...
''.
In November 2021, she announced her departure from the IPBC for
Keshet.
Personal life
As of 2017, she resides in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
with her
Jewish-Israeli
Israeli Jews or Jewish Israelis ( he, יהודים ישראלים, translit=Yehudim Yisraelim) are Israeli citizens and nationals who are Jewish through either their Jewish ethnicity and/or their adherence to Judaism. The term also include ...
boyfriend Etay Bar.
Ayoub speaks both
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
and
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
.
She says of her self-identity in poetry: "
me of you will say I will always be the daughter of the Arab, and at the same time, in the eyes of others, I will always be the daughter of the Jewess. So do not suddenly tell me that I can not be both."
See also
*
List of Eurovision Song Contest presenters
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual international song competition, held every year by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) since 1956. This page is a list of people who have acted as presenters of the contest.
Since 1988, it h ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayoub, Lucy
Living people
1992 births
Arab atheists
Israeli radio presenters
Israeli women radio presenters
Israeli television presenters
Israeli journalists
Israeli women journalists
Israeli women poets
Israeli poets
People from Haifa
Tel Aviv University alumni
Israeli Arab Jews
Jewish atheists
Arab citizens of Israel
Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent
Israeli people of Ashkenazi descent
Israeli atheists
Israeli women television presenters
Israeli Arab journalists
Spoken word artists