Touched By The Hand of Ofra Haza Fanzine

You may be asking yourself, what is Touched By The Hand of Ofra Haza besides a song by Sister's of Mercy called Temple of Love (Touched by the Hand of Ofra Haza)? Well this is the title for our new Fanzine! A fanzine is a nonprofessional publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleasure of others who share their interest. Typically, publishers, editors and contributors to fanzines receive no financial compensation. (Wikipedia) With that said this is a Fanzine about Ofra Haza put together by fans, for the fans. This fanzine should have been created a long, long time ago. Ofra Haza had one of the most beautiful voices to ever grace this planet. She sang with a grace and beauty that has been unmatched since. She has influenced many artists around the world. Unfortunately she passed away in February of 2000. Our goal is to keep her memory alive. I had this idea bobbing around in my head for quite some time to make a Fanzine about Ofra Haza but I never had the actual time or even the drive it takes to put it together. Well, the drive has been found, and it is now being put together with a group of awesome friends I've met along the way. I hope you will join us in making this dream come full circle!

Who are the players?

Kaylene G.:

I am the editor of this Fanzine, and the person who threw out this idea to the wonderful people who are helping me to make this dream come true. I am a fan of the late Ofra Haza, and also am the owner of the yahoo group Ofra-Haza. This group has been around since February of 2000. I started it days following Ofra Haza's death because I wanted to connect with fans who felt the same way I did. Devastated, lost, and confused. It has become one of the longest, if not the longest active Ofra Haza group on the net. It has turned out to be a group full of great people from all over the world who want to keep the memory of Ofra alive. One of my passions is music. Of course my favorites are Ofra Haza, Kate Bush, Del Palmer, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Ceca Raznatovic, and anyone who writes, composes, and sings their own art. I am a huge fan of World Music. I also love to write poetry, look at beautiful art and photos, watch movies, fish, camp, and of course play my xbox 360 more often then I should. I'm also currently learning the Serbian language. I have a feeling that is going to take a long time. I am looking forward to working on this project and creating something for everyone to have, hold in their hands, and to cherish forever. I'm a big kid what can I say? I work for one of the largest electronics distributing company in the world. I live in Denver, CO. I was born in 1972. I have 4 older sister, and 25+ nieces and nephews! Yes a ridiculously huge family, so you can imagine what the family BBQ's must be like! I'm in a fullfilling relationship as well. There are so many things I want to learn and do but never enough time is there? My one hope is that you will come join me on this adventure and enjoy what we will put forward for all of Ofra Haza's fans around the globe.

Rich:

Rich was born 1961, in West Chester, Pennsylvania USA. Happily single. I have a younger brother and a step sister. My mother's side of the family is of Irish/English extraction, a significant portion of them being Quakers. They have been in the west of Philadelphia area for nearly 200 years, as near as we can tell. My father's side is descended from Scots and Amer-Indians located the Carolinas, and Jewish Ukrainians (my grand pop) who migrated to this country in the early 1900s. I am, the melting pot! I currently live in Newark, Delaware which is about 1 hour drive south of Philadelphia. Newark is a college town and home of the University of Delaware. I work in an Engineering Dept at a pipe fabrication company. Something I am proud of while working my job, I helped with the construction of the National WWII memorial, located on the Mall in Washington D.C. Hobbies: Role Playing Games, been playing them since 1979. Reading, mostly science fiction. Music, like Ofra Haza, Kate Bush, Evanescence, Allison Krauss and Motion Picture Soundtracks.

Fanch:

Fanch of February 1975 :-) Born and raised in Dumbea, New Caledonia from parents arrived a couple of years before from France. I have grown up in a secure environment, where country side was our playground. In fact, didn't have all day tv until I was about 8, back then programs started only at 6pm. Didn't have a phone line until I was 12. Yeah, to many of you, that sounds like the end of the world. Believe me, we were happy, we knew all of our neighbors miles away and when us, kids would go away all day long 'till sunset, our parents weren't worried. Those were the days. By the time I reached College, I was now in the capital Nouméa and started to discover the "modern" world. Carried on my studies in Christchurch, New Zealand, doing a job, more than what I had planned for my future since I was 11, in Advertising. It turned out that I went into tourism for finances reasons... not a wise choice but that is how it was. By then it was 1994 and computers were still foreign to me so when we started to learn computer, it was a drastic change and I discovered the means of communicating with people I knew, and others from all over the world. Such experience has broadened my knowledge, and as I started to work, I even deepened my knowledge. Able to meet good pals around the globe, having received them here and having gone to their place too. But best of all, this new open door allowed me to communicate with my only true interest, Ofra Haza. I joined Kaylene's group, and at the near begining of doing so I met Daniel, my living bible of Ofra, and have been holding on to an Ofra site since then.

Jody:

My name is Jody Mosier. I am an American, but I come from a rather multicultural background. My father is a third-generation American, with ancestors from Germany, Italy and Switzerland. My mom was born and raised in France, the daughter of Polish immigrants, so I've had elements of French and Polish culture in my upbringing while growing up (unfortunately, I do not speak either language, much as I wished I do). I also spent several years in England as a child, mingling with people of various ethnic backgrounds. I enjoy writing stories and poems and plan to go back to school to study journalism. I enjoy foreign languages and am currently studying Hebrew and Arabic. I also love animals and have three cats, a dog and a horse. Unlike some Ofra fans, I did not discover her until seven years after her death, when I stumbled on one of her videos on Youtube. I remembered the name from my "Prince of Egypt" CD, but because she is not well-known in my part of the country, I would not learn anything more about her until years later. But now I'm a devoted fan, and a good many of her songs have wound up on my MP3 player. It was also in listening to Ofra's songs that I was inspired to learn Hebrew. I am 33 years old and currently live near Wichita, KS.

Chaya:

My name’s Chaya K., a young lady living in Germany and a member of this Fanzine’s staff. In my opinion the best way to introduce me is to say I am a product of many controversies which until now haven’t disappeared from my life and therefore form my mind every day anew.I was born in Russia but my Russian-Jewish grandparents decided for my mother and me at a certain point to leave Russia for Germany, and some years later my mother’s sister and her son went to Israel. As a young child, the main “custom” practiced at home was humanism and Western education with classical music, literature and museums. I decided to dig out my nearly forgotten Jewish roots, sleeping somewhere in our past. I started searching for my connection with the Hebrew language, and the music. I always loved singing and listening. One day I came across a Jewish songs’ collection including a song called “Rachamim” (Mercy) by the Israeli artist Ofra Haza. I wondered what a special deep voice this woman had. In fact the name of her sounded familiar to me – still couldn’t figure out why. With the help of a dictionary I translated the short biography of her in the booklet and was deeply saddened. That beautiful, interesting lady whose song was so happy and present to me died a couple of years ago! I was determined to get to know more about this unusual person who I came across accidentally…“Rachamim” was not enough for me. One Ofra song was followed by the next one, one album by another and so on. As much as I could afford I went and searched for and collected whatever was new and exciting and special in Ofra’s music, career, and life. It’s through her I discovered my own Yemenite roots from my father’s side and have dived into a living source of traditions and history. I managed to have a more or less a complete collection of her songs and built up an archive-like website in German. Her music and her whole being are like an ever-sparkling spring and her endless vitality doesn’t cease to inspire me even after she’s gone. It’s because of Ofra I found dozens of friends all around the globe, including my great staff colleagues at this fanzine.And that’s how it is: we shouldn’t be saying “G-d, why did You take her away from us?” but rather praising “Thank You for having had Ofra with us for such a long time!” Best wishes!

Alistair:

 My name is Alistair, I'm a huge fan from Scotland, U.K. First heard of Ofra around 1988 when she had hit in UK with 'Im Nin Alu', loved her voice so much I went into my local record store and asked what was available to order which was actually very little, so I ordered it all not knowing there was far more out there from Israel, etc. Not long after that point since discovering there was lot more material available in other countries, I began collecting everything on Ofra Haza (photos of some items from my collection can be seen on Yahoo group). Enjoy most styles of music, Ofra is my favourite singer of all time of course but others I really like include Mike Oldfield, Kate Bush, Uli Jon Roth, and Yngwie Malmsteen. My main interests besides music include martial arts, reading, writing, and movies. Excited to be working on the Ofra Haza fanzine, I'm sure it will be a fitting tribute and will help perpetuate her legacy, and great to be in contact with other fans. 'The key to immortality is first to live a life worth remembering' (Bruce Lee quote) and Ofra definitely lived one!'