Jewish singer Enrico Macias said, in a video interview with the news website “Chouf Chouf”, on Saturday, did not know the reason which prevents his visit to Algeria, in which he was born in 1938, compared with other Jews who were born in Algeria then left it during the Algerian Independence, but they visit it whenever they have the opportunity to do it, as he repeated more than once that he was a Jew, and close to Israel, and can not renege his history and origins.
“My real name is Gaston Grenassia. I am an Algerian citizen, and circumstances forced me to leave Algeria. It is obvious, Algeria is my Mother land, and Algerians are my brothers. How not! We were born in the same land, and anyone who is born in the same land are brothers. I am proud of the my Algerian origins, even though I was forced to leave it.”
“I am proud of being Algerian. Algeria is in my blood and in my music. My first music was Algerian, it was a classic music Malouf that I learned from my Uncle Raymond and my father”.
As for the reason that makes it forbidden from entering Algeria, which he left on the eve of independence in 1962, he said; “I did not know the reason of preventing me from visiting Algeria, may be because I’m close to Israel, and it is well known that there is a significant rejection to the issue of my return, which was manifested at least twice, the first in 2000, when the President Bouteflika invited me to visit Algeria, but the opposition of some active figures, prevented the completion of the visit, including the late President, Ahmed Ben Bella, and national figures, as is the case with the late Mehri and Abdelaziz Belkhadem, and the renewal of the same rejection in 2007 when his name was proposed to accompany Sarkozy to Algeria in that year, but the French authorities did not bring Macias.
Although Macias spoke proudly about Algeria, but he returned to confirm his origins and defends his Jewish roots and and State of Israel, and said; “I can not renege my Jewish origins, I am from this people … This people sparked debate in the Middle East, and I believe that this controversy is useless.”
As usual, he did not hesitate to defend the Jews, when he said; “Jews have the right to own a state, and Palestinians have the same right, and should live in peace with Israel, but Israel should help them so that everyone can live in peace”.