Tina Karol is Jewish!

By: Chief Salamander

Few Ukrainians know that Tina Karol who represents Ukraine in the Eurovision song contest has Jewish roots. Karol, whose real name is Tanya Liberman, was born in the Russian Far East -  Orotukan, Magadan Oblast.

What Karol does not advertise is that her singing career began as a teenager when she took part in Jewish and Israeli festivals, both in Ukraine and abroad. "For four years, I performed with the dancing ensemble at the Kiev branch of the Jewish Agency, and my repertoire included songs in Hebrew and in Yiddish," she says. In 2000, she traveled with the ensemble to the United States, where the group's appearances raised money for Jewish Agency for Israel programs in Ukraine.

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