Amal Murkus (, , born 11 July 1968) is a Palestinian singer. Her post-modern music style has a variety of Mediterranean influences. Her first album, Amal, was released in 1998, and her second, Shauq, in 2004. Her songs take inspiration by Palestinian folklore, traditional Arabic heritage, and pop music elements, and express the struggle against the marginalization and exclusion that Arab Palestinian culture feels. Early life Murkus was born and raised in the Arab town of Kafr Yasif in the Galilee area to a Palestinian Christian family, and has devoted her career to promoting Palestinian music and culture. She was the fifth born out of six daughters. Murkus has been performing since she was five years old. In 1979, she won first prize in the Arab children's song festival, and went on to graduate from the Institute for Stage Art "Beit Tsvi" in 1990. Music career Murkus is a member of the counseling board of Free Muse, an organization working against the censorship of art and music. She took an active part in its congress in Denmark in 2003. Amal is currently studying art as a tool for social change at Musrara College in Jerusalem. Murkus appears regularly on TV in various educational and cultural programs. She has also appeared in feature films and was nominated for the Israeli Oscar for her performance in Ali Nasar's movie The Milky Way. In 2003, Murkus won 'Best Actress' at the Haifa Theatre Festival. Her extensive vocal range and abilities enable Murkus to sing in a wide variety of genres, from traditional Arab to modern popular western styles. As a result, she has created some remarkable collaborations with other artists and international musicians, including Joan Baez in an anti-war concert that took place in Tel Aviv in 1988; Mercedes Sosa; Oliver Shante, Germany; Stadio, Italy; the Greek singer Glykeria; Noa; Anwar Ebrahem from Tunisia, Enzo Avitabile of Italy; Nana Caymmi in Brazil; Robert Wyatt in the UK and The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (UK) in 2005, and many others. Murkus has also completed projects with the Palestinian poets Mahmoud Darwish in Nazareth in 2000 and Kafr Yasif in 1999, and Samih al-Qasim in 2006. Murkus has received many commendations for her unique art and music and for her work with local communities. In 2001, Murkus was chosen by Austrian TV as one of the most beautiful voices of the 20th century, after taking