Rita, Israel’s foremost pop voice, has done just that on her latest album, My Joys (2012). The dynamic and sultry singer has made a quiet statement against saber-rattling bluster and political oppression, bringing the distinctive pleasures of her Persian family’s songs and celebrations to life with striking, fresh arrangements. Her stirring, upbeat renditions of classic Persian songs in Hebrew and Farsi, though banned in Iran, are quietly being sold in underground music shops. Gratitude has poured in from Iranian fans, despite the risks involved. Digging into her memory and experience, choosing songs she has hummed and treasured since childhood, Rita shows how Persian songs, reframed to reflect a lifetime of pop inventiveness and rock energy, can softly but firmly shift the conversation, in Iran and in Israel.