But it’s not just her voice that sets Valerie Hamaty apart: She’s also an Arab Christian, the only such contestant on a show whose winner becomes Israel’s entrant to the Eurovision Song Contest.

Craig Ballentine has landed in Dublin after being detained in the United Arab Emirates since October. Marcus Fakana was sentenced to one year in prison over a sexual relationship with a British girl.

Among the many stories resurfacing in the wake of this historical moment is that of Judeo-Syrian Arabic, a nearly extinct dialect central to Aleppo and Damascus's Jewish communities. Judeo-Syrian ...