It has been a high profile month for Rita Jahanforuz, the singer who often has been called the Israeli Madonna.

Last week, she blew a kiss to President Barack Obama while singing at a state dinner honoring him hosted by Israeli President Shimon Peres.

Two weeks earlier, she performed a concert at the United Nations General Assembly Hall — not normally a venue featuring bands, singers, strobe lights, and smoke machines, let alone Hebrew songs — where she was introduced by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.

“It feels really amazing,” said Rita, who always records and performs using just her first name, about being Israel’s informal cultural ambassador, in a telephone interview with the Jewish Standard.