A very hearty mazel tov to Abraham Marley, son of eight-time Grammy-winning artist Ziggy Marley and grandson of the late and great Bob Marley, who just celebrated his bar mitzvah. His father recently shared a photo from the festivities of the young man looking dapper in a navy suit and bright blue tie.
“I share this photo of Abraham and I from his celebration of becoming a man according to the ancient tradition he has reached that age of responsibility and change. JAH,” Marley wrote. Abraham turned 13 this year and isn’t the first Marley to celebrate the Jewish right of passage. Ziggy Marley and Orly Agai Marley’s oldest daughter, Judah, had her bat mitzvah in Israel.
Orly was born in Kfar Saba to Iranian parents, spent part of her life in Iran before the Islamic Revolution, and at age 14, left the country for LA. Orly started her career as a personal assistant and spent 13 years working at William Morris Agency before quitting to work with her husband and his family. She’s worked with Randy Jackson, Selma Hayek, Sheryl Crow, Aretha Franklin and Queen Latifah. She and Marley married 19 years ago and have four children: daughter Judah and sons Gideon, Abraham and Isaiah. The family follows both Marley’s Rastafari traditions and Jamaican roots (they traveled to Jamaica last year to volunteer together) and celebrate Orly’s Jewish faith and culture.
Back in December of last year, Marley, 55, posted an ode to his wife and her name, which means “light for me” or “my light” in Hebrew. He shared the following from Let’s Learn Slang’s definition of the name: “Orly was not only a name but also a source of inspiration for poets, artists and philosophers. Its melodic sound and rich symbolism made it a favorite choice for creative works, capturing the essence of beauty and the human desire for transcendence.”
“So now you see the connection,” he shared, with a laughing emoji. He went on to write how lucky he feels to be married to her: “She has been and continues to be a light that JAH has sent to me. All my love.” In 2022, he released a song dedicated to Orly, “I Am the Lucky One,” calling it “a gift from my heart, a psalms of love, a song of David written for her.”
“Who has my back? She does. Couldn’t do the things I do without my Queen at my side. A positive force of light,” he shared in January. “I give thanks to JAH for her presence and counsel,” he wrote, and added a “#ShabbatShalom.”
Aside from being an instrumental force in his career, Orly also collaborated with Ziggy on a children’s book “Little John Crow.” In an interview, Orly said that they make working together work by having “a hard line with not discussing business at home during family time. ”
The singer, author and voice actor feels a strong connection to his wife’s Jewish faith and roots. “The history of our connection to the roots of Israel, to David, Solomon, goes way before I met my wife,” Marley shared with Yedioth Ahronoth in 2011. “My father, my Rastafari culture, has a tight link to the Jewish culture. We have a strong connection from when I was a young boy and read the Bible, the Old Testament.”
“The Rastafari culture has a very strong connection to Haile Selassie, a descendant of King Solomon,” he continued. “So it is in our soul, this connection, and we have had it for a very long time.”
Marley also added that he is very jealous of Jewish culture and he celebrates all the Jewish holidays. Back in October of last year, Marley signed a Creative Community for Peace letter in support of Israel and for the release of the hostages. On his Instagram he shared an image that read “Free Gaza from Hamas,” and he’s also written about his grief for the people and especially the children of Gaza, decrying Netanyahu and asking for the release of the hostages. “There must be a better way,” he wrote in multiple posts, calling for peace.
