If you want to know about the social history of Israel, listen to her popular music. Whatever is going on in a society, you can bet someone is writing a song about it. Popular music has been a major cultural tool in the construction of a modern national and ethnic sense of what it means to be Jewish and Israeli. �
To celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut 2017, we�ve chosen to celebrate Israeli popular music. The JHV asked Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center�s Community shlicha, Herut Gez, and Congregation Beth Israel Assistant Rabbi Joshua Herman to select two Israeli songs per decade that reflect the mood and events of the time. Gez and Rabbi Herman added their commentaries, setting the music in context.�
Performance videos of the songs and English translations of the lyrics can be enjoyed by going to our e-edition:
1950s, 1960s and 1970s and
1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s. Beginning in pre-state Israel, culture was considered a chief component in nation building. In rejecting the Jewish Diaspora and creating �the new Jew,� it was necessary to create a new Israeli culture (tarbut Ivrit). The core of this culture was the Hebrew language. Early Israeli popular music focused on themes of identity, ideology and nationalism. Music education was perceived as a means for socializing new immigrants into the ethos of the new Israeli culture. Most of the earliest Israeli songs were Hebrew poems set to music. They evoked the pioneer ethos of working and building up the land.�
The 1940s-�50s
�Morning Song�The poet Nathan Alderman wrote the lyrics of �Shir Boker� in the early �30s. But, the song didn�t become popular until the 1940s.
�The song was included in one of the early �propaganda films� of the Zionist movement,� said Gez. �The purpose of this film was to demonstrate how important it was to come to Israel to be a pioneer.��
Notice the lyrics: �We love you, our homeland/in joy, in song, and in labor.�
�Hearing the song, you knew specifically what you, as a pioneer, were expected to do: plant, farm, build and drain the swamps,� said Gez. �Also, the line, �even if some of us may fall to our demise,� indicates the new Israelis were already aware of the reality they would have to fight for the land.�
�The Friendship�The song �HaReut� was written during the War of Independence in 1948. Israel lost some 6,300 military and civilians, about 1 percent of the population.
�So, it�s not surprising that the lyrics talk about the people dying in the war,� said Gez. �This song reflected the first bereavement inside Israeli society. The lines, �few of us remain/so many are no longer among us,� speak about the enormity of loss in a small, tight-knit society where everybody knows each other.�
Rabbi Herman noted, even today in Israel, everybody has family or close friends serving in the military. In contrast, there�s a disconnect between most Americans and their military. American military personnel currently make up less than 1 percent of the United States population.�
The initial performance of this song was by the Palmach music band, HaChizbatron. Military music groups like these performed for both the military and the society.�
�From the beginning, the idea of the military bands was as a tool to educate people,� said Gez. �You put into the lyrics the themes you want people to believe in. These groups also had an entertainment role.�
�And, a role in ideology,� added Rabbi Herman.
The 1960s
�If Only Birds��Ilu Tziporim� reflects the short-lived, but intense Israeli love for all things French. In 1956, Israel participated in Operation Kadesh (the Sinai War), along with France and Great Britain. The French-Israeli alliance involved joint planning for the war and the supply of large amounts of weapons, including atomic technology, to Israel. The friendship lasted until 1967, when the French switched sides and imposed an arms embargo on the region, which mostly hurt Israel.�
�We saw this strong friendship inside the music,� said Gez. �Many performers began translating songs from French into Hebrew.�
�Naomi Shemer translated this song.
�An interesting question is to what extent did the French influence in the early 1960s mirror the American influence today,� said Rabbi Herman. �The difference is that America, today, is more of a cultural hegemony. I think there�s been a desire inside Israel to be more a part of Europe.�
Gez: �I think if you ask young Israelis today, their desire is to culturally be more American than European. It�s about the American dream. It�s different when you live here. But, for young Israelis, there�s a perception that everybody in America is rich and lives a great life.�
Rabbi Herman: �I remember when I was in Israel, and somebody asked our guide what continent was Israel on.� He replied, �We�re in Asia, but we like to be thought of as part of Europe.� Israel competes in European song festivals, football and basketball.�
Gez: �In the end, Israelis want to be Israelis, not European, not American. They�re proud of being Israelis.�
�Jerusalem of Gold�
�Jerusalem of Iron�Everyone knows �Yerushalayim Shel Zahav.� But, few Americans know the protest song, �Yerushalayim Shel Barzel,� that Meir Ariel wrote in response.
�We have this idyllic song by [Naomi] Shemer,� said Rabbi Herman. �We also have this realistic song written by an IDF soldier who fought to liberate the city. Ariel was known as �The Singing Paratrooper.��
Shuli Natan, who accompanied herself on acoustic guitar at a Jerusalem song festival three weeks prior to the 1967 War, first performed Shemer�s song. The song reflected the intense longing for access to Jerusalem and the West Bank, which was under Jordanian control. Her lyrics include �No one takes the Dead Sea Highway/that leads through Jericho.��
Right after the war, Shemer added two verses, including the lines, �We�ll take the Dead Sea Road together/that runs through Jericho.��
�It was a prophetic song,� said Gez. �The song also marked the first ideological division inside Israeli society. These two songs reflect the division between those who believe that the West Bank is part of Eretz Israel (Shemer) and those who believe the occupation is leading us to become an immoral society (Ariel).�
Rabbi Herman: �It took a while for this ideological divide to take root. In 1967, you didn�t have these clearly defined settlement and anti-settlement camps. [Meir] Ariel is saying: Now you can take the road to Jericho, but at what cost?��
Gez: �There was a Knesset member who proposed changing the Israeli national anthem from HaTikvah to Yerushalayim Shel Zahav. It didn�t pass, but it was an idea.�
The 1970s
�May It Be�You can never have too much Shemer.
Shemer wrote �Lu Yehi� following the Yom Kippur War. It was her response to The Beatles� �Let It Be.��
Rabbi Herman: �The Beatles song was about going with the flow and things will all work out. Shemer flips this: �Let it be� becomes �If only it would be.� So, it becomes a song of prayer and aspiration.�
The Yom Kippur War precipitated a huge crisis in Israel, Gez reminds us. �I can tell you from the stories my family told. First of all, one of my uncles died during the war. So many soldiers died that it seemed each family lost someone. (There were 2,656 military deaths). Second, the war was a surprise. It came only six years after the Six-Day War.�
The song reflects both deep pain and optimism, argued Rabbi Herman, especially the line, �Allow them to return safely here/all that we seek, may it be.�
�It Could Be That It�s All Over�A song, originally recorded in 1973 by Arik Einstein, remains popular today. It reflects the relationship between two generations: the pioneers and their children.
�Children often have some conflicted relationships with their parents,� said Gez. �The song begins: �They say things were happy here before I was born/And everything was wonderful until I arrived.��
�This song reflects the rebel years in Israel. Einstein, one of Israeli�s most popular singers, was among the first to make the transition to rock music. His �Poozy,� with The Churchills, is considered the first Israeli rock album.�
The young people in �Yachol Leyiot Sh�ze Nigmar� are poking fun at the older generation, saying they had a reason to get up in the morning: to see the beautiful girls in short pants. It wasn�t to build the country; it was the beautiful girls.
�The older folks are always saying �in my day �� I asked the youngsters I teach: How many of your parents tell you the music you listen to is crap? And all hands went up,� said Rabbi Herman. �When you ask the parents, they say their parents had the same complaint. Every generation rebels against the generation before it.�
Gez: �As an educator, we use songs like this to ask young Israelis: Is it [Zionism] all over? The idea of modern Zionism is that it has changed over the years, according to the needs of the society. When the need was to drain the swamps, Zionist ideals reflected those needs. In a high-tech society, Zionism is going to reflect different needs. That doesn�t necessarily mean it�s over.�
The 1980s
�The Flower In My Garden� Mizrachi music crossed into the Israeli mainstream in the 1980s, breaking the monopoly that Ashkenazi music held since the pre-state days. Vocalist Zohar Argov premiered the song at the Oriental Song Festival in 1982. The goal of this festival was to open the Ashkenazi ear to the music of Mizrahi Jews. Yet, at the same time, most of the tunes were �domesticated,� melodies in a vaguely Oriental style, arranged for and played by a full orchestra.�
For example, Rabbi Herman said the Hebrew lyrics of �HaPerach B�Gani� reflect a style much closer to �Song Of Songs� than to pop music.
During the 1970s, Mizrachi music had not appeared on Israeli radio, said Gez. �Distribution was limited to cassettes, mostly bootlegs, sold in kiosks at the Tel Aviv bus station. That�s where you caught the bus to the peripheral towns where the Mizrachim lived.
�My mother came from Morocco. She used to take the bus to our home in Ashkelon. And, I can tell you Mizrachi songs were part of my childhood. Until today, we have the traditional henna ceremony before the wedding. And, we listened to traditional Arabic Oriental music at the ceremony. But, through the 1970s, you didn�t hear this music on radio. It wasn�t part of the new Israel.�
Gez offered an anecdote about �HaPerach B�Gani.� Lyricist Avihu Medina originally offered the song to Shimi Tavori (�Barchenu�), who was then a bigger Mizrachi star. But, Tavori turned down the opportunity to perform the song in the Israeli Oriental Song Festival. He had plans to come to the United States and become a world-class star. Argov didn�t like the song at first. Then, Tavori phoned Argov and told him, �If you want to be famous, you need to take this song and sing it in the festival. It�s a great song.�
Argov took Tavori�s advice. It was the first Mizrachi song to break through to mainstream Israel. And, Argov�s popularity eclipsed that of Tavori.
�I Have No Other County� �Ein Li Eretz Acheret� was made popular by vocalist Gali Atari in 1986 after the First Lebanon War.��Lyricist Ehud Manor wrote the song about his brother who died during the War of Attrition in the 1970s,� said Gez. �Manor said that the country was sending her young [to Lebanon] to die for no need. It was the first time there was a gap between the soldiers in Lebanon and the Tel Aviv �Bubble� � those who were sitting in the caf�s. Many of the soldiers in Lebanon felt the county should have done better for them. Until today, people on both sides of the political map use this song. The Right uses it as a national song: �I have no other country.� The Left sees it in the line, �I won�t be silent because my country changed its face�.�
The 1990s
�Winter �73� So many Israeli songs were written about the wars. �Choref �73,� a monologue about the Yom Kippur War, was actually written in 1998. It expresses the point of view of the children of those who fought in the 1973 war.�
�The lyrics, addressed to the older generation, remind them: �When we were born you promised a dove, an olive tree leaf, peace. But, we are in the army, fighting in a war�,� said Gez. �It�s a question many Israelis ask: Why are we fighting in another war? Why can�t we find a solution? Each Yom HaZikaron, you can hear this song 10 times that day.�
The Nahal Group originally performed the song. Years later, in 2015, members of the original group, now in their 40s, were asked to come back and perform the song with the current incarnation of the Nahal Group. Sadly, the lyrics still fit.
�Diva� Dana International (Sharon Cohen) won the 1998 Eurovision Song Festival with this salute to women. This electro-dance tune became a European hit, embraced by gay and lesbian communities.
�We chose this song,� said Rabbi Herman, �because of what it represents about Dana International as a transgender woman. If you believe in women�s rights and LGBTQ rights, that�s progressive. But, if you�re a Zionist, you�re not progressive. Could you imagine someone whom is transgender winning a major song contest in the United States, let alone the Middle East? And, this happened 15 years ago!�
�Diva,� with English lyrics, represents a modern, vibrant, youthful Israeli culture. It also reflected the beginning of American influences on Israeli popular music. One example: the Israeli boy band, Hi Five. The band released three albums in the late 1990s, all of which went gold.
The 2000s
�The Melody Returns� In 2000, Galei Zahal (Army Radio) initiated the Avodah Ivrit (Hebrew Work) Project. The goal was to take songs from the 1940s, �50s and �60s and create new versions with contemporary artists. Four albums of these songs have been released.
�The beautiful thing is how Israeli musicians have gone back to their roots,� said Gez. In this version, rock guitarist and songwriter Barry Sakharov returned to a Nathan Alderman poem, �Od Hozer HaNigun,� with its haunting opening lines, �Yet again the melody returns/which you�ve left behind in vain.�
�Mom, Dad, And All the Rest� Another Galei Zahal Project: �Od Me�at Nafokh L�Shir� (�In A Minute We Will Become A Song�). The idea was to take songs written by soldiers who died in wars or in terrorist attacks and give those songs a voice by giving them to popular artists who put melodies to these songs.
Sgt. Reuven Politi, a soldier in the elite Egoz Unit of the Golani Brigade, wrote the lyrics to �Ima, Aba V�Kol HaShar.� He fell during the Yom Kippur War at the age of 19. The song was found in his notebooks. It was given to the Idan Rachel Project, who recorded it.
The 2010s
�Hermetico� Isn�t the band, Balkan Beat Box, American?
�That�s why we picked this song,� laughed Rabbi Herman. �No, they�re Israeli, but you�d never know it. American artist Jason Derulo sampled the song. So, you can see the Israeli and American pop influences going back and forth.�
Half of the lyrics are in Hebrew, half in English.
�
�Musical Trills� �Silsulim� closes the Mizrachi music circle. It�s obviously Israeli, but with loads of outside pop influences producing a global or fusion type of Mizrachi.
Vocalist Ben-El Tavori is the son of Tavori. He performs with Liraz Roso, whose stage name is �Static.� The duo is wildly popular among young Israelis. The Israel they sing about �is the hottest place in the Middle East.� A guarantee: Play this tune at a wedding and even the old folks will be up dancing.
Maybe it�s true that the music reflected bigger ideas in the old days. And, it�s certainly true there is no meaningful message in �Silsulim.� But, at the same time, there are still plenty of modern Israeli songs that reflect the depth in the society.�
Both Gez and Rabbi Herman lamented they were limited to choosing two songs to represent each decade. How many great Israeli songs and artists were left out? Open yourself to the vast array of Israeli music. It�s time to start compiling your own list.�
Watch and listen to all the music in the JHV E-edition -
1950s, 1960s and 1970s and
1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s.
