Even in the brief clip above, taken from a song that has appeared all over Twitter and Facebook in the past day or two (my thanks to Daniel G. for being the first one to bring it to my attention), you get a sense that this isn’t the Israeli music you’ve come to know. It sounds a lot more like Joan Baez or Pete Seeger protesting the Vietnam war. But, obviously, it is as Israeli as Israeli can be.
I have often quoted in these posts the insightful observation of my good friend, Yossi Klein Halevi, that one cannot understand Israel without knowing its soundtrack. It’s been true for years (see this podcast by Jake Lefkowitz that we posted last year)—and with Israel living through unprecedented times, is no less true today.
New songs are appearing at an incredible rate these days, and over the next few weeks, we’ll share some examples to give a sense of the darkening mood that has Israel in its grip (on the eve of Independence Day), but also the steely determination at the core of this society.
Should we even celebrate the day at all? Not everyone thinks we should.
In this (Google-translated headline) YNet opinion column, Israeli writer Rotem Izak argues that no, we shouldn’t celebrate.
And as we’ll see tomorrow, a very thoughtful, open-minded, deeply Zionist rabbi has just suggested that we not observe Independence Day this year.
By sharing these pieces, our intention is not necessarily to endorse them (I haven’t yet decided what to do and what not to do this Independence Day). Our purpose is to provide IFTI readers and listeners with a window into the aching soul that is Israel today—it may not be the Israel that we would love to be able to embrace, but it is the Israel that is.
The news, simply put, isn’t great.
The US is putting the brakes on the Rafah operation by withholding weapons (even those Israelis who oppose the operation are sobered by the undeniable reality that as this war progresses, Israel feels more and more like a vassal state of the US),
the hostage deal has not moved forward and Israel has virtually no leverage over the barbaric terror organization,
there’s increasing political foment along with frustration that nothing is changing
and it’s increasingly looking like war in the north might well be unavoidable.
I’m writing this sitting on my porch in Jerusalem, with the roar of fighter jets in the sky much more deafening than usual. Where they’re headed isn’t clear, though probably north, I’d guess. Given that Jerusalem is about 150 miles, as the crow flies, from the Lebanon border and an F-15 can easily reach more than 1500 mph, it’s not exactly a long trip.
The national Independence Day Ceremony, usually something that almost all Israelis sit down together to watch live on TV, is going to be performed this year without a live audience (as Rotem Izak notes above).
A national ceremony with no audience pretty much sums things up.
SUNDAY (05/12): The war has led to the creation of a whole new genre of Israeli music. We are going to introduce one of those new songs by Israeli artist Noam Tsuriely, called Od Yom B'Aza or “Another Day in Gaza”.
MONDAY (05/13): Yom Hazikaron, Remembrance Day for Fallen Soldiers— On this day of remembering, my thoughts on how Israel has become a patchwork of grief.
TUESDAY (05/14): Yom Haatzmaut, Independence Day— Two young activist Israelis, one male and one female, both called up to reserve service in the army, share with us their deepest worries about the Jewish state but also what gives them hope for its future.
WEDNESDAY (05/15): - The State Department has proposed an embargo on the IDF army unit Netzach Yehudah, a unit that has a long and controversial history. Israel has vociferously objected to the censure, but there’s a complicated and painful story here. We present an interview that sheds light on the full story.
THURSDAY (05/16): In 1982, a few Israeli soldiers went missing in a battle called Sultan Yakub. They were never heard from again, until decades later, Vladimir Putin helped get one of their bodies returned. The shadow of Sultan Yakub is growing darker in today’s Israel, for reasons we’ll explain.
Obviously, our schedule is subject to the news cycle and anything could change, but for right now these are the plans.
Now, we return to the full version of the song in the clip above. The words were written by Yali Sobol, and it’s sung by an Israeli band called Monika Sex and Sarai Zak Levi. The official title of the song is על זה כבר קשה להתווכח (Al Zeh Kvar Iy Efshar Lehitvake’ach) — “on this, there’s nothing really left to argue about.”
Here’s the song in full:
On Sunday, we’ll see a another new song, with a different, much more inspiring vibe. Which is the”real” Israel?
Both, obviously.
"They argue, while we die." Echoes of Peter, Paul & Mary, Joan Baez, and Pete Seeger in today's Israel