Heavy metal envoys from Israel

September 14, 2011 - 8:28 AM by David

As relations between Israel and Turkey have hit a new low, due to the belligerent tone and policies of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, there diplomatic ties between the two countries have been tenuous.

Israel currently has no ambassador in Ankara, and Erdogan recently severed more channels of cooperation between the two countries in the military and economic fields, as well as threatening to send war ships to accompany a future aid flotilla to Gaza.

So who’s going to come to the rescue to salvage the Israeli-Turkish relationship? An Israeli metal band!

Israeli metal speed metal band Orphaned Land have developed a big following in the Arab world over the last decade due to their fusion of hard rock and Middle Eastern motifs, and just good old headbanging music loved by metal fans no matter where they are.

Their shows in Europe are dotted with fans from places like Iran, Lebanon and Syria – countries which don’t officially recognize Israel. And one of their bastions of popularity over the last few years has been Turkey. So while, the Israel-Turkey relationship is heading south, Orphaned Land and its charismatic leader Kobi Farhi, traveled to Istanbul last week and performed 5,000 Turkish fans.

Calling the scene “insane,” Farhi told Ynet that “in our reality, we’re in a mess with Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey, and then an audience comes to see us from all these countries. We become stronger and unwillingly turn into ambassadors. It’s amazing when you understand how much courage these people have.”

The concert, part of the Unirock Open Air Festival, received a lot of media attention in Turkey according to Farhi, and he felt that despite the nadir in relations between the governments, the people of Israel and Turkey had bonded.

“Yesterday night I felt like I had won, like I had been awarded the privilege of doing something important in this world.”

Here’s a clip of Farhi talking to a Turkish audience last during a show last year.