Only Israel

July 18, 2010 - 9:25 AM by · 3 Comments
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Israeliness, Life, Music, Politics, Pop Culture 

In between all the clips of flash mobs and dancing soldiers, one of the latest YouTube sensations shows just a young woman sitting solo at the piano.

The unlikely newest viral celebrity is Yedida Freilich, the 22-year-old Israeli resident of West Bank settlement Neve Daniel, whose song “Only Israel” has received almost half a million views since it was posted at the beginning of the month.

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The pro-Israel song is a little heavy handed lyrically, as much as it is haunting and moving musically, but it has struck a chord in among viewers who feel that Israel is being subjected to an international double standard regarding what it can do to defend itself.

With a chorus stating “Darfur is ignored, Russian troops in Chechenya, only Israel has no right to defend itself, because the world cares nothing about Jewish blood,” the song is not going to become a Top 40 hit, but long gone are the days when radio is required to make a song popular.

Freilich, a composition student at the Rubin Academy of Music and Dance, wrote the mournful piano ballad along with her father Gabby and brother Yuval, following the Gaza flotilla incident last month.

The video clip of Yedida’s peformance on piano and vocals, with lyrics switching between English and Hebrew, is juxtaposed with images of Kassam rockets, Gilad Schalit, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Richard Goldstone, and the Mavi Marmara.

It’s not very subtle, but it’s certainly effective. And with one svelte swoop, the nationalist camp in Israel has received a new mouthpiece.

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Legendary rock bassist chooses Jerusalem stone

August 3, 2009 - 2:46 PM by · 1 Comment
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Immigrant Moments, Music, Profiles 

harveybrooks1The summer is full of flights with new immigrants coming to Israel from the US and Canada. In m my mind, they’re all latter-day Zionist heroes, but not all of them have played on records by Bob Dylan and Miles Davis, or shared a stage with The Doors or Steely Dan.

Meet Israel’s newest immigrant, Harvey Brooks – bass guitarist extraordinaire and the Forrest Gump of rock and roll. He’ll be arriving from Tuscon, Arizona with his wife Bonnie on an August 4th Nefesh B’nefesh flight, but his whole 40-year musical career has been one soaring flight.

He’s played bass guitar on some of the most groundbreaking records of the post-Beatles era – including Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited (1965), Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew (1969), The Doors Soft Parade (1969) and 1968’s Super Session featuring Michael Bloomfield, Al Kooper and Stephen Stills. And that’s only a fraction of the some 100 albums he’s appeared on or produced over the last 40 years on his way to cementing his status as one of the most respected figures on the American music scene.

He spoke with me for an article in the The Jerusalem Post.

“We’ve been going back and forth for a number of years, and every time we’re here, we’d talk about moving,” said the 65-year-old Brooks, whose stepdaughter Lori lives in the Gush Etzion settlement Neve Daniel. “Our two other kids are secure and established now, and we figured this is the time for us, for an adventure. It’s a good time to come.”

Calling Tuscon home since 1998, Brooks and Bonnie opened a guitar and music shop (17th Street Guitars and World Music) inside an international food market, the 17th St. Farmer’s Market, and started a Web business together with Jerusalem-based Web developer Charlie Kalish call Treasure Hidden that sells items from both establishments as well as other artifacts. To add to the symbiosis, Brooks formed a band with the market owner, called the 17th Street Band, playing a mix of rock, soul and blues.

“We’ve just released an album called Positively 17th Street,” said Brooks proudly, adding that while he’s going to be spending most of his time in Jerusalem, he plans on keeping his US endeavors ongoing. But when asked if he’s going to become musically active in Israel, Brooks said, “absolutely.”

“There are some great musicians in Israel. The last time we were here, we got to meet Ehud Banai, he’s a wonderful man and a great artist. Hopefully, we’ll spend some time with him,” said Brooks.

Welcome to the ‘hood, Harvey.

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