Matti Friedman reflects on the significance of the once-despised genre of Israeli popular music known as “Mizraḥi,” which is “a blend of Middle Eastern, Greek, and Western influences associated with Israelis who have roots in the Islamic world.” He writes:
[Much Mizraḥi music stands] firmly in the Western pop tradition, with little that Brian Wilson or Justin Timberlake would find confusing. . . . But compared to much contemporary music in the United States, its mood is unusually innocent. The attitude toward women rarely deviates from saccharine: they’re “queens” or “beauties,” or described in terms of endearment lifted directly from Arabic songs into Hebrew, like “my life,” “my eyes,” or “my heart.” They’re objects, certainly, but objects of adoration. In mainstream Mizraḥi pop one can be heartbroken about a woman but never too angry. There are no “bitches” or anything remotely close. Foul language is unthinkable. One of the guiding principles here is a ban on cynicism. . . .
[A] kind of unapologetic national loyalty is [also] present in Mizraḥi music as it no longer is in most other Israeli songs, which these days tend to opt for angst, sarcasm, or attempts to pretend we’re all somewhere else. More and more Israeli artists sing in English. But rootlessness is not going to yield much worth listening to, and Israeli audiences know it. Mizraḥi music doesn’t pretend to be from anywhere but right here. . . . It’s not just Israeli music, in other words, but the most Israeli music there is. Many aspects of Israel’s politics and cultural life, like the film industry, are warped by international interest and money and tailored to foreign specifications. Mizraḥi music is immune, and everything about it is local.
Read more on Tablet: http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/music/193162/israels-happiness-revolution