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Does not lie on his back: Ariel Zilber fights | Israel today

2021-04-22T16:55:28.369Z


Boycotting the TV, refusing commercials ("I was offered an apartment for a song") and convinced: "I'll show up until I die, and I've already retired three times" | You sat down


Boycotting television ("doing horrible things"), thinks the Holocaust is still here, refuses commercials ("offered me an apartment for a song"), and does not want any more awards ("everything is politics") • At age 77, Ariel Zilber returns to the stage, releases a song New and convinced: "I will appear until I die, and I have already retired three times"

  • "Erez Tal took me for an interview when I repented, just to laugh at me."

    Silver

    Photo: 

    Kfir Ziv

From the very first moment

you enter his house, you see that Ariel Zilber has become entangled. The computer is causing him problems. Or rather, the new browser he installed, "DuckDuckGo", does not allow him to open the email. Why did Zilber and his wife, Shoshana, install the browser in question, which prides itself on keeping its surfers private, and not using Google, like the rest of the world? Because of former President Donald Trump. 



The new browser is "anti-Trump," they explain. Because the "right-wing" Rumble site, where they read articles, did business with Google, they decided to disconnect from the global search engine and look for an alternative. According to them, this is their little protest, and they are not willing to remain indifferent.



It is, in a nutshell, the contemporary Ariel Zilber. At the age of 77, one of the most original, sweeping and beloved composers in Israeli music, a groundbreaking musician, a composer with a special groove, one who has already done and seen it all - fights for his political principles no less than for his music. 



"Faith and Torah are in the first place for me today, music in the second place," he explains. "The Land of Israel and politics are derivatives of the faith, and what hurts the Land of Israel, hurts me, and the whole Jewish people. I do not understand why not all the Jews in the world come to the Land of Israel, it is very bad."



So there is a computer and a browser, but the Zilber TV does not hold at home. And regardless, he is angry at the main channels and refuses to participate in their programs. "I do not cooperate with here, Keshet and Reshet, because in my eyes they are not good channels. I think they are sinning against the truth and doing injustice. I can not separate the pursuit of culture from the pursuit of politics. I was offered two channels to write articles on the occasion of .



like what?



"They change lives, change facts, brainwash people in their attitude to everything, religion and politics. They would make fun of me. Erez Tal took me to an interview when I repented, just to laugh at me. Every time they show a religious person, it's just To laugh at him or accuse him of something or to hate him. 



" All the hatred for Bibi - it comes from them. There is no respect there, neither for religion, nor for the people of Israel nor for the State of Israel. No respect. They do not want a Jewish state here, they want a state of all its citizens. I do not want such people next to me at all, I do not want to cooperate with them, no matter what they do. "



He had a specific conflict in 2017 with the Keshet franchise, which he sued for hundreds of thousands of shekels for using a promo in his song "Dreaming," in which against the background of the song performed by the channel's stars, Ilana Dayan was seen speaking against Prime Minister Netanyahu. Most of his claims in the lawsuit, which was heard in the Tel Aviv District Court, were rejected, but a year ago Zilber was awarded compensation in the amount of NIS 25,000 for violating his moral right and for the processing of the song - which he cut and interrupted.



"I'm not ready for my song to appear in an advertisement," he insists. "Because if it's in an advertisement, I can not sing it later in performances. I can not. I was offered an apartment in some construction project in exchange for using the song 'Betty Bam' in an advertisement for a building insurance company - and I did not agree. I do not want. Yes I agreed to use 'Give me "Power for an advertisement that encourages children to eat vegetables and fruits, because the purpose is good, and that's fine. For the theater for children and youth, I approved the use of the song 'Cypress' for free. These are things that need to be given."



His wife Shoshana, who has been married to him for 35 years, serves tea, coffee and cookies. She is also his personal manager, a full partner in performances, artistic decisions, public relations and political protests. "The division of roles is that Ariel can do whatever he wants, and I have the right to shout at him as much as I want," says whoever is his backbone in front of the outside world - which does not make life easier for Zilber. 

Like

many other

artists

, in the corona year Zilber sat at home and lived off the savings his wife kept for a rainy day, as well as the few royalties he receives from ACUM, which he defines as key to “distorted.”



Last year he planned to retire from shows featuring his glorious repertoire. retirement, set in August 2020 Bumpy Ra'anana, was supposed to be grandiose - one impression last long, in front of 6,000 spectators, with all the hits of all time. production is replete with guest singers, orchestra accompanying great video footage. 



after the show she plans Silber evacuate performances boutique alone, For example, with the songs of his mother, the mythological singer Bracha Tzafira, or a show that will consist entirely of political songs. But an economic calculation showed that the show at the amphitheater could cause him considerable financial losses - and the grandiose plan was canceled, regardless of the corona rampage.



Now, at his advanced age, he again needs performances for livelihood purposes. But after the year of closures, precisely when the music market is experiencing a resurgence with a huge thirst of the audience for artists, it is not easy for it to get back on track. On Independence Day, for example, he had one performance, in the courtyard of a moshav. No less than seven performances scheduled for him long in advance in municipalities and local councils were canceled, in part due to the decision to minimize gatherings and celebrations.



"Four weeks ago I performed at the Gray Club in Yehud, and the place was full, within the limits of the Corona. After the Omer count is over, I have more performances (27.5 Gray Yehud, 3.6 Alma Zichron Yaacov, 4.6 Zappa Herzliya, 29.7 Zappa Jerusalem, 5.8 Zappa Haifa). "There are music schools that invite me to a show of the best of my songs, and I get a small amount for that."



In addition to the Corona's difficulties, Zilber is still considered disqualified in the eyes of sections of the public. Which is even better compared to his past situation. For several years he was considered a banned artist, due to his deep-right political views, extreme songs he performed (such as "Kahana Tzedek") and controversial statements, including support for the release of murderer Yigal Amir from prison - for which he apologized. 



His strong political drift occurred in the evacuation of the settlements from Gush Katif in 2005 (the disengagement), and then he also began the process of repenting. In response, he was boycotted and boycotted by most of the cultural elite and by large audiences that were previously natural for him.



Seven years ago, when he reached the age of 70, it seemed that Zilber was gaining renewed legitimacy, with a successful compilation album he released and a launch performance he held at the Tel Aviv Piano Festival. Since then he has released two more albums and quite a few singles, but has recorded only one real radio hit - "Someone".



Regarding boycotts, he felt solidarity with other artists, which he dared to express themselves politically from the right wing and confiscated by parts of the crowd - such as Naomi Shemer, Amir Benayoun, Boaz Sharabi, Zvika Pik and shadow.



Were not you afraid that the songs are your political impair the crowd to you?



"There are those who because of my opinions can not stand me, but the only thing I regret is that I did not start studying Torah and repent even before. I never mean bad, I do not swear at songs, I do not have any pornographic song, I do not have abusive or depressing songs, because I can not stand it. Today in the clips everyone looks like this (demonstrates), like the statue of the thinking person, saying nothing while they look like they are holding the world on their shoulders. "



Do you understand those who claim that if you did not repent, we would gain a few more musical classics from you?



"It's like they said at the time about Uri Zohar. Today he is ashamed of what he did, he said it himself. He is ashamed of his films, today he will not watch them."



Are you ashamed of your song from the past?



"I am not ashamed of any song, but I do not perform some of them, such as 'The Eccentric' and 'Song of Songs'."



Do you not miss the dimensions of success of yesteryear?



"I never did anything with the intention of succeeding. Of course I really want to succeed and create hits, but I have no confidence that a hit will come out. So my motto was always to do what I love, and if it succeeds - then it will succeed.



" I never thought or planned Build myself a career as a singer, tier after tier, and think about what I say and what I do not. For me, this is not a career, this is my life. "

We meet

at his humble and rented house in the small town of Gitit, on the eastern slopes of Samaria, 15 km east of Tapuach Junction. A little further east, and the cliff is already sloping down into the Jordan Valley. In the Society for the Protection of Nature, "Brosh", "Shemesh Shemesh" and "The Ozone Dance". The soldier in the village of Sha'ag hears "Zilber" - and immediately opens.



In his backyard, a large yellow "Messiah" flag of the Breslavs is proudly hoisted. In the parking lot stands an old Mazda 3. The house itself is small and completely not new. Abroad, artists on the scale of Zilber, who is responsible for classics such as "Want, Shmulik", "Betty Bam", "Japanese Legend", "That's How You Wanted Me", "Give Me Power" and "A Billion Chinese" - lived in castles luxury.

In the courtyard of the Zilbers stands a small trailer that serves as a recording studio, in which Zilber records free young musicians who turn to him and "whose music turns me on." This is how he has been behaving for years. "During the period when I had a boycott, the IRS also tried to fuck me and tried to work on me. They sent me two girls who said to me, 'We want to record with you.' I said, 'Sing, if you serve well, I will record with you.' So they ran away."



And this is not his only volunteer activity. For years he volunteered for immigrants from Ethiopia at the caravan site "Hatzrot Yasaf". Later, when he lived in Mitzpe Matat in the Galilee, he volunteered for years at Maftan (a youth employment enterprise) in Safed. He charges relatively low prices for performances at weddings when he encounters spouses who cannot reach him. ", He explains.



They came to Gitit 11 years ago, following their daughter Bat-Dror (35), a currently employed artist and farmer, who grows a passion fruit orchard in the locality with her husband. "We wanted to get closer to help with our 10-year-old grandson Tam, who was born close by, so we left the Galilee and came here." 



Their other son is Ben-Ami (34), a high-tech computer engineer, from whom Zilber has a one-month-old granddaughter, Gili. The third daughter is Shalhevet (30), mother of 7-year-old Jonathan Yaakov, and 4-year-old Matan Ariel, and a singer at the beginning of her career, who will soon release a song. From his first wife, Meira, Zilber has an eldest son, Roi (47), a film director who shot a documentary about his father and created clips and adaptations for his songs ("He processes much better than I do"). Roi also has a grandson - 4-year-old Michael.



During the interview, Zilber sits dressed as a Breslav follower, with a large white beard and a black mask on his face, which he removes only to sip tea and nibble on cookies. Day after Holocaust Remembrance and Heroism Day, we are reminded of the song "The Insolence of the Boy of the Hills," which appeared on his latest album, "With Joy," which was released in 2019. A song that begins with the exploitation of the Holocaust and reaches to this day. Because the Holocaust, says Zilber, is still with us.



"Holocaust is also today, it is not over. If today we did not have an IDF, we are in the Holocaust all the time. Whoever wanted to destroy us then, wants even today. Nothing has changed. If we were weak, we would be finished. "



Who?



" Who is missing? Look at the anti-Semitism in Europe and America. They go with the Iranians, hoping they will do the work for them, that they will drop an atomic bomb on us. Look at the anti-Semitism of Jews here, here in Israel, it's awful. It's not half a people, it's a handful that has a lot of noise and resonance. They do not want Judaism and do not want this country at all. "



How did we get into this situation?



"We do not have a prophet today, as in biblical times, who tells us 'if you do this and that - it will be all right.' Jabotinsky and Uri Zvi Greenberg warned about the Holocaust, but did not say what to do. We do not have a prophet today - I have questions for Kadosh Baruch "He is with us all the time on the test, and the choice is ours. Most of the people of Israel believe, except those who do not want to, but what can be done? I do not hate any Jew, because all Jews are one soul."

He was born

in Tel Aviv to the singer Bracha Tzafira, whose song "From the Valley to the Hill (Drinking the Herds)" was renewed, and to the violinist of the Ben-Ami Zilber Philharmonic Orchestra. His grandfather, Arie Zilber, was one of the founders of Tel Aviv. He grew up as a foreign child in Kibbutz Gan Shmuel, and in his youth he studied at the Hadassim boarding school, where his foot was amputated when a bomb dropped on his room. 



All his life, he says, he avoided going to sea following the accident. 60 years later, he has difficulty with his amputated leg as he tries to enter the bath in the mikveh. "I have to jump on one leg on the stairs, which are quite high, and it's hard for me to get in and hard to get out."



At the age of 24 he traveled to England and France, in an attempt to break through as a singer in Europe. At the same time he wrote music for commercials and also songs for artists such as Esther Ofarim, The Pale Tracker and Tiki Dayan. His English rock song, "Movie Instead", actually starred in the foreign choral parade in Israel, and in addition he created the soundtrack for the movie "Where Did Daniel Wax Go", which included the song "Japanese legend. "

In 1974 he joined the rock band Tammuz as a pianist, along with Shalom Hanoch, Yehuda Adar, Meir Israel and Eitan Gidron, where he sang the hits "Going Idle" and "That's How You Wanted Me", which he also composed. He also composed with Hanoch the theme song, "The End of the Orange Season." Tammuz, which operated for about two years, became an Israeli rock mythology and reunited several times. The last one was recorded in 2016 at the Rishon Lezion Amphitheater. 



Zilber is already "really tired" of talking about the band and answering the nagging question for him, if and when another reunion is expected. "There will be no more unification of Tammuz," he ruled. "It's from everyone's direction. It's not that they do not want to, they can not. Because everyone has their own lawyer, and they start talking to each other in emails, only it takes two-three-four months until they agree on something. In short, it will not happen."



The song that dismantled Tammuz, "Rutzi, Shmulik", was also the one that marked his big break as a solo artist. The huge hit, which was also the theme song of his debut album, made him Singer of the Year in 1976 and paved the way for his extensive career that continues to this day.

Zilber wakes up

every day at three in the morning, to recite Psalms according to his and his family's age order, so that he reads chapter eight for himself this year. "I feel for a few moments that I am with King David, see him before my eyes, feel that I There, "he notes. From 



Psalms he continues to read a chapter from the written prophets, reads Mishnayos, reads in the Tanya, and only then goes to the synagogue." I also read the Psalms of Bibi Netanyahu. He was already 71 years old, so I read chapter two, because this is his 72nd year. Why am I reading Psalms for Bibi? For him to succeed. I am very much in favor of him. I very, very, very much love him.



"Netanyahu is just doing Good things, have not done anything wrong yet. The fact that he is procrastinating with the application of sovereignty and fails to weaken the High Court is not because he does not want to, but because he cannot. We are building here (in Judea and Samaria; AN) without end. Like madmen building here, but quietly. 



"Netanyahu turned us into an economic power. The corona returned not because of him, but because of Ganz, because they do not want him to succeed. Anyone who sees something wrong with Netanyahu - sees in him his own reflection. Anyone who was hurt by Netanyahu - he must have hurt him before. "I admire him, really. For me, Netanyahu is on the standard of Moshiach Ben Yosef."



I mean, do you see Netanyahu as the messenger of Gd?



"Each of us is the messenger of Gd. Every Jew. We were all at Mount Sinai. So when they cursed the Noam party MK, Avi Maoz, he said, 'I do not hate the cursers, I can not hate Jews.'



And when MK Israel Eichler curses the reformist MK Gilad Karib?



"Listen, a Reformer is one who has made a new religion, it is not a Jewish religion. They have erased Jerusalem and the Land of Israel from the Siddur, and they have no God. They have changed the prayers as they please. It is heresy, but I can not hate them, only what they do I do not hate Arabs either. I will fight my enemies, but I do not hate. Here, Avraham Burg expelled himself from the Jewish religion (Burg appealed to the court at the end of 2020 to cancel his registration as a Jew in the Interior Ministry, following the enactment of the Nationality Law; . I know he's Jewish, but what will I do with him? He does not want to be a Jew. "

One of the songs

Zilber has released in the past year is called "Sticks on Wheels," in which he talks about those who, in his view, are trying to sabotage the efforts of the prime minister and the entire country to succeed. "It hurts me what Netanyahu is doing, also the court and the prosecutor's office, the left and the media. Everyone is about him, as if he is the greatest criminal in the world - and he is the greatest righteous man in the world. I feel harmed personally and by the people of Israel.



" The family. Today there is already 'Parent 1' and 'Parent 2', which is already in the army (Defense Minister, Bnei Gantz, ordered to change the wording on Ministry of Defense forms to suit LGBT families; AN), and it is terrible. They also want to eliminate Shabbat, so that there will be no Shabbat, which is a sign of Gd, showing us that it exists. As soon as there is no Shabbat - Gd will go away. ”



You take out more and more songs that sound like opinion pieces in the newspaper.



"I sing what touches my heart. It's my way of expressing myself. There are things I am personally hurt by. For example, what they did to Alor Azaria. How does such a thing happen to us? A righteous man, an excellent soldier, suddenly on the dock? Lou Zlsh. 



"But protest songs, and I had some, were good for that moment. Today I no longer sing them. I would have sung 'Kahana Tzedek', if they had asked me, but they would not have asked. "The Ethiopians are dying for this song. Rabbi Kahana was a great tzaddik, who fought our enemies."



How do you choose songs today?



"When people bring me lyrics to songs, like 'I lie on my back' and 'The eccentric' came to me at the time, if there is honesty in it and it comes from a good place - it catches me. The new song I released, 'Givat Koach', was written 45 years ago about By the late Avraham Gurevitch, known as 'Abem', who was a fan and close to the Nahal band in the days of Yehoram Gaon and Arik Einstein. Uri Zohar would host him on the radio.



"Gurevitch was a character with insights into life, but a little strange, one who can speak With you a quarter of an hour and then say a few words you said in the conversation. The song was created just for him. The one who nurtured their father and took care of him was Yehoram Gaon, who was happy to hear that I was able to compose a song of his. "



Do you even expect to be played on the radio today?



" My new songs are not played. People do not even know that I am releasing new songs. We only know the old ones, and that's a shame. "



Speaking of Yehoram Gaon, do you keep in touch with artists? Colleagues?



"No one has ever been in touch with me. I mean, I've never been in touch with anyone, because I'm not keeping in touch with people myself. Occasionally I're hosted by Danny Sanderson, who in my eyes is No. 1 entertainer. It's the best rock song ever written in the country. I had performances with Yitzhak Klepter, when he was performing. I admire him, every song he hears sticks in my mind for a few days. Who appreciates me? You can ask Alon Olarch Yak and Yehudit Ravitz, what do you think of me as an artist? "

You brought a groove to Israeli music that was not there before.



"Thank God. It's from my soul, and from jazz and French music, that I used to hear a lot in the past. When another pianist plays 'Betty Bam' it doesn't sound the same as I do, I can't explain why. Today I hear everything, from classical to rap. I did a kind of rap already in 'Ozone Dance', but it wasn't exactly rap.



"I have now recorded a new song with rap with producer Udi Turgeman, it will probably be released in the future. Music is a game for me. I have been working for years on a complex piano exercise, which came out on the album 'Happy' as a song called 'Exercise', and now I am sitting on its variations. That's what I play for fun. "



Looking back, do you think you got the full respect you deserve as an artist?



"It does not interest me at all and it does not matter to me. I do not care at all. Seven years ago I received an ACUM Lifetime Achievement Award, and they did not want me to go on stage. They made it dark and told me quietly 'Take the money'. I burst onto the stage, into the microphone, and said that ACUM should be dismantled because it is an organization of crooks - and I left. "

Two years later he also received an EMI Award for Lifetime Achievement, but he is careful to say: "I do not believe in institutional awards, it's all politics, I do not consider it at all, it does not seem real to me."



And love from the audience?



"I receive all the time? in the street.

Every day they recognize me, shout at me 'Ariel, Ariel' and stop me to have my picture taken. "



How long will you show up? After all, you have twice announced your retirement.



" I will show up until I die.

And I have already retired three times.

The first time was in 1978, two years after "Rutzi, Shmulik".

I then wanted to be a farmer, flowers and trees interested me.

I got into the matter in depth.

I opened a nursery for two or three years and lost a lot of money there.

At the end I left, but I'm a fan of farmers, it is the Top of the Top ".



This coming September will celebrate 78 advanced age bother you?



" How can I be bothered by what God created? " 

shishabat@israelhayom.co.il

Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2021-04-22

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