At the end of the month, if all goes well, Kobi Peretz is expected to become a father for the fourth time.
At age 45, after three sons - Liel (12), Daniel (8) and Ari (4 and a half) - the happy father will embrace a first daughter.
"The truth is that the intended daughter excites me perhaps even more than the boys," he reveals.
Why?
"Because the daughter is the one who will eventually feed her father when he is old. Sons are more material, and daughters are the soul and help to parents. My sisters made my late father a king.
I would like to experience and feel the special connection between father and daughter. "
Is there already a name for the baby to be born?
"My wife, Inbal, already has a name for her, but it must not be discovered before the birth. It is a name that took me many years back and made me cry. It is the most sacred and special name for me, something related to the family."
Anyway, having four kids is already a milestone.
"We kept the pro and con team, which is the most important. I wish Inbal and me some more daughters and sons, because it is the best property of man. No houses and cars and no degrees like the singer of the year. "It's worth more to me than any prize or money. I grew up in a family of ten children, and I wish I had ten too."
Peretz's family life, and especially his relationship with Inbal (36), owner of a clothing store in Ramat Hasharon and his career manager, was put to the test in October 2017, when he began serving a year and a half in prison for tax offenses. A tax of about NIS 800,000.
Peretz was released after serving nine months in prison, and upon his release was required to return to the state sums amounting to about NIS 670,000.
In retrospect, he says that the affair, and especially the prison experience, made an important contribution to his life.
"Prison saved my family. Thanks to him I am not divorced today, because I made quite a few mistakes with my wife. I hurt her. I sinned in the sin of arrogance. My wife did not deserve what she went through with me during the first five years we were married (the two married in the summer of 2008; .
"After I received the sentence, I walked around in a black shirt with a tear that I tore as a sign of mourning, and spent all day going to the rabbis, looking for amulets, doing mitzvos, giving charity. My wife would remark that I was not home, asked where she was and where the children were. Appreciate my wife and what I have. "
Where did you not appreciate it?
"I took it for granted. I'll give you an example: in 2010, after my first performance at the Yad Eliyahu Hall, they had a big party for me. Everyone I know was there, and who was not because I did not want you to come? My wife. Why? Because I felt I was at the top "Everest, and mine, everything is allowed and she is forbidden. Today I do nothing without my wife, and she is my best friend."
Why did she stay with you?
"Everyone asks that, and I also asked myself more than once or twice. If she stayed with me with everything that happened, I owe her all my life. Apparently she loves me very much."
What did she forgive you for?
"For what not? Only the generation of yesteryear could forgive what she forgave me."
infidelity?
"Not necessarily cheating. Vulnerability. I would go back whenever I wanted. I would go to a show in Eilat on Thursday and come back on Sunday, not Friday, even though I had a baby at home. I would fly to a show abroad, come back after two weeks.
"One day she came home, at a time when we were not talking to each other about all my affair, and did not find me. I boarded a flight to Miami without telling her anything. It was the straw that broke her camel's back. When I returned, with the suitcases I bought her as a gift, the house was empty. "She went to live with her mother in Herzliya. I landed in an empty house, and I deserved it."
How long have you been separated?
"Nine months, and we were about to get divorced. Then we got to the rabbinate, and there I realized that if I do not make a huge U-turn, step on my ego and apologize for everything, I lose a wife and Liel, then our only son - and somewhere myself.
"We sat in the rabbinate, with the lawyers, and I say to myself, what, are you an idiot? What are you doing? I started eating movies with myself, that I'm divorced and she will be God forbid with another man who will raise my child while I'm not there. And she and I will have more "Children from other spouses, stepbrothers to my son. I started to recreate all our years together, and I told myself I was just crazy."
How did you persuade her to reverse for you?
"Fortunately, there was the director general of the rabbinate, who saw us and said, 'What are you doing?'
I asked to speak with Inbal in private.
We were both left alone, and then I hugged her and started crying. "
Peretz pauses for a moment, conquering a tear that threatens to spill.
His tone, which until now had been quiet anyway, weakened even more.
"I told her I did not really want a divorce. That I thought it was a mistake, and that after the nine months separately I dropped the token. Only there did I succeed in convincing her to give me another chance.
"We left the rabbinate embracing, in front of photographers waiting for us outside, and went to eat at a restaurant with her father. After a few days we returned to live together. Her condition was that we leave the house in Holon, which for her was full of bad memories. "Then Daniel, our second son, was born."
How have you changed since the return?
"I landed on the ground, and from being selfish and thinking only of myself and sinning in the sin of arrogance, I became a new Kobe. I learned to know myself anew. I learned where to give up, to give more, to tread on the ego. I realized that woman is the source of blessing. "Than I am about her. Hello home and the woman have become an important thing, and it radiates on the children and their careers."
With the wife, Inbal, and the sons Liel, Daniel and Ari.
"Children are man's best asset. No houses and cars and no titles like Singer of the Year", Photo: From the private album
• • •
These days, Peretz is starring on screen in the series "Daddy's Life" (Network 13, Sundays), which was filmed about two years ago - and also during the Corona period.
In the series, which also includes former MK Oren Hazan, chef Omar Miller, stand-up comedian Ben Ben Baruch, businessman Israel Or and Guy Yehezkel, who lost his wife in the attack, he is documented with his wife and children, with the big marital conflict surrounding education. Kobi insists his sons move To study from a public school to a religious state school, and confronts the subject with Inbal, who in turn reaches the height of the debate to tears.
"In the past I was almost never involved in educating the children," he admits.
"I was busy with my troubles, with my trial, I was not there. I barely knew where they were during the day. When I was in prison I promised myself that when I went out - I would be involved in everything.
"When Liel was in fifth grade, I told my wife that with all due respect, I was in the picture, and I suggest that we transfer him and Daniel to a state-religious school, for a year of experience. This came along with the fact that I started keeping Shabbat, after I was released from prison and returned home."
How hard was it for her with a religious school?
"There was almost a divorce again because of it. I brought Rabbi Yonah Metzger here, with whom I shared a cell in prison, and all kinds of friends who would try to convince her. She was scared. I told her that values and respect are taught to parents, through land, tradition and Judaism, She objected and there were dramas here. There were nights when we did not sleep together. Until I convinced her, and we agreed, she got up the next morning and said she could not agree.
"So I went, and without her knowledge I enrolled them in a state-religious school in Ramat Hasharon. Liel, after a week, asked why we had not enrolled him there since first grade. In contrast, Daniel did not find himself. Every morning I would sit with him for an hour outside the school. "Because he did not want to enter. After a month, Inbal told me I was right. In the current school year, Liel will study in a science-Torah middle school in Raanana, and Daniel will return to the secular school."
Do you take them to school in the mornings?
"Yes. After years of not bothering with their studies, I got up every morning to pick them up. Even if I came back at four in the morning from a show - I got up. I would also go to parent meetings and take them to classes. Everything my dad did not do with me - I did. My ambition is now "To move to Raanana, to be close to Liel's school. I checked, and this is the city that is most suitable in terms of education, tradition, schools and synagogues."
Peretz reveals that he was not paid for his participation in the new series, which includes intimate exposure of him and his family.
"I was photographed so that they could see who the real Kobi Peretz is, outside of music. I did not ask for or receive a shekel. It's not like 'Big Brother', that I was supposed to get a lot of money."
With his children in "Daddy's Life."
"Today, unlike in the past, I am involved in everything related to them," Photo: From the show
• • •
We meet on Saturday night at the Peretz family's multi-level house in one of the North Tel Aviv neighborhoods, where they have lived for a decade.
He wears a tassel and wears a black cap that remains on his head from the havdalah.
"After I was released from prison, I started keeping Shabbat. I talked about it with Inbal, and she understood that it was important to me. Following me, the whole family keeps Shabbat. There is no TV or telephone on Shabbat."
And the tassel?
"It's fixed on me. I've been taking it upon myself for the last four years, since my dad passed away. I take the tassel wicks out on Saturdays and holidays."
He invites me to a living room where comfortable sofas and a table full of closeness, and then prepares for us an inverted coffee.
Inbal went for a walk outside with the two eldest, and little Ari had a hard time falling asleep in the room.
The devoted father goes up to him, to put him to bed.
Peretz's nose is still bandaged, a reminder of the difficult fall from the stage he experienced a month ago, performing at a ballroom in Rishon Lezion.
Anyone who has seen him climb on the speaker constructions at a show in Caesarea, and hung on to them like King Kong, can not be surprised.
"For almost 30 years I performed, climbed and climbed. On ship voyages I would climb the railing, so that if I slipped - I would fall into the sea or the crowd. At the show where I was injured I climbed the monitors, after splashing a lot of water on stage and myself. "And I did not have time to put my hand before I fell on the stage, on the face, on the nose. I received a bomb.
Sounds very painful.
"Very. And I, instead of running out, still stood on the stage, said 'thank you' to the audience and went down, all blood. They brought me ice. I felt on my face. They tried to turn me over to Assaf the doctor, but the road was closed. We drove to Wolfson, where they made me fast CT and found that there were two fractures in the nose.
"I prayed it would not hurt my voice or ability to sing, because music is my soul and life. They stitched me up, and luckily I was told after a few days that I did not need a nose alignment. My whole face hurt, my nose still hurts, I take painkillers, in addition to antibiotics ".
Did you cry in tears?
"Yes, in the hospital, when they did the CT and everyone went out. I cried and prayed 'Hear Israel', that I would not be harmed by the singing. After a week I had already flown to a show in Monaco."
From which you had to go back to isolation, and it was published that you did not.
"I did everything according to the instructions. I performed three corona tests, and in all of them I came out negative. My performance here in Israel was after the isolation. I am very careful."
Have you already been vaccinated with a third vaccine?
"I plan a moment before Yom Kippur, with the help of the name. My friends who got the third 'crashed'. In the second vaccine I got sick for two days, so I'm waiting. .
According to him, he currently appears an average of 20-15 times a month, without opening box offices.
“I perform mostly at weddings and private events, including overseas, and on workers’ committees.
I'm not in this game of opening a box office, handing out free tickets, saying I filled the place - and actually bringing money from home.
"The demand for my shows is great, like it hasn't been for many years. Since my wife started running me, my diary is full. Not every night, because there is no such thing as a singer who shows up every night. No one will tell stories."
He gets "a lot of invitations" to perform in the U.S., but is unable to issue a visa there, due to his tax conviction. "I applied three times, and was denied.
Now I work with an Israeli producer who is there, I took a lawyer from here and a lawyer from there, who will issue me an artist visa.
Usually it costs $ 2,000, with me we have already spent 17,000.
If I get to perform in America, the investment will pay off. "
In early 2019 you were supposed to enter the "Big Brother" house.
"I already had a signed contract. What stopped me, a week before entering, was that my son did not want me to fly to a show in Eilat, because of his longing for me. It crushed me. I realized that if I went to Big Brother, after my time in prison, it would not make my children Happy, so I canceled - after everything was closed. "
Your children did not know in real time that you were in prison. What did you tell them?
"I flew abroad. It was only after I left that I revealed the truth to them. I told them that a prime minister and a president and a chief of staff were also there, and I explained exactly why I got there.
"They hugged me, and I was in tears. I told them the truth, I told them about the injustice done to me. The eldest, Liel, understood, he had heard it from people on the street. Since then, whenever he hears names of people who were involved in my affair - He's cursing. "
How much did you hesitate to tell them?
"My wife did not want the children to know at all, but I did not want to lie to them. We consulted with psychologists. They advised us to wait with it. Since I am not anonymous, and I have comments on the street and media coverage, it could not be hidden from them."
• • •
When Peretz's phone rings, you hear the last song he released, "One for a Wedding," with rapper Catrix, which garnered about 700,000 views on YouTube in two months.
"Before the duet I asked my son about this rapper, and he told me he was a huge star in the kids, so I said why not, it can't hurt," he explains the essay.
A similar number of views were recorded by his cover of Idan Habib's "Whole", which came out in the winter, and "The whole country on its feet", which was supposed to herald the beginning of the post-Corona show season, received about 400,000 views.
"His timing was missed," Peretz explains, "he was supposed to come out at the same time as the new TV series, but it was rejected. Obviously I would like a huge hit now, but that's not the point, but the continuity over the years."
What business do you do besides music?
“During the Corona period I entered into a partnership with two friends mediating between manufacturing factories of gloves, masks and syringes in East Asian countries, and buyers in the US and Europe.
My friends knew factory owners, and I knew buyers.
I became an international mediator.
Because the hours were upside down, I was awake at night. "
Did you make money from it?
"I only started earning from it later, relatively small sums. I have friends who put money in, invested, and got rich from it. They bought houses and cars."
He is also a "passive partner," as he defines it, in a company that offers assistance services in issuing medical licenses for cannabis and disability notes due to accidents, including legal support in Social Security applications.
"In a month, my investment in the company is expected to pay for itself," he announces.
In addition, he deals in real estate.
If we did not succeed in exercising the option - the money went.
We use our connections and skills to succeed in realizing that. "
Sorry, but how are you kept from being worked on in business?
"In real estate, I understand, in cannabis less, so I also invested less there.
In my musical career I am involved in everything.
I have no manager or promoter, and Inbal manages me and closes the shows for me.
I have a lawyer, a relative, who handles contracts and invoices. "
What is the main lesson you learned from the tax case about your handling of funds?
"It's a shame it was, but it was good. If it had not happened to me, I would have found myself continuing to work and make money for others. If I had run then as I do today, I would have been worth tens and maybe hundreds of millions. That everything will start and end only with money, because it is a means but not the main thing. "
If they open your books today, what will they find?
"They will open books and libraries as well. I am already learning from experience, after twice snatching bombs. First time from the promoter Yochai Yaish (who ran it in 2012-2000; AN), who became a state witness against me in the tax story, so I paid and sat in jail.
And a second time with promoter Meir Nachmani (who ran it from 2012 to March 2019; AN), in front of whom I am in lawsuits, and with whom I will go to the end. We tried to reach mediation and we did not succeed.
"I have already forgiven Yochai Yaish, I will never forgive Nachmani in life. I have a scar left of him. When I was in prison I asked him to give money to my wife, from money he had. When I got out of prison I 'kicked' him. I could not look at him. We need them. "
Meir Nachmani responded: "These are gross lies. I supported Kobi Peretz during his time in prison, and also accompanied me when he left the prison. I led him to success. Kobi Peretz was sued for violating an agreement between us. Also, a defamation lawsuit will be filed against him next week. I am dealing with Kobi Peretz in court, and not in the media ").
Do you keep track of the tables that are published in the media, detailing the amounts that singers in the country are supposedly worth?
"All these tables are just bullshit. The real tables are with the accountant. Before Independence Day, advertisers advertise that singers take 120 or 180 thousand shekels for a performance. They can tell it to the newspaper, not to me. They don't tell the truth. Everyone inflates. We too once. We would do it, but whoever does it, who is he working for?
"And all this shopping of YouTube views and likes on Facebook and Instagram. Everything is fictitious, everything becomes plastic. I do not want to be there. I am offered to buy every week, and I look you in the eye now and say I have never bought views. Because in essence, what does it do? "No, it does not bring."
• • •
Burst in the field for almost three decades.
His debut album, Mistake of Life, was released in 1992.
Early in his career he specialized in the Turkish genre, and the breakthrough to the mainstream came in 2003, with "Confuse Him".
His next albums sold gold and platinum, and in 2008 the album "How Much Love" was released, with the theme song and the song "I am not the son of a king", which finally put him in the mainstream.
In 2009, he surprised with the duet "Together", with the singer Ishtar, in Hebrew and Arabic, who was chosen as the best song in the "Big Apple Music Awards" competition, an achievement he is proud of to this day.
"We were selected in the world music category, and we were voted from Arab and Muslim countries. This is my only victory in my career. I was never selected for Singer of the Year, Song of the Year or Album of the Year. "I will come to the ceremony in Jerusalem. I said I do not believe in competitions, because I never win them, but they convinced me."
and what happened?
"They organized a big car for me with balloons, rented a suite at a five-star hotel in Jerusalem, and prepared me for today. Today it turned out that they brought me only for public relations, and that the singer of the decade is Eyal Golan. I felt despised.
"But take all those who have won Singer of the Year, Song of the Year or Album of the Year in the last decade, what's going on with them today? Where are they? I've been performing for 30 years. A singer doesn't make a living from YouTube or Galgalatz."
And the honor?
"I get him from the crowd, and that's more important to me than anything. When I got out of jail they treated me as nicely as they had never received me in their lives before. In the first week I was afraid to leave the house. I was afraid that if they threw a word at my kids Want - to my children.
"And when I went out, people I didn't know would catch me on the street and kiss me, of all ages. They told me they loved me, and that the injustice they had done to me had not been done to any singer in Israel. The demand for my shows since then has only been rising."
למה נעשה לך העוול שעליו אתה מדבר?
"הייתי שעיר לעזאזל. הרבה זמרים נתפסו על מסים, ובי נכנסו כי הלכתי איתם ראש בראש. במשפט הייתי חוצפן. בכל דיון הייתי אומר לשופטת שאני אצא עם זיכוי ופיצוי".
הציעו לך לצאת עם קנס בלבד.
"זה לפני שהיה עלי עד מדינה, יעיש. הציעו לי להיות עד מדינה עליו, אבל אמרתי שלא, כי אותי חינכו לפי הפסוק שלמלשינים לא תהיה תקווה. אני גם לא ידעתי כלום, כי הוא ניהל אותי, לא אני ניהלתי. הם חיפשו אותי בכל מחיר. לא מזמן פגשתי חוקר ממס הכנסה. הוא חיבק אותי ואמר לי, 'אני אוהב אותך ברמה האישית, אני יודע שאמרת אמת, שעשו לך עוול במשפט, אבל זה לא היה בסמכותי'".
איבדת את האמון במערכת המשפט?
"לדעתי, 80 אחוזים מהציבור לא מאמינים במערכת. עושים שם קומבינות וסירחון אחד גדול. אתה רואה מה עושים עם נתניהו, עם רות דוד, עם אפי נוה, זה דבר שצריך לעקור אותו מהשורש. הרי כתוב, 'לא תטה משפט'.
"או קח את ציפי רפאלי. מה זה נתן למישהו שהיא נכנסה לכלא? למה לא עבודות שירות? הכלא עולה יותר כסף, הציבור לא מרוויח מזה כלום - ורק נוצר אנטי למערכת. בעיניי, אם אתה לא מסוכן לציבור, אין לך מה להיות שם. תעשה עבודות שירות לתועלת הציבור, עד שתחזיר את חובך לחברה".
באחד הדיונים בבית המשפט, פברואר 2017. "עושים במערכת הזאת קומבינות", צילום: גדעון מרקוביץ
איזה אדם יצאת משם?
"הרבה יותר טוב, יותר מאמין בקדוש ברוך הוא, מאוד חשדן, כבר לא שה תמים. למדתי בתשעה חודשים שם מה שלא למדתי ב־40 ומשהו שנות חיים. אני קיבלתי מכה אחרי מכה. ה'שלופים', המסים, האמרגנים. בעשור האחרון העסקתי כמעט עשרה עורכי דין בכמה פרשיות שונות.
"בכלא למדתי תורה וגמרא עם רב ראשי לשעבר לישראל, ולמדתי להעריך את הדברים הפשוטים - עגבנייה, ביצה קשה, קוטג', לחם. הכפכפים של המקלחת, הדברים הקטנים שבעבר זלזלתי בהם.
"החודשים הראשונים בכלא היו המשבר הכי גדול שלי בחיים. לא לראות את הילדים שלושה חודשים. ואז קיבלתי כמה שעות חופשה, לצאת לאזכרה לאבא שלי. נלחמתי עד שאישרו לי. חמי וגיסי חתמו שהם אחראים עלי בבית העלמין. היה יום גשום. נשכבתי על הקבר של אבא שלי ובכיתי. אחר כך עברתי לזמן קצר בבית, לראות את הילדים. כשנגמר הזמן, הם חשבו שאני טס שוב לחו"ל. הם תפסו לי את הרגליים ובכו 'אבא, אל תלך'. שם נשברתי לרסיסים".
ובתוך הכלא?
"עבדתי במכבסה, ויצא לי להפריד בין אסירים שרבו מכות. ראיתי אסירים פוגעים באסירים אחרים. היתה דקירה של אסיר חדש. בימי שישי בערב הייתי שר עם כולם שירים של שבת.
"יצא לי להציץ לאגף התורני, שבו ישבו בעבר אריה דרעי ומשה קצב, ונחרדתי, כי התנאים שם הזכירו לי את הסרט 'אקספרס של חצות'. שירותים לא בתוך החדר, מלאים עובש וירוקת. לא האמנתי שנשיא המדינה לשעבר היה שם. לכן הרב מצגר העדיף להיות באגף שלנו, כי אצלנו לכל שלושה אסירים שחולקים חדר יש שירותים ומקלחת בחדר - בזכות אולמרט, שהיה שם לפנינו".
• • •
אתה מרגיש היום שאתה מקבל את היחס שמגיע לך מהתקשורת?
"חוץ מבגלגלצ אני מושמע כמעט בכל תחנות הרדיו. אף פעם לא כיוונתי לשם. גלגלצ הם בדרך כלל בדיליי. שום להיט שלי לא שודר שם".
למעשה, מ־2012 לא הוצאת אלבום.
"יש היום זמר בעולם שמוציא אלבומים? תם עידן האלבומים, כמו שתם עידן האמרגנים. עכשיו זה רק סינגלים. תראה את עדן בן זקן, היא היתה על גל, ואז מה קרה איתה? כלום, בא 'מועבט' ונתן לה בוסט".
בהופעה ב־2009. "הרגשתי שאני בפסגת האוורסט", צילום: אלעד דיין
מה נותן אצלך עכשיו את הבוסט?
"ברור שהייתי רוצה עכשיו להיט גדול, בומבסטי. אם זה יקרה, הוא יהיה עוד אחד מתוך 50 שיש לי. הלהיטים שלי שצברתי מלווים אותי לילה לילה".
מה דעתך על ההצלחה של עומר אדם?
"אמרו לי שהוא תפס כביכול את המשבצת שלי, כשקרה לי מה שקרה. לדעתי, הוא לא תפס לי את המשבצת, אלא נישה משלו. אני מצדיע לו. הייתי שמח לשיר איתו".
יש לך קנאה בו?
"ממש לא. לא קינאתי אף פעם בזמר".
במשך כמה שנים התחרית באייל גולן.
"זה לא אומר שקינאתי. היתה תחרות.
"אגב, אחרי שתי ההופעות שלי בהיכל נוקיה, ב־2010, הצעתי למשה פרץ להופיע איתי ביחד באצטדיון בלומפילד. התקשרתי אליו אישית. שיהיה בריא. הוא ענה שזה מאוד מפרגן לו, אבל שלח אותי לדבר עם המנהל האישי שלו. אני מתקשר אליך כזמר לזמר, אחרי שתי הופעות רצופות בנוקיה, מציע לך משהו שייתן לך בוסט, וזה מה שאתה עונה לי? זה מאוד אכזב אותי, ומאז לא פניתי אליו (ממשרד יחסי הציבור של זאביק דרור, המייצג את משה פרץ, נמסר: "לא נגיב הפעם").
"ואז סיפרו לי שבכל מקום שבו מופיעים כמה זמרים באותו ערב, אף זמר לא רצה להופיע אחריי או לפניי. למה? תשאל אותם. אף פעם לא התחברתי לקליקה הזאת. אני יודע שיש זמרים מ'החמישייה', כן? - אני לא אנקוב בשמותיהם - שבאירועים פרטיים התנאי שלהם להופעה היה שאני לא אהיה שם".
משה פרץ. "אכזב מאוד", צילום: גדעון מרקוביץ
אתה מתכוון לאייל גולן, משה פרץ, ליאור נרקיס, דודו אהרון ועומר אדם?
"אתה אמרת את השמות. כל הזמרים האלה - כולם הופיעו עם כולם, חוץ מאשר איתי".
כיום אתה ואייל נמצאים בתחרות?
"למזלו הגדול של אייל - ואני לא חבר שלו - אני לא זוכר שאי פעם הוא התראיין והזכיר את השם שלי, לטובה או לרעה. מי שרודף אחרי הכבוד, הכבוד בורח ממנו. אני מפרגן לו כזמר לזמר, אבל לא הייתי רוצה לשתף איתו פעולה. בעבר כן, היום לא. בעבר רציתי להופיע איתו והוא לא רצה להופיע איתי. היום אני גם מבין למה. הוא אף פעם לא אהב לפרגן לי. אני יודע את זה ממפיקים".
מליאם הפקות נמסר בתגובה: "אייל גולן מאחל לקובי פרץ ולכל בית ישראל שנה טובה וגמר חתימה טובה".
אייל גולן. "היתה תחרות", צילום: קוקו
• • •
מה דעתך על מהפכת "מי טו" והמאבק נגד הטרדות מיניות בתעשיית הבידור?
"אני נגד להטריד מינית ולעשות משהו בכוח, אוי ואבוי. זה לא מקובל. אני נחרד מזה. פעם ראיתי בים מישהו עושה מעשה מיני ליד שתי נערות. רצתי אליו מרחוק, זינקתי עליו והפלתי אותו לרצפה, עד שהגיע לשם הפיקוח - שהזמין משטרה.
"אבל קח את משה איבגי, למה הבחורה לא מתלוננת למחרת? למה אחרי כמה שנים? מה זה קשה לה? ואם הוא לא היה שחקן מפורסם, אז היה לה יותר קל? שים לב שככל שאתה יותר מפורסם, אז יותר נוח להאשים אותך. אני מאוד בעד שאם בחורה נפגעת, היא תתלונן מייד.
"לדעתי מערכת המשפט מחמירה יותר עם מפורסמים. אם מישהו שהוא לא איבגי היה עושה את מה שאיבגי עשה, הוא לא היה מקבל אפילו עבודות שירות".
לנפגעות תקיפה מינית קשה נפשית להתלונן, וגם בגלל היחס שהן מקבלות במשטרה ובמערכת המשפט.
"הכי קל זה להאשים את המשטרה. אם אתה עובר תאונה, אתה הולך להגיש תלונה אחרי שנה? יכול להיות שיש קושי. אני לא רוצה להיכנס לנעליים של אף אחת".
אתה שמעת בעצמך על זמרים שהטרידו מינית?
"לא, שמעתי על זמרים שהוטרדו מינית. אתה יודע כמה זמרים הוטרדו ואף אחד לא פצה את פיו, בגלל שהוא גבר? למה, לא קרה לי שנשים זרקו לי בגדים לבמה ודיברו אלי באוזן תוך כדי הופעה בצורה בוטה? ואני עדין בתיאורים.
"בעבר, כשהייתי רווק, זה החמיא לי ופרגן לי, ועשיתי כל מה שחלמתי - וגם מה שלא חלמתי. היום זה מטריד וגורם לי לאי נוחות, כי קיבלתי על עצמי שאני איש משפחה, עם אישה וילדים. שחס וחלילה לא אמעד ולא אפגע באשתי.
"כשהייתי רווק זה היה אחרת. ראיתי, עשיתי, מיציתי. היום אני במקום אחר לגמרי בחיים, של קדושה, טהרה, משפחה ובית".
אין סיפורים של הטרדות מהעבר שירדפו אותך? מישהי שעלולה להגיד שעשית לה משהו?
"חס ושלום, למה שיקרה דבר כזה? אני לא צריך להטריד אף אחת. מה שאני עברתי, והוטרדתי, הרבה זמרים לא הוטרדו. אבל הילד שלי יקרא את הכתבה הזאת, אז אני לא רוצה לפרט".
בנושאי פוליטיקה, פרץ לא מסתיר את הערצתו לראש הממשלה לשעבר, בנימין נתניהו, ואת סלידתו מראש הממשלה המכהן, נפתלי בנט.
"בנט שיקר והפר את כל ההבטחות שלו מלפני הבחירות. מבחינתי, הוא לא ראש הממשלה שלי ולא של 90 אחוזים מהעם. חייל צה"ל גוסס, והוא לא יודע איך קוראים לו? קורא לחייל בשם של האבא שלו? קורים דברים, והוא לא מגיב ולא עושה שום דבר".
אין שום דבר טוב שהממשלה שלו עושה?
"הזזתם סוס מנצח בשביל חמור צולע. אין בכלל מה להשוות. מה שבנט עשה פה זאת סכנה לדמוקרטיה. אני מכיר מצביעים שלו שאומרים שהוא תקע להם סכין בגב. הוא עוקר את ארץ ישראל במקום ליישב אותה".
לך הציעו פעם להיכנס לפוליטיקה?
"הציעו לי להצטרף לישראל ביתנו של ליברמן. אני לא שם. לא אהבתי אף פעם פוליטיקה. בעיניי, פוליטיקאים הם עסקנים".
ובכל זאת, מה היית משנה במדינה?
"את חוסר הפרגון שיש פה. יש לנו המדינה הכי טובה בעולם, רק שיש פה מיעוט שהורס ורוצה להחריב".
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