"It's
a very important thing to learn to talk to people you disagree with."
- Pete
Seeger
A couple of
weeks ago, ACUM, the Israeli organization that licenses and collects royalties
for creators'/artists' works, announced that it would be giving its coveted
2013 Lifetime Achievement Award to songwriter/artist Ariel Zilber. ACUM's
statement upon announcing the prize was, "Zilber's work stands out in its
originality and its freshness, with its fusion of ethnic and modern music
styles. We recognize that Zilber has redefined the musical mainstream [in
Israel--ed.] by bringing fringe music to the center." (My loose
translation.)
Although
Zilber's career started as a songwriter for artists in France and Israel in the
late '60s/early '70s, he became well-known in Israel in the mid-'70s, as a
member of the successful band Tammuz, along with Shalom Chanoch. After Tammuz,
Zilber launched a very successful solo career that spanned the mid-'70s through
the end of the '80s. After a break of several years, Zilber returned to the
public eye with strong right-wing statements that the press and many of his
contemporaries branded controversial. (He has since publicly apologized for the
most controversial and hurtful of those statements.) As a result, many famous
Israeli musicians refused to appear with him, and he was pushed to the edges of
the Israeli musical scene. During the time of the expulsion of the Jews from
Gush Katif and the Gaza Strip, Zilber moved his home to one the Northern Gaza
communities and was a vocal opponent of the plan, writing and performing strong
protest songs about the politics of the day. At that time he also started
becoming religiously observant. When he released his 2008 album, Politically
Correct (an album full of right-wing protest songs), none of Israel's music
distributors would put it in the stores and he was forced to sell it
independently. It took him until 2011 to find a national distributor to put the
album on the shelves and make it available to the general public.
When
Zilber's Lifetime Achievement Award was announced, another prominent prize
winner for this year's ACUM ceremony, Achinoam Nini (Noa), announced that she
would not accept her prize nor appear at the ceremony, as she refuses to share
the stage with Zilber. Nini is well known for her radical left-wing views,
views that are as far to the left as Zilber's are right (if not farther).
Nini's very public opposition to Zilber receiving the prize made headlines
across the Israeli press, and resulted in vocal support of rescinding the award
from ACUM director Dalia Rabin (the late prime minister's daughter).
Ultimately, ACUM decided yesterday to reduce the prize to a "Prize for
Contribution to Music"--a watered-down prize (with a much smaller monetary
award attached to it). Despite this slap in the face, Zilber has announced he
will attend the ceremony and accept the prize as well as speak at the event.
Pete
Seeger, who passed away last week, was considered the "father" of the
protest song. His protest came with a well-formed and strong left-wing
socialist/(non-Soviet) communist agenda, but I have no doubt he would have been
more than willing to sit down with Zilber and discuss their very different
world views and political approaches over a few cups of coffee and a good meal.
Music is a
powerful communication tool. If you use it to express your opinion while being
open to hearing opposing viewpoints, like Seeger did, you use it wisely and for
good. If you use your music and popularity to boycott and spread hate, you are
abusing the power of music. Nini has used her popularity and the power of her
music to boycott and quash all possible discussion and discourse. If you don't
agree with her politics, you are persona non-grata, not worthy of even being in
the same room as her, not to mention engaging in a civil and meaningful
discussion about your opposing views. Unfortunately, this is nothing new for
Nini, who ahs a long history of this sort of behavior. Zilber, at least, is
using this opportunity for communication, and despite the politically-motivated
snub, is not boycotting and not reacting with anger or hate.
Whether you
agree with his politics or not, whether your worldview is close to his or far
from it, Ariel Zilber's music and songs have had a lasting impact on the
Israeli music scene, and he deserves recognition for his career and his
important body of work. More power to
you, Ariel Zilber; even if ACUM won't award you a Lifetime Achievement Award, we
do (with no monetary compensation attached, unfortunately). More power to you.
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