Ariel Zilber ( he, אריאל זילבר; born September 23, 1943) is an Israeli singer-songwriter and composer.

Biography

Ariel Zilber was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

. His mother, Bracha Zefira, was a popular singer of Yemenite Jewish origin and his father, Ben Ami Zilber, played the violin in the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra. As both were busy with their international careers, they placed their son in a boarding school on kibbutz

Gan Shmuel Gan Shmuel ( he, גַּן שְׁמוּאֵל, ''lit.'' Shmuel's Garden) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in Haifa District, east of Hadera, it falls under the jurisdiction of Menashe Regional Council. In it had a population of . The kibb ...

, where he lived from age four to fifteen. After losing part of a foot while playing with explosives in his room, he was expelled from the school and returned to his parents in Tel Aviv, where he began studying the trumpet. He spent several years in England and France building up a career, but eventually returned to Tel Aviv. Brachazafira

Later in life, Zilber became a religious Jew and a follower of the

Lubavitcher rebbe Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups ...

. He was a resident of

Alei Sinai Elei Sinai ( he, אֱלֵי סִינַי, ''lit.'' Towards Sinai) was an Israeli settlement in the north of the Gaza Strip. Founding Elei Sinai was established in 1982 ( Sukkot 5743) by a group who had been evicted from Yamit in the Sinai Peni ...

, but now lives with his wife on moshav Gitit. In 2007, he participed in a campaign for the release of

Yigal Amir Yigal Amir ( he, יגאל עמיר; born May 31, 1970) is an Israeli right-wing extremist who assassinated former Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin. At the time of the assassination he was a law student at Bar-Ilan University. The assas ...

, who assassinated

Prime Minister of Israel The prime minister of Israel ( he, רֹאשׁ הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה, Rosh HaMemshala, Head of the Government, Hebrew acronym: he2, רה״מ; ar, رئيس الحكومة, ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief exec ...

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until h ...

Music career

In the 1970s, he established the innovative rock band Tamuz, with

Shalom Hanoch Shalom Hanoch ( he, שלום חנוך) (born September 1, 1946) is an Israeli rock singer, lyricist and composer. He is considered to be the father of Israeli rock and modern Israeli music in general, both of which have been profoundly influe ...

, and later headed the group Brosh. His songs "Rutzi, Shmulik Koreh Lach" ("Run, Shmulik Is Calling You"), "Ani Shochev Li Al Hagav" ("Lying on My Back"), "Ten Li Koach" ("Give Me Strength"), "Milliard Sinim" ("A Billion Chinese") and others were known for their amusing, somewhat bizarre lyrics. In the 1980s, he launched a solo career. His music spans various genres, from rock, pop, hip-hop and Arab music to Ethiopian-inspired music. His album "Ha'atalef Vehatarnigol" ("The Bat and the Rooster") included four Hasidic melodies composed by

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

Yitzhak Ginsburgh Yitzchak Feivish Ginsburgh (Hebrew: יצחק פייוויש גינזבורג; born 14 November 1944) sometimes referred to as "the Malakh" () is an American-born Israeli rabbi affiliated with the Chabad movement. In 1996 he was regarded as one ...

. According to Zilber, the title song is taken from a

Talmudic The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

analogy in which a rooster crows excitedly as a new day dawns while the bat lives in darkness.

Awards and recognition

In 2014, Zilber won an

ACUM prize The Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers in Israel ( he, אגודת קומפוזיטורים, ומחברים ומו"לים), known by the acronym ACUM ( he, אקו"ם), is a non-profit copyright collective which engages in collectiv ...

for his contribution to music. Initially, he was to be granted the lifetime achievement award, but due to his political views, the prize was downgraded to an award for his musical accomplishments. In 2016, Zilber was honored with the lifetime achievement award of the Israeli Union of Performing Artists.

Discography

Albums

*Rutzi Shmulik, 1976 *Ariel Zilber and the Brosh Band, 1978 *Ariel Zilber, 1982 *Ariel Zilber, CD, 1983 *Ba Da Di Dia, 1988 *Two weeks in a foreign city, 1991 *Smoke Screen, 1999 *Anabel, 2005 *Politically Correct, 2008 *The Bat and the Rooster (Ha'atalef Vehatarnigol), 2013 *Someone (Mishehu), 2016

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zilber, Ariel 1943 births Living people Baalei teshuva 20th-century Israeli male singers Israeli Orthodox Jews Jewish Israeli musicians Israeli male singer-songwriters 21st-century Israeli male singers Israeli people of Latvian-Jewish descent Israeli people of Russian-Jewish descent Israeli people of Yemeni-Jewish descent Israeli settlers Musicians from Tel Aviv