Yoav Eliasi (; born November 22, 1977), commonly known by his

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

The Shadow (, ''Ha-Tzel''), is an Israeli

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

blogger A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

, and right-wing

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

. He was part of the roster of artists on the label TACT Records. According to Haaretz, "His amped up nationalistic message and his glorification of common soldiers — and this, along with his vitriolic rants against the left and the mainstream media, not to mention against the Arabs, garnered him a massive following, relative to this small country."

Background

Yoav Eliasi was born in

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

, Israel. His parents are of both

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

( Romanian-Jewish) and

Mizrahi Jewish Mizrahi Jews (), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () in plural and ''Mizrahi'' () in singular, and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are terms used in Israeli discourse to refer to a grouping of Jews, Jewish c ...

( Persian-Jewish) descent. His family relocated to

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

two years later. By his teenage years he had formed a deep bond with Kobi "Subliminal" Shimoni, and the two began performing together at hip-hop shows. After finishing his mandatory military service in the IDF, he decided to stay on. This is where his rap name allegedly derives from. The official TACT Records profile says that Yoav Eliasi was in an elite undercover unit where he could not show his face, though in an interview with

Yehoram Gaon Yehoram Gaon (; born December 28, 1939) is an Israeli singer, actor, director, comedian, producer, TV and radio host, and public figure. He has also written and edited books on Israeli culture. The son of Sephardic Jewish parents—a Bosnian f ...

on Channel 1, Eliasi claims that he was a ''M'faked Mishma'at'' ("Discipline Officer"). In July 2014, Eliasi was a central organiser of a right-wing confrontation on a demonstration by Israeli left-wing anti-war protesters opposing

Operation Protective Edge The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge (, ), and Battle of the Withered Grain (), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that has been governed by Hamas since ...

against

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

. An editorial in

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

described him as "the dangerous product of incessant incitement by extreme right-wing elements." Yoav aliasi in confrontation with peace activists in Tel Aviv

Yoav aliasi in confrontation with peace activists in Tel Aviv

Discography

Studio albums

Solo

* ''Lo Sam Zain'' (Hebrew: לא שם זין, "Don't give a damn" fficial translation by TACT) (2008)

With Subliminal

* '' Ha'Or Ve'HaTzel'' (Hebrew: האור והצל, "The Light and the Shadow") 2002

With TACT (Tel Aviv City Team)

* ''TACT All-Stars'' (Hebrew: תאקט אול סטארז, "TACT All-Stars") (2004)

Singles

Solo

=From Lo Sam Zain

= * ''Meantezet 2007'' (Hebrew: מענטזת 2007, "Moves Her Ass 2007") (2007)

With TACT

=Non-album singles

= * ''Shir Shel Rega Ehad'' (Hebrew: שיר של רגע אחד, "Song of One Moment") (2005)

=From TACT All-Stars

= * ''Hineni/Viens Ici'' (Hebrew: הנני/VIENS ICI, "Here I am") (2004) * ''Lama'' (Hebrew: למה, "Why?") (2004) * ''Prahim ba'Kaneh'' (Hebrew: פרחים בקנה, "Flowers in the Turrets") (2004) * ''Peace in the Middle East'' (Hebrew: שלום במזרח התיכון, "Peace in the Middle East") (2004)

References

External links

TACT Records site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shadow 1966 births Living people Israeli rappers Jewish rappers People from Safed Israeli people of Iranian-Jewish descent Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Israeli Mizrahi Jews Israeli activists Far-right politics in Israel