"Israelism" is a song recorded by Swedish group

Army of Lovers Army of Lovers is a Swedish dance- pop group which formed in 1987 and had a number of hits in Europe throughout the 1990s. Some of their biggest successes include the song "Crucified", which was a big hit in Europe, charting 31 weeks in the Eu ...

, released in March 1993 by

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

and

Stockholm Records Stockholm Records is a Swedish subsidiary of Universal Music Group, founded in 1992, and known for signing musicians such as Army of Lovers and E-Type. Overview The boutique label was originally launched in 1992 as an independent record company ...

as the first single from the group's third album, '' The Gods of Earth and Heaven'' (1993). The song was a European hit, scoring a top 10 hit in countries like Belgium, Finland, Israel and Sweden. It combines the Jewish folk song " Hevenu shalom aleichem" with

Eurodance Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...

-beats and also includes additional lyrics written by

Alexander Bard Alexander Bengt Magnus Bard (born 17 March 1961) is a Swedish musician, author, lecturer, artist, songwriter, music producer, TV personality, religious and political activist, and one of the founders of the Syntheist religious movement alongside ...

Anders Wollbeck Anders Wilhelm Axel Wollbeck (born 10 February 1958 in Stockholm) is a Swedish songwriter and producer. He plays the guitar and Keyboard instrument, keyboard. He is part of the songwriting and production duo Vacuum (band), Vacuum together with Mat ...

Jean-Pierre Barda Michel Jean-Pierre Barda (born 7 March 1965) is a Swedish and Israeli singer, actor, make up artist and hair dresser of French/Algerian Jewish descent. He is one of the founding members of the pop group Army of Lovers. Biography Jean-Pierre B ...

Michaela de la Cour Army of Lovers is a Swedish dance- pop group which formed in 1987 and had a number of hits in Europe throughout the 1990s. Some of their biggest successes include the song "Crucified", which was a big hit in Europe, charting 31 weeks in the E ...

and

Dominika Peczynski Dominika Peczynski (born 20 September 1970) is a Polish-Swedish singer, model and television host. Army of Lovers She joined the Swedish pop music group Army of Lovers in 1992, making her debut with the group with "Hasta Mañana", a cover of ...

. Bard and Wollbeck produced it with Per Adebratt. The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Swedish director Fredrik Boklund, who had previously directed the other music videos for Army of Lovers.

Critical reception

Swedish '' Göteborgsposten'' viewed the song as a "controversial tribute to

Jewish culture Jewish culture is the culture of the Jewish people, from its formation in ancient times until the current age. Judaism itself is not a faith-based religion, but an orthoprax and ethnoreligion, pertaining to deed, practice, and identity. Jewi ...

", concluding that it is "yet another hit." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' remarked that it incorporates elements from five traditional Jewish folk hymns "in an updated arrangement." They added that "Israelism" is "intended as an anthem for young people around the world, proving there is much pride and joy to be found in Jewish lifestyle. The song should be seen as a powerful statement against

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

and

bigotry Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

in Europe today." Stephen Dalton from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' declared it as "a towering celebration of Jewish culture ..which stomps like ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...

'' at a packed gay disco." He also noted that this is the Army's "anti-fascist anthem" and comes with a sleeve guarantee that the album is "strictly

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

for passover." Tony Cross from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' gave "Israelism" three out of five, calling it a "goose-stepping number". He added that "they've gone back to the formula of amateur dramatics, big chants, quirky keyboards and barmy blokes."

Chart performance

"Israelism" was a hit in several European countries and remains one of the band's most successful hits. In their native Sweden, the song charted for 4 weeks, peaking at number ten, while reaching number 11 on the Swedish Dance chart and number three on the Swedish Airplay chart. It was also a top 10 hit in Belgium and Finland, peaking at number nine and five, and a top 20 hit in Denmark and Norway (12 and 13). In Germany and Switzerland, it was a top 40 hit (32 and 31). On the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

, the single peaked at number 48 in May 1993. It didn't chart on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

or in the US. Outside Europe, "Israelism" was a top 10 hit in Israel.

Single track listing

* 7" single #"Israelism" — 3:20 #"Israelism" (Dub Version) — 3:13 * 12" maxi-single #"Israelism" (Radio Edit) — 3:20 #"Israelism" (Goldcalfhorahhorror Mix) — 6:54 #"Israelism" (Kibbutznikblitzkrieg Mix) — 6:32 #"Israelism" (Très Camp David Mix) — 3:13 * CD single #"Israelism" (Radio Edit) — 3:20 #"Israelism" (Dub Version) — 3:13

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 1993 singles 1993 songs Army of Lovers songs English-language Swedish songs Music videos directed by Fredrik Boklund Polydor Records singles Songs about Israel Songs written by Alexander Bard Stockholm Records singles