Mizrahi music
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Mizrahi music ( he, מוזיקה מזרחית '  , "Eastern music/Oriental music") refers to a music genre in
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
that combines elements from
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
and
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
; and is mostly performed by Israelis of
Mizrahi Jewish Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained i ...
descent. It is usually sung in
Modern Hebrew Modern Hebrew ( he, עברית חדשה, ''ʿivrít ḥadašá ', , '' lit.'' "Modern Hebrew" or "New Hebrew"), also known as Israeli Hebrew or Israeli, and generally referred to by speakers simply as Hebrew ( ), is the standard form of the He ...
, or literary
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
.


Emergence of Mizrahi music


Background

Mizrahi Jews Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained i ...
who immigrated from the Arab countries have, over the last 50 years, created a unique musical style that combines elements of Arabic, Turkish, and Greek music. This is not to be confused with the New Hebrew Style, as the Mizrahi style is more spontaneous. After World War II, many Jewish families made
Aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...
to the new state of
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, founded in 1948. The Muzika Mizrahit movement started in the 1950s with homegrown performers in neighborhoods with a high concentration of Jews from Arab countries who would play at weddings and other events. They performed songs in Hebrew, but in an Arabic style, on traditional Arabic instruments—the
oud , image=File:oud2.jpg , image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921 , background= , classification= * String instruments *Necked bowl lutes , hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum , ...
, kanun, and the
darbuka The goblet drum (also chalice drum, tarabuka, tarabaki, darbuka, darabuka, derbake, debuka, doumbek, dumbec, dumbeg, dumbelek, toumperleki, tumbak, or zerbaghali; arz, دربوكة / Romanized: ) is a single-head membranophone with a goblet- ...
. In the 1960s, they added acoustic and electric guitar to their sound and so their sound became more eclectic. Vocalists usually decorated their singing with trills, and delivery was often nasal or guttural in sound. Intonation was typically Western, however; singers did not use the quartertone scales typical of Arabic music. Into the 1980s synthesizers and electronic instruments made their debut in Mizrahi music. Lyrics were originally texts taken from classic Hebrew literature, including poems by medieval Hebrew poets. Later they added texts by Israeli poets, and began writing original lyrics as well. An example is the song "Hanale Hitbalbela" (Hannale was confused), sung by Yizhar Cohen. The lyrics are by the modern Israeli poet and lyricist Natan Alterman, to a traditional tune. Singers also translated childhood favorites from Arabic to Hebrew and added electronics and a faster tempo.


The 1970s and onward

Two of the first popular Mizrahi musicians were
Zohar Argov Zohar Argov ( he, זוהר ארגוב, born , Zohar Orkabi, July 16, 1955 – November 6, 1987) was an Israeli singer and a distinctive voice in the Mizrahi music scene. Argov is widely known in Israel as "The king of Mizrahi music". Biography ...
and
Avihu Medina Avihu Medina ( he, אביהו מדינה, born August 19, 1948 in Tel Aviv) is an Israeli composer, arranger, songwriter, and singer of Mediterranean Israeli music. Medina was born in Tel Aviv. He was the third son of Aaron and Leah Medina. His m ...
. Argov grew up singing in his
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
with a very defined Middle Eastern melisma. His definitive Mizrahi hit was ''Haperah BeGani'' (''פרח בגני'', lt. Flower in my Garden). After his suicide he became an icon in Israel for what happens when one is cheated by society and a political activist. A play ha-Melekh was written about his life story, portrayed his fall to drugs and his troubles with the law. It was extremely popular. Avihu Medina was a singer and composer. He composed many popular hits for Argov. Women also began to play a significant part in popular Mizrahi music. A popular artist was
Zehava Ben Zehava Ben (born Zehava Benisti; he, זהבה בן; November 8, 1968) is an Israeli singer. Ben is one of the most popular Israeli female vocalists in the Mizrahi music genre; the Middle Eastern-style of singing rising from Israel's Mizrahi Jewi ...
. Because of her ties to Morocco and the Middle East she began her career singing
Umm Kulthum Umm Kulthum ( ar, أم كلثوم, , also spelled ''Oum Kalthoum'' in English; born Fatima Ibrahim es-Sayyid el-Beltagi, ar, فاطمة إبراهيم السيد البلتاجي, Fāṭima ʾIbrāhīm es-Sayyid el-Beltāǧī, link=no; 31 Dece ...
. Because Mediterranean Israeli music was so popular within the Eastern Jewish communities, which were quickly becoming a large percentage of Israel, the natural outcome would be a continuous playback on the local radio station. However the national government restricted the play of Mizrahi music because it was not considered ‘authentic Israeli.’ The social researcher, Sami Shalom Chetrit, wrote "The educational and cultural establishment made every effort to separate the second generation of eastern immigrants from this music, by intense socialization in schools and in the media,". The penetration of Muzika Mizrahit into the Israeli mainstream was the result of pressure by Mizrahi composers and producers such as
Avihu Medina Avihu Medina ( he, אביהו מדינה, born August 19, 1948 in Tel Aviv) is an Israeli composer, arranger, songwriter, and singer of Mediterranean Israeli music. Medina was born in Tel Aviv. He was the third son of Aaron and Leah Medina. His m ...
, the overwhelming, undeniable popularity of the style, and the gradual adoption of elements of Muzika Mizrahit by popular Israeli artists. Yardena Arazi, one of Israel's most popular stars, made a recording in 1989 called "Dimion Mizrahi" (Eastern Imagination), and included original materials and some canonical Israeli songs. The acceptance of Muzika Mizrahit, over the 1990s, parallels the social struggle of Israelis of Sephardic and Mizrahi origin to achieve social and cultural acceptance. "Today, the popular Muzika Mizrahit has begun to erase the differences from rock music, and we can see not a few artists turning into mainstream. This move to the mainstream culture includes cultural assimilation," writes literary researcher and critic Mati Shmuelof. It is a widely accepted fact by now that the invention of the recordable cassette by the
Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
Corporation and the commercial cassette distribution network in the Tel Aviv train station had a large impact on the popularity of Mediterranean Israeli music. Cassettes allowed the Mizrahi population create and distribute their own music within their communities. They also allowed for more musical integration. One could have
Umm Kulthum Umm Kulthum ( ar, أم كلثوم, , also spelled ''Oum Kalthoum'' in English; born Fatima Ibrahim es-Sayyid el-Beltagi, ar, فاطمة إبراهيم السيد البلتاجي, Fāṭima ʾIbrāhīm es-Sayyid el-Beltāǧī, link=no; 31 Dece ...
and a neighbor who is an emerging singer. Cassette tapes were a predominant factor in the growth of Mediterranean Israeli music in the 1970s. After first being a favorite at community celebrations, such as weddings and birthdays, the recording of one particular wedding party became a desired commodity in the Mizrahi ma'abarot ("transit camp"). These cassettes are what caused ethnomusicologist Amy Horowitz to start researching this blossoming new music style. After Reuveni's friends and neighbors started offering to buy the cassettes he realized he might have a great opportunity on his hands.Horowtiz, Amy (1999) He and his brother later went on to become one of the major Mizrahi cassette companies in Israel.


Fusion genres

Over time fusions of Mizrahi music with other genres emerged, including oriental rock, hip hop, and pop.


Rock and metal

Rock Mizrahi ("oriental rock") is a wide term that incorporates several different Israeli musical styles. It is defined by the combining of
rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...
with middle eastern instruments, compositions and singing techniques. Comparison may be drawn with
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
, as Middle Eastern scales and rhythm tend to break western norms. Some examples are
Orphaned Land Orphaned Land is an Israeli heavy metal band, formed in 1991 under the name Resurrection (changing their name in 1992 to the current name), that combines Israeli Jewish, Mizrahi, and other West Asian influences. They are considered the pioneer ...
, Knesiyat Hasekhel, Algeir and lead singer Aviv Guedj, Yosi Sassi and Dudu Tassa. Another notable examples is Fortisakharof, a creative duo consisting of
Rami Fortis Rami Fortis ( he, רמי פורטיס, , born July 7, 1954), or simply Fortis, is an Israeli rock singer. Born in Tel Aviv, Fortis became known as a pioneer of Israeli punk rock. His debut album ''Plonter'', released in 1978, was not a commercia ...
and
Berry Sakharof Berry Sakharof ( he, ברי סחרוף, ; born 7 July 1957) is an Israeli rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. Sakharof is one of Israel's most popular and critically acclaimed rock musicians, and is often referred to as "the prince ...
. Both Fortis and Sakharof have partial Mizrachi backgrounds (Turkish and Iraqi). The oriental elements in their music range from very subtle to very apparent at times. The two began their project in 1989 following the break up of
Post Punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
group
Minimal Compact Minimal Compact is an Israeli rock band associated with the post-punk and indie rock movement of the 1980s. Biography Between its foundation in 1980 and its dissolution seven years later, Minimal Compact played an important role in the Europe ...
. Both groups feature several Middle Eastern themes, including one song in Gibberish Arabic, "Sandanya", from their debut LP ''Foreign Affair''. The fusion of Mizrahi music and
metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a ...
can be defined as
oriental metal Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for exampl ...
. Other sub genres of Rock rarely categorize their oriental influences.


Pop

By the mid 1990s, Mizrahi Pop labels had already began to transform from underground operations distributing cassettes within the Mizrahi community to a much more formal and standardized
Music Industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...
. Musicians and producers of that time were starting to incorporate more elements of
Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
,
Techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...
, Electronic dance music,
Europop Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...
and R&B, while still strongly emphasizing the Greek, Turkish and Arab roots. Along with earlier examples like
Ofra Haza Bat-Sheva Ofra Haza ( he, בת-שבע עפרה חזה; 19 November 1957 – 23 February 2000), known as Ofra Haza (), was an Israeli singer, songwriter, actress, and Grammy Award-nominated recording artist commonly known in the Western world as ...
and
Ethnix Ethnix ( he, אתניקס, stylized as Xאתני, ) is an Israeli pop-rock band, founded in 1984 as Moskva ( he, מוסקבה, - "Moscow") by vocalist Zeev Nechama and keyboardist Tamir Kalinski. Their music is a mix of oriental and Western melodi ...
, later acts like
Zehava Ben Zehava Ben (born Zehava Benisti; he, זהבה בן; November 8, 1968) is an Israeli singer. Ben is one of the most popular Israeli female vocalists in the Mizrahi music genre; the Middle Eastern-style of singing rising from Israel's Mizrahi Jewi ...
,
Eyal Golan Eyal Golan ( he, אייל גולן; born Eyal Bitton; 12 April 1971) is an Israeli singer who sings in the Mizrahi music pop fusion genre, and considered one of the most successful singers in Israel. Golan reported the highest income of all sing ...
,
Sarit Hadad Sarit Hadad ( he, שרית חדד, ) (born on September 20, 1978) is an Israeli singer. In October 2009, the Israeli Music TV Channel (Channel 24) named Hadad "best female singer of the 2000s". She represented Israel at the Eurovision Song Contes ...
and others revolutionized the genre and brought it to much larger audiences. Some songs of this era had already become hits in neighboring countries, including Greece and Arab countries. Mizrahi Pop became a target to mockery and often disregarded by the mainstream pop culture of Israel at the time. Although demographically they may have been equally popular, most radio stations were refusing to play Mizrachi Pop, favoring American and European influenced pop and rock. The distinction between Mizrahi pop and the mainstream was clear. With many Mizrachi Pop hit singles still being low budget productions, mainstream critics and media were mostly ignoring the genre, with the excuse of Mizrachi Pop lacking artistic depth. Most songs were rather straight forward love songs, translations of Greek/Mediterranean songs or Jewish themed songs, with songwriting following a certain formula. This is why comparisons to other global "
counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...
turned mainstream movements" are less appropriate, with Hip hop and
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
music being highly innovative, as well as political and protest oriented. It is, however, widely agreed that many Mizrahi pop songs do have a lot more in them than it first seems, so perhaps many of them were to some extent misunderstood for being ahead of their time. There were also many cases of mutual influencing of the two movements in Israeli Pop as early as 1985, with some well known
Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
songwriters admiring the Mizrahi sound. During the 2000s and 2010, Mizrahi Pop has grown to become the most prominent form of pop music in Israel. In 2019, singer
Omer Adam Omer Adam ( he, עומר אדם; born October 22, 1993) is an Israeli singer whose music fuses elements of eastern Mizrahi music (Oriental-Middle Eastern) and Western Pop instrumentation. In 2009, he participated in the seventh season of ''Kokha ...
sold 50,000 tickets in
Hayarkon Park Yarkon Park ( he, פארק הירקון, ''Park HaYarkon'') is a large park in Tel Aviv, Israel, with about sixteen million visits annually. Named after the Yarkon River which flows through it, the park includes extensive lawns, sports faciliti ...
, only 1,000 people less to break
Kaveret Kaveret ( he, כוורת, lit. "beehive"), also known as Poogy ( he, פוגי, nickname of band drummer Meir Fenigstein chosen for their performances abroad), was an Israeli Rock music, rock band, which operated originally from 1973 to 1976. Repr ...
record of 51,000 people at the same place at 2013.


Well-known Mizrahi artists


Singers

*
Zohar Argov Zohar Argov ( he, זוהר ארגוב, born , Zohar Orkabi, July 16, 1955 – November 6, 1987) was an Israeli singer and a distinctive voice in the Mizrahi music scene. Argov is widely known in Israel as "The king of Mizrahi music". Biography ...
(1955–1987) (
Yemenite Jew Yemenite (Arabic: يماني‎, romanized: ''Yamāni'') is someone whose ancestors are from Yemen, or something that is linked to Yemen. It may refer to: * Al-Yamani, a pre-messianic figure in Shia Islamic eschatology * Yemenite Hebrew, dialect of ...
) * Ofer Levi * Jo Amar (1930–2009) (
Moroccan Jew Moroccan Jews ( ar, اليهود المغاربة, al-Yahūd al-Maghāriba he, יהודים מרוקאים, Yehudim Maroka'im) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews b ...
) *
Avihu Medina Avihu Medina ( he, אביהו מדינה, born August 19, 1948 in Tel Aviv) is an Israeli composer, arranger, songwriter, and singer of Mediterranean Israeli music. Medina was born in Tel Aviv. He was the third son of Aaron and Leah Medina. His m ...
(
Yemenite Jew Yemenite (Arabic: يماني‎, romanized: ''Yamāni'') is someone whose ancestors are from Yemen, or something that is linked to Yemen. It may refer to: * Al-Yamani, a pre-messianic figure in Shia Islamic eschatology * Yemenite Hebrew, dialect of ...
) *
Daklon Daklon (born Joseph Levy; 6 April 1944) is an Israeli singer. He was born in Tel Aviv's Kerem Hateimanim neighborhood, the son of Jewish immigrants from the Shar'ab region in Yemen. Daklon explains the source of his nickname: "In those days ...
(
Yemenite Jew Yemenite (Arabic: يماني‎, romanized: ''Yamāni'') is someone whose ancestors are from Yemen, or something that is linked to Yemen. It may refer to: * Al-Yamani, a pre-messianic figure in Shia Islamic eschatology * Yemenite Hebrew, dialect of ...
) *
Haim Moshe Haim Moshe ( he, חיים משה, , sometimes Chaim Moshe on recordings), born 20 September 1955 is an Israeli singer whose musical style has crossed over from Yemenite and Mediterranean "ethnic" music to include mainstream Israeli and western po ...
(
Yemenite Jew Yemenite (Arabic: يماني‎, romanized: ''Yamāni'') is someone whose ancestors are from Yemen, or something that is linked to Yemen. It may refer to: * Al-Yamani, a pre-messianic figure in Shia Islamic eschatology * Yemenite Hebrew, dialect of ...
) * Tzion Golan (
Yemenite Jew Yemenite (Arabic: يماني‎, romanized: ''Yamāni'') is someone whose ancestors are from Yemen, or something that is linked to Yemen. It may refer to: * Al-Yamani, a pre-messianic figure in Shia Islamic eschatology * Yemenite Hebrew, dialect of ...
) *
Ofra Haza Bat-Sheva Ofra Haza ( he, בת-שבע עפרה חזה; 19 November 1957 – 23 February 2000), known as Ofra Haza (), was an Israeli singer, songwriter, actress, and Grammy Award-nominated recording artist commonly known in the Western world as ...
(1957–2000) (
Yemenite Jew Yemenite (Arabic: يماني‎, romanized: ''Yamāni'') is someone whose ancestors are from Yemen, or something that is linked to Yemen. It may refer to: * Al-Yamani, a pre-messianic figure in Shia Islamic eschatology * Yemenite Hebrew, dialect of ...
) *
Shimi Tavori Shimshon "Shimi" Tavori ( he, שימי תבורי; born February 9, 1953) is an Israeli singer. He performs mostly in Hebrew but also in French. Biography Shimshon Tawili was born in Ness Ziona, Israel, to a Yemenite-Jewish family. He was the yo ...
(
Yemenite Jew Yemenite (Arabic: يماني‎, romanized: ''Yamāni'') is someone whose ancestors are from Yemen, or something that is linked to Yemen. It may refer to: * Al-Yamani, a pre-messianic figure in Shia Islamic eschatology * Yemenite Hebrew, dialect of ...
) *
Eyal Golan Eyal Golan ( he, אייל גולן; born Eyal Bitton; 12 April 1971) is an Israeli singer who sings in the Mizrahi music pop fusion genre, and considered one of the most successful singers in Israel. Golan reported the highest income of all sing ...
(
Yemenite Jew Yemenite (Arabic: يماني‎, romanized: ''Yamāni'') is someone whose ancestors are from Yemen, or something that is linked to Yemen. It may refer to: * Al-Yamani, a pre-messianic figure in Shia Islamic eschatology * Yemenite Hebrew, dialect of ...
/
Moroccan Jew Moroccan Jews ( ar, اليهود المغاربة, al-Yahūd al-Maghāriba he, יהודים מרוקאים, Yehudim Maroka'im) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews b ...
) *
Sarit Hadad Sarit Hadad ( he, שרית חדד, ) (born on September 20, 1978) is an Israeli singer. In October 2009, the Israeli Music TV Channel (Channel 24) named Hadad "best female singer of the 2000s". She represented Israel at the Eurovision Song Contes ...
(
Mountain Jew Mountain Jews or Caucasus Jews also known as Juhuro, Juvuro, Juhuri, Juwuri, Juhurim, Kavkazi Jews or Gorsky Jews ( he, יהודי קווקז ''Yehudey Kavkaz'' or ''Yehudey he-Harim''; russian: Горские евреи, translit=Gorskie Yevrei ...
) * Moshik Afia ( Lebanese Jew) *
Dudu Aharon Dudu Aharon ( he, דודו אהרון; born on 23 December 1984) is a singer-songwriter, musician, and composer from Israel. Biography David (Dudu) Aharon was born in Kiryat Ekron, and is of Yemenite-Jewish origin. He began his musical career ...
(
Yemenite Jew Yemenite (Arabic: يماني‎, romanized: ''Yamāni'') is someone whose ancestors are from Yemen, or something that is linked to Yemen. It may refer to: * Al-Yamani, a pre-messianic figure in Shia Islamic eschatology * Yemenite Hebrew, dialect of ...
) *
Zehava Ben Zehava Ben (born Zehava Benisti; he, זהבה בן; November 8, 1968) is an Israeli singer. Ben is one of the most popular Israeli female vocalists in the Mizrahi music genre; the Middle Eastern-style of singing rising from Israel's Mizrahi Jewi ...
(
Moroccan Jew Moroccan Jews ( ar, اليهود المغاربة, al-Yahūd al-Maghāriba he, יהודים מרוקאים, Yehudim Maroka'im) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews b ...
) *
Amir Benayoun Amir Benayoun (Hebrew: עמיר בניון) (born on August 30, 1975) is an Israeli singer-songwriter. Biography Amir Benayoun was born in Beersheba to Maxim and Esther Benayoun who moved to Israel from Algeria. His father was an oud player. From ...
(
Algerian Jew Algerian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Algeria * Algerian people This article is about the demographic features of the population of Algeria, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, econo ...
) *
Gad Elbaz } Gad Elbaz (in Hebrew: ) is an Israeli Jewish singer who has gained international success and recorded several albums. Biography Elbaz is of Moroccan Jewish descent. He began to sing and write music at age four. He first appeared with his fath ...
(
Moroccan Jew Moroccan Jews ( ar, اليهود المغاربة, al-Yahūd al-Maghāriba he, יהודים מרוקאים, Yehudim Maroka'im) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews b ...
) * Maya Buskila (
Moroccan Jew Moroccan Jews ( ar, اليهود المغاربة, al-Yahūd al-Maghāriba he, יהודים מרוקאים, Yehudim Maroka'im) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews b ...
) *
Itzik Kala Itzhak "Itzik" Kala ( he, איציק קלה) is an Israeli singer of Kurdish-Jewish descent who sings in Aramaic, Kurdish and Hebrew. He has released over 30 studio albums. He is married to Ziona Kala. In late 2012 his wife was severely injur ...
(
Kurdish Jew , image = File:RABBI MOSHE GABAIL.jpg , caption = Rabbi Moshe Gabai, head of the Jewish community of Zakho, with Israeli President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi in 1951 , pop = 200,000–300,000 , region1 = , pop ...
) * Yishai Levi (
Yemenite Jew Yemenite (Arabic: يماني‎, romanized: ''Yamāni'') is someone whose ancestors are from Yemen, or something that is linked to Yemen. It may refer to: * Al-Yamani, a pre-messianic figure in Shia Islamic eschatology * Yemenite Hebrew, dialect of ...
) *
Miri Mesika Miri Mesika ( he, מירי מסיקה; born May 3, 1978) is an Israeli singer and actress. She won several Israeli Female Singer of the Year awards. She has sold more than 200,000 copies of her albums in Israel. Biography Miri Mesika was born ...
(
Tunisian Jew The history of the Jews in Tunisia extended nearly two thousand years and goes back to the Punic era. The Jewish community in Tunisia is no doubt older and grew up following successive waves of immigration and proselytism before its develo ...
/
Iraqi Jew The history of the Jews in Iraq ( he, יְהוּדִים בָּבְלִים, ', ; ar, اليهود العراقيون, ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c. 586 BC. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and mos ...
) *
Ninet Tayeb Nati Ninet Tayeb ( he, נינט טייב; born October 21, 1983), commonly known as Ninet, is an Israeli musician, singer-songwriter, composer, DJ, model, actress, and a reality television program judge in '' Rising Star: Israel''. She is conside ...
(
Tunisian Jew The history of the Jews in Tunisia extended nearly two thousand years and goes back to the Punic era. The Jewish community in Tunisia is no doubt older and grew up following successive waves of immigration and proselytism before its develo ...
/
Moroccan Jew Moroccan Jews ( ar, اليهود المغاربة, al-Yahūd al-Maghāriba he, יהודים מרוקאים, Yehudim Maroka'im) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews b ...
) * Bo'az Ma'uda (
Yemenite Jew Yemenite (Arabic: يماني‎, romanized: ''Yamāni'') is someone whose ancestors are from Yemen, or something that is linked to Yemen. It may refer to: * Al-Yamani, a pre-messianic figure in Shia Islamic eschatology * Yemenite Hebrew, dialect of ...
) *
Lior Narkis Lior Narkis ( he, ליאור נרקיס; born November 8, 1976 in Holon, Israel) is an Israeli singer. Biography Lior Narkis was born in Holon. His father, David Narkis, was of Iraqi-Jewish origin. His mother Hanna Narkis, was of Serbian-Jewis ...
( Serbian Jew (Greek-Tunisian ancestry) /
Iraqi Jew The history of the Jews in Iraq ( he, יְהוּדִים בָּבְלִים, ', ; ar, اليهود العراقيون, ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c. 586 BC. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and mos ...
) * Avi Peretz (
Moroccan Jew Moroccan Jews ( ar, اليهود المغاربة, al-Yahūd al-Maghāriba he, יהודים מרוקאים, Yehudim Maroka'im) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews b ...
) *
Kobi Peretz Kobi Peretz ( he, קובי פרץ; born October 28, 1975), is an Israeli singer who sings in the Mizrahi style. Biography Yaakov (Kobi) Peretz was born and raised in Tel Aviv, the youngest of 10 children. He is of Moroccan Jewish descent. He is ...
(
Moroccan Jew Moroccan Jews ( ar, اليهود المغاربة, al-Yahūd al-Maghāriba he, יהודים מרוקאים, Yehudim Maroka'im) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews b ...
) *
Moshe Peretz Moshe Haim Peretz ( he, משה פרץ; born 10 May 1983) is an Israeli Mizrahi music pop singer-songwriter and composer. Beginning in 2013, Peretz acted as judge for the The X Factor Israel. Early life Peretz was born and raised in Tiberias, ...
(
Moroccan Jew Moroccan Jews ( ar, اليهود المغاربة, al-Yahūd al-Maghāriba he, יהודים מרוקאים, Yehudim Maroka'im) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews b ...
/
Iraqi Jew The history of the Jews in Iraq ( he, יְהוּדִים בָּבְלִים, ', ; ar, اليهود العراقيون, ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c. 586 BC. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and mos ...
) *
Nasrin Kadri Nasreen Qadri ( ar, نسرين قادري, he, נסרין קדרי; born September 2, 1986) better known as Nasrin Kadri is an Arab-Israeli singer of traditional and pop Middle Eastern and Mizrahi music. Qadri, a Muslim convert to Judaism, mos ...
( Arab-Israeli )) *
Yehuda Saado Yehuda Saado (in Hebrew יהודה סעדו also written Sa'ado) (born in Jerusalem on 29 April 1983) is an Israeli singer and the winner of the third season of the Israeli music competition program ''Kokhav Nolad''. Career Yehuda Saado, born in J ...
*
Shlomi Shabat Shlomi Shabat ( he, שלומי שבת; born August 30, 1954) is an Israeli vocalist and musician. He is of Turkish Eastern Sephardim, Eastern Sephardic Jewish origin. Early life Shabat was born in Yehud, Israel, to a family of Sephardic Jewish ...
( Turkish Jew) *
Pe'er Tasi Pe'er Tasi ( he, פאר טסי; born 10 May 1984) is an Israeli singer and songwriter in the Mizrahi genre. Biography Tasi was born on 10 May 1984 in Israeli town Pardes Hanna-Karkur, and is of Yemenite Jewish ancestry. He began singing at a ...
(
Yemenite Jew Yemenite (Arabic: يماني‎, romanized: ''Yamāni'') is someone whose ancestors are from Yemen, or something that is linked to Yemen. It may refer to: * Al-Yamani, a pre-messianic figure in Shia Islamic eschatology * Yemenite Hebrew, dialect of ...
) *
Margalit Tzan'ani Margalit "Margol" Tzan'ani ( he, מרגלית "מרגול" צנעני; born December 19, 1948) is an Israeli singer and television personality. Tzan'ani is famous for her repertoire of Israeli oriental music style with soul influences, as well a ...
(
Yemenite Jew Yemenite (Arabic: يماني‎, romanized: ''Yamāni'') is someone whose ancestors are from Yemen, or something that is linked to Yemen. It may refer to: * Al-Yamani, a pre-messianic figure in Shia Islamic eschatology * Yemenite Hebrew, dialect of ...
) *
Idan Yaniv Idan Yaniv ( he, עידן יניב; born October 18, 1986) is an Israeli singer born in Tel Aviv. He has successfully recorded five albums with many popular singles. His debut single was "Hoshev Aleha" and it was a hit that generated a lot of a ...
( Bukharian Jew /
Indian Jew The history of the Jews in India dates back to antiquity.
) *
Kobi Oz Kobi Oz ( he, קובי אוז, , born Ya'akov Uzan ( he, יעקב אוזן, ) on 17 September 1969) is the lead singer of Israeli group Teapacks. Biography Yaakov Uzan was born on 17 September 1969 in Sderot to Tunisian Jewish parents who moved t ...
(
Tunisian Jew The history of the Jews in Tunisia extended nearly two thousand years and goes back to the Punic era. The Jewish community in Tunisia is no doubt older and grew up following successive waves of immigration and proselytism before its develo ...
) *
Liora Itzhak Liora Itzhak (Pezarkar) ( he, ליאורה יצחק; born 27 September 1974) is an Israeli singer of Indian origin. She was born in Israel to parents who had made aliyah from Mumbai, India. During Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2017 visit ...
(
Indian Jew The history of the Jews in India dates back to antiquity.
) * Moti Taka (
Ethiopian Jew The history of the Jews in Ethiopia refers to people in Ethiopia who practice Judaism or have Jewish ancestry. This history goes back millennia. The largest Jewish group in Ethiopia is the Beta Israel, also known as Ethiopian Jews. Offshoots ...
) *
Moran Mazor Moran Mazor ( he, מורן מזור; born 17 May 1991) is an Israeli singer. Mazor rose to fame as the winner of the first series of the Israeli reality show "Eyal Golan is Calling You" in 2011. In 2013, Mazor won the Israeli national selection ...
( Georgian Jew) *
Omer Adam Omer Adam ( he, עומר אדם; born October 22, 1993) is an Israeli singer whose music fuses elements of eastern Mizrahi music (Oriental-Middle Eastern) and Western Pop instrumentation. In 2009, he participated in the seventh season of ''Kokha ...
(
Mountain Jew Mountain Jews or Caucasus Jews also known as Juhuro, Juvuro, Juhuri, Juwuri, Juhurim, Kavkazi Jews or Gorsky Jews ( he, יהודי קווקז ''Yehudey Kavkaz'' or ''Yehudey he-Harim''; russian: Горские евреи, translit=Gorskie Yevrei ...
) *
Eden Ben Zaken Eden Pessia Ben Zaken ( he, עדן בן זקן; born ) is an Israeli singer who gained recognition following her participation in the first season of the TV show '' X Factor Israel'', in which she placed second. She has been awarded Israel's wom ...
(
Moroccan Jew Moroccan Jews ( ar, اليهود المغاربة, al-Yahūd al-Maghāriba he, יהודים מרוקאים, Yehudim Maroka'im) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews b ...
) *
Itay Levi Itay or Itai ( he, איתי) is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Itai Anghel, Israeli news correspondent *Itai Maggidi, Israeli long-distance runner * Itay Margalit, retired Israeli high jumper * Itay Segev (born 1995), Israeli ...


Music formations

* The Revivo Project - Raviv Ben Menachem, Nir Ben Menachem and Eliran Tsur


See also

* Coma Dance Festival *
Arabic music Arabic music or Arab music ( ar, الموسيقى العربية, al-mūsīqā al-ʿArabīyyah) is the music of the Arab world with all its diverse music styles and genres. Arabic countries have many rich and varied styles of music and also man ...


References


Further reading


ISRAEL’S HAPPINESS REVOLUTION: What my preschooler’s taste in Mizrahi pop says about where the country is at
by Matti Friedman August 31, 2015,
Tablet (magazine) ''Tablet'' is an online magazine focused on Jewish news and culture. The magazine was founded in 2009 and is supported by the Nextbook foundation. Its editor-in-chief is Alana Newhouse. History ''Tablet'' was founded in 2009 with the support ...
.


External links


Israeli Music PortalA Taste of Jewish Music from the Sephardi Worldmizrahi musicThe Sephardic Pizmonim Project
''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...
''
Linda, Linda by Haim MosheElinor by Zohar Argoz
{{Contemporary Jewish religious music Israeli music Mizrahi Jewish culture World music genres Jewish music genres