Once upon a time, years ago, it was impossible to find Naomi Shemer’s songs in “Shiront”, where you can find lyrics to Israeli songs. I demanded the matter and it was said that Shemer refuses to have the lyrics of the songs she wrote published on the website, and that there are books she published and intended for that purpose.
From inquiries I made through my associates it dawned on me that at the same time teachers and counselors in schools were using Shemer’s poems less and less due to the difficulty of obtaining them easily. With the immediate environmental help we brought this to the attention of her family, who changed Shemer’s demand (who had already passed away by then) and made it possible to put her songs on the various sites.
I remember this episode because for some time now I have felt the absence of the veteran Hebrew singer – and not from one site or another, but from the main stages – television and radio; There you will hardly find expression for a veteran Hebrew singer, and certainly not for new works by veteran artists, who find their songs crashing time and time again in front of the playlist walls. Although on the radio there are hours and even days (especially on the weekends) when these songs are broadcast continuously, but it is no more than a fig leaf. And what happens to television which is the mainstream media that ignores and forgets these songs? A few years ago, entertainment programs or night programs were found in which Hebrew music was given a stage, but these days these programs have been completely extinct.
I do not understand, performances of a Hebrew singer fill halls, I experience it myself every week. A huge audience for these songs that have a melody playing, one that can be sung, whistled and hummed, meaningful lyrics, lyrics, romance, well-packaged rhymes that express our connection to the country, society, relationship or good story in a way that pleases the soul. I believe that even a young person, if he listens to the old songs even if he did not really grow up on them, and hears a line from Alterman or Rachel or Leah Goldberg – will be able to get close to them.
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I am an artist of a Hebrew singer. In many cases people come to me at the end of a show with tears in their eyes due to the memory that came to them during the show through those songs. Could it be that those same people do not want to see such a culture and such entertainment on television as well? I make a discount for the commercial channels that the rating culture brings them time and time again to brain-depleted cooking and reality shows, but what is public broadcasting for? How can such a significant surgeon in the population be ignored? Is a person over the age of 40 not entitled to find the artists he likes on screen or hear them on the radio? Public stations have a role in preserving Israeli culture, and in recent years they have sinned against their role.
As someone who has made the preservation of Hebrew music the enterprise of his life, and as someone who has experienced the immense love that Hebrew music has for the public, I feel obligated to shout the cry of the artists, the audience and myself and go out and call the station managers:
The writer is a Hebrew singer-songwriter