Singer and creator Yonatan Razel performed in front of women in the nation’s buildings four and a half years ago, and in the middle of the performance, black tape was taped to his eyes – while women in the audience danced. The criticism leveled at him, along with the storm that was raging at the time, charged him a very high price, which almost even led to his retirement from appearances for secular audiences and thoughts about continuing his career.
In an interview with Raz Shechnik at the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper over the weekend, he says: “It was completely a trauma. I was in the market, a kind of battle shock. I did not understand how I, a religious singer who from the first day sings to everyone, to a mixed audience, who performs a lot in front of women only, snatch such a hug. And it all started with a kind of prank, a joke.
“I went up to sing, in front of about 3,000 women in a hall that was sold out. I started performing a bouncy song and they started dancing. Suddenly I noticed that there is discomfort in the audience, because some women are not most comfortable dancing in front of a man. So I said to them in the happiest tone: Girls, you want to go wild, would you like a blind singer like Stevie Wonder? Accept. Then I shout behind the scenes, ‘Bring me a sweater.’ I wanted to put on my head and eyes. They said no. I asked for something to put on my eyes. “
Razel was offended by the criticism leveled at him after the show: “At first I was sure that women who knew me would stand up and say, ‘We know exactly who Jonathan Razel is. He did nothing against us. It was a complete joke. ‘ But it did not happen. In practice the result was the opposite. Instead of a joke, I became a symbol of discrimination against women, when the opposite was true. “
Razel then, and in fact so far, refrained from explaining what had happened and preferred not to fend off the attack against him: “In fact, I have not explained it exactly to this day. I felt that the atmosphere then was very, very against me. I sat at home and said, it can not be. And think I’m another person disconnected from all media, so I did not see anything of everything that went on in the networks. I only heard afterwards. I knew that whatever I said would not translate well. But what is the problem in the specific case? There was such a thing about him, so my silence was perceived as an admission of guilt. “Instead of them coming down on me, I kept getting boxes in front of me.”
Thoughts have passed that this is actually the end of his career, he was asked.
“No,” he replies, “but I was considering taking a break from performances. After the story there were several times I said to Yael, my wife: Let’s do something else, it’s such a negative experience, maybe it’s better not to show up in the near future, Eric Einstein Style. But the rabbis did not let me do that. By the way, there was also an easier option, that I would say Sabba, from today only appears to the religious audience, no problem. Easy going. But both my wife and the rabbis were in Paul Force I should not do that.
“It was definitely trauma. For the first half year I mostly thought about how I was going through it in the most correct way. There were many conversations into the night with my wife, friends, with my rabbi. At the level of work it did not hurt me at all, a kind of miracle. I continued to perform as usual, but it bothered me for a very long time. “This aliyah in the end did not hold water, because it really had nothing to build on.”
How does the ultra-Orthodox audience accept that you perform in front of a mixed audience and also in non-kosher places?
“I consult with the great rabbis. Do not move alone. All my gentlemen know about all my performances and encourage them. “