Song critical of the IDF goes viral after being banned by Israeli Army Radio

by on October 17, 2012 17
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(Update: English captions added to the video @ red button)

An Israeli song about learning to kill and dehumanizing the enemy is going viral in Israel. After Israel’s Army Radio canceled a live broadcast of the song and banned the song from the station it was thrust  into the national (and international?) spotlight.  A Matter of Habits, the title track of popular Israeli rock band Tislam’s new album has everybody talking. Tislam’s co founder, Izhar Ashdot, is husband and life partner to Israeli novelist Alona Kimhi (both legendary artists in Israel). Kimhi wrote the lyrics after a Breaking the Silence tour of Hebron a few years ago.

Thus far the song has 2,174 ‘dislikes‘ on youTube, if that’s any indication of the  controversy it’s generating. Some critics are literally fuming about the content while others are clearly more offended by the fact it’s been censored by Army Radio although it’s still getting play on Israel radio.

It’s not a shoot and cry — it’s corpse-like cold in it’s directness which is why it is threatening: “The cousin like an animal/Used to blood/Doesn’t feel suffering/Is not human.”

Uri Blau at Haaretz writes people do not want to know, they don’t want to think about it:

Under Dekel’s baton, the Army Radio station introduced a new slogan to its broadcasts: “What’s happening now.” Until this week the slogan sounded simply hollow, but the censorship of Ashdot’s song proved that it is also the opposite of the way Army Radio operates. In his decision, Dekel did exactly what the public wishes, as reflected in the responses to the song’s banning. What’s happening now is that many people don’t want to know, don’t want to hear and don’t want to think about what’s being done in their name and what happens to their children when they don a uniform and are transformed from boys into an occupying force.

But Dekel is a journalist rather than Army Radio’s public relations agent. He is supposed to report to his listeners what’s happening on every patrol by soldiers and at every checkpoint manned by Border Police. “Our heart is already coarse and our skin is so thick, deaf and blind in the bubble of the present,” sings Ashdot. By imposing censorship on the song, Dekel proved that every word is true, and chose to conceal the truth, to whitewash the reality and to pat ourselves on the back. That’s a mistake and it reinforces an image of what’s happening that is definitely not what’s happening now.

 LATimes:

The song was welcomed by liberals as a protest of Israel’s actions in the West Bank but fiercely criticized by others, who defaced Ashdot’s official Facebook page last month, with one angry reader referring to Ashdot as a “draft-dodging dog” — though he didn’t evade mandatory service.

Army Radio stuck by an advance invitation that Ashdot perform in its studios but expressly vetoed the playing of this song. The station later issued a statement saying there was no room on the military station for a song that “denigrates and denounces those who have sacrificed their lives for the defense of the country.”

“I am worried when songs are banned for broadcast in a democratic country,” Ashdot told Israeli media, adding he was shocked by the “incitement” against him that the statement encouraged. The decision and statement were issued by Yaron Dekel, a veteran journalist appointed to be the station’s military commander in February.

……

Michael Sfard, an activist attorney who represents Breaking the Silence, called the decision a “sad instance of political censorship” and wondered if an interviewer speaking, not singing, the same critique would be censored.

….

The political party Meretz, which opposes Israel’s continued occupation of the West Bank, used its social media platform to recommend the song and ushered its supporters to YouTube to ‘like’ “Ashdot’s courage and Kimhi’s uncompromising text.” 

Jerusalem Post:  One song our soldiers won’t be marching to

And these words caught my attention:-
 
 
 
 
 
 
They translate as
 
“Hey, what here is ours and what belongs to you?”
 
 
 
Who is he singing to?
 
Who is the “we” and who the “you”?
 
Is the Arabic-styled font intended to suggest Arabs are the “you”?
 
Is this a political song?
 
But to the point: IDF soldiers learn to defend and to do that, they must be trained in warfare and how to kill.  There is no room for pacificism here.
 

For background on the origins of Kimhi’s Breaking the Silence tour check out            A song was born: The tale of a controversial tune by Yuval Ben-Ami at 972+ . He offers a translation of the lyrics below.

Learning to kill
Is a matter of momentum
It starts small
And then it comes

Patrols every night
In the casbah of Nablus
Hey, what here is ours
And what is yours

At first just a drill
A rifle’s butt bangs on the door
Children in shock
A family terrified

Later – closure*
There’s danger already
Death is lurking
Behind every corner

Cocking the weapon
Arm shaking
Finger is firm
Against the trigger

The heart goes wild
Beats, terrified
It knows – next time
It will be easier

They are not a man, not a woman
They are just an object, just a shadow
Learning to kill
Is a matter of habit

Learning to fear
Is a matter of momentum
You start small
And then it comes

The news from above
Reaches the street
There’s no hope of living
The end is so near

Prophecies of terror
Like the crow of a raven
Close the shutters
Close up in the homes

We’re just a few
And they are so many
A tiny country
Devoured by enemies

They have only hate in their hearts
Evil, dark urges
Learning to fear
Is a matter of habit

Learning cruelty
Is a matter of momentum
It starts small
And then it comes

Every boy is a man
Craving victory
Hands behind the head
Legs spread

It’s a time of danger
It’s a time of destruction
Soldier, toughen up
There’s no good in compassion

The cousin like an animal
Used to blood
Doesn’t feel suffering
Is not human

Field uniform and chafing
Exhaustion and routine
From stupidity to evil
The route is short

All ours, all ours
Israel’s land
Learning cruely
Is a matter of habit

Son, son– stop
Son, son – come back
Come to me, sweetheart
Come to me, my baby

The sky is so gloomy
Outside, already dark
Tin soldiers still
Under the bed

Come home, son
Come home
Home
Home

Learning to love
Is a matter of tenderness
A careful step
In a cloud of gentleness

We will hesitate, we will come apart
We will soften, we will round out
Learning to love
Is a matter of habit

Being human
Is a matter of momentum
It grows like an unborn child
And then it comes

For just one minute
Just now, just today
To be on the other side
Of that same checkpoint

But our heart has hardened
And our skin is thick
Deaf and blind
In the bubble of the present

We will observe in amazement
The falling angel
Being human
Is a matter of habit

*”Closure” is a military term referring to a situation in which inhabitants of a village or town are prevented from traveling outside it.

Mondoweiss contributor Ira Glunts had this to say which about wraps it:

A country raised on “purity of arms” and all this other crap is reacting like a cornered animal to charges of cruelty and worse.

Ben-Ami predicts the song will be legendary and all we need to do is be patient. I’m sitting back and grabbing the popcorn. This isn’t going away anytime soon.

(Hat tip Mondoweiss commenter Dickerson)

About Annie Robbins

Annie Robbins is Editor at Large for Mondoweiss, a mother, a human rights activist and a ceramic artist. She lives in the SF bay area. Follow her on Twitter @anniefofani
Posted in Israel/Palestine, Occupation

{ 17 comments... read them below or add one }

  1. pabelmont says:
    October 17, 2012 at 4:18 pm

    I bet IDF command-people tell these IOF-soldiers that there are armed terrorists lurking out there, to make them frightened and to make them feel justified in exacting (ahem) collateral damage (i.e., killing and injuring innocents), wantonly destroying property.

    Just as American CIA hirelings tell the drone-operators (is that themselves? Do CIA employees describe targets only or do they also operate the killer drones?) that a place (which thereby becomes a target) houses terrorists or militants and is therefore a legitimate target.

    A lot of room — when telliong soldiers about supposed battle conditions and supposed threats — for fearful talk, lies, carelessness, misinterpretation of facts, belief in statements made by torture victims or those avoiding torture, decisions made in considerable lack of supporting evidence, maliciousness, etc.

    And the USA’s military went from one which was somewhat honorable to one in which MyLai events occurred more frequently to the one now seen in Iraq and Afghanistan.

    But the IDF went from Deir Yassin and the expulsions of 1947/48 (mostly denied and covered up, thereby corrupting the moral standing of the soldiers who heard these cover-ups but did not speak out to contradict them) to the occupation of today, with excursions into Lebanon in 1982 and later, and the bloody-mindedness never changed. Ethnic cleansing was called removal of possible (or likely) internal enemies, but the rights of those not ethnically cleansed were not respected (and court judgments were not respected by the military or the government), further signs of a criminal-like military and government.

    My guess is that the song hits the raw nerve of denial denied. More power to it.

  2. Annie Robbins says:
    October 17, 2012 at 6:23 pm

    Update: English captions have been added to the video @ red button

    • Henry Norr says:
      October 17, 2012 at 8:35 pm

      Thanks, but the red button isn’t producing anything for me. Anyone else seeing English captions?

      • DICKERSON3870 says:
        October 17, 2012 at 10:45 pm

        Click on the second button in the row – the one to the left of the sprocket-like one (quality).

      • Ira Glunts says:
        October 18, 2012 at 6:05 am

        To activate the English captions, do not use the red button on the left. I made the same mistake. Use the button marked cc. You may have to start the clip to see the buttons.

        Here is another clip of “A Matter of Habit.”
        link to youtube.com
        This one has 31,000 hits. It also contains a response video. No Hebrew required to understand it. That video only has 1500 hits.
        Click the big green rectangular banner on top to see response. BTW, the banner can be turned on and off by the left red annotation button.

        There was also a song parody of “A Matter of Habit” published on Tuesday at the website of the daily newspaper Ma’ariv.

        Some things do not get covered in the press, both Hebrew and English. From reading the comments on youtube, listening to a few radio programs, and surfing the Net, I can tell you that the this song shook the walls of Jerusalem.

        Thanks to Annie for the fine post and to Dickerson3780 for first bringing this song to the attention of Mondoweiss.

  3. Philip Munger says:
    October 17, 2012 at 6:49 pm

    Ben-Ami predicts the song will be legendary and all we need to do is be patient.

    It is a powerful ballad, both musically and poetically. The evolving chorus and harmonization in minor thirds are haunting. Some of the post-production editing with electronic instruments detracts, but otherwise this is a vibrant example of what is very good in current antiwar art.

    The response to it evokes images of people banning the Dixie Chicks, the ongoing pressures against Roger Waters since he began advocating BDS in 2011, and the seeming disappearance of Invincible since she created People Not Places.

  4. DICKERSON3870 says:
    October 17, 2012 at 9:35 pm

    RE: “Song critical of the IDF goes viral after being banned by Israeli Army Radio” ~ Mondoweiss title writer

    I HAVE A BONE TO PICK: Not really, but it sounded good. Anyway, the song might in a sense be critical of the IDF, but its about a whole lot more than that. After all, much of the lyrics can easily be applied to the U.S. military in Iraq. Or Vietnam. Or . . .

    • DICKERSON3870 says:
      October 17, 2012 at 10:26 pm

      P.S. FROM phrases.org.uk:

      Re: Have a bone to pick with you! ~ Posted by Ward on April 23, 2004

      : : : “Bone to pick,” dates back to the 16th century, simply refers to a dog chewing endlessly on, and “picking clean,” a large bone. A “bone to pick” is thus a subject or issue that is expected to require considerable discussion or argument. A similar phrase, “bone of contention,” meaning an issue over which two people argue, also dates back to the 1500s and refers, appropriately, to two dogs fighting over an especially choice bone.

      : : link to word-detective.com

      : It has a slightly different meaning here in Ireland. ‘I have a bone to pick with you’ means ‘I believe you have done me wrong and I want to know why.’

      :::Here in the States the meaning is the same. A ‘bone to pick’ is an issue to be discussed and resolved between individuals.

      SOURCE – link to phrases.org.uk

    • DICKERSON3870 says:
      October 18, 2012 at 6:49 pm

      RE: “Anyway, the song might in a sense be critical of the IDF, but its about a whole lot more than that. After all, much of the lyrics can easily be applied to the U.S. military in Iraq. Or Vietnam. Or . . .” ~ me (above)

      SEE: “Dying for Lies: The Racket of War”, by Sanford Kelson, Counterpunch, 10/18/12

      [EXCERPTS] . . . My name is Sanford Kelson. I was born in 1944, graduated high school in 1962 and am now 68 years old. I am a lawyer and I also teach in a special program for gifted and talented public school students.
      When I was growing up my education caused me to believe certain things. Education is not just what you learn in school. It’s what you learn at home, from TV, newspapers, the movies, from music, art, etc. I got a consistent message from all these sources. I learned that we Americans were special. We were better than others. Our form of government was the best; our economic system was the best; our leaders were more intelligent and just; we were more honest, smarter, more trustworthy and brave. God was on our side. And I learned that there were bad people in the world. Communist were bad back then. We wore the white hats and people in bad countries wore black hats. And there were weak countries that, like us, wanted peace and freedom. We had to protect them from the bad guys. A nice and simple picture to understand the world was painted for us. Good versus evil.
      So, in 1963, young and patriotic, I enlisted in the US Army for a three year tour of duty – a chance to kill commies for God and country. . .
      . . . A necessary corollary to this bonding is the military’s dehumanizing the people we were to fight. During the time of my service the Vietnamese were dehumanized. Our leaders referred to them as gooks and slant eyes. Today the enemy is referred to as rag heads and sand niggers. It’s hard to kill human beings so they must be made less than human. . .
      . . . In December 1965, my outfit received orders to ship out to Vietnam. . .
      . . . We were told the purpose of our mission. There were two countries: North VN and South VN. The North was evil and was trying to forcibly impose communism on SVN. SVN was one of those weaker countries that, like us, wanted peace and democracy so we had to protect it from the bad guys. We had been getting the same message on TV, in newspapers, magazines, on the radio, everywhere. . .
      . . . Just before my outfit was due to be shipped out, my commanding officer, a captain, summoned me to his office. He explained that since I had less than 90 days remaining in my three-year tour of duty that I would not be going to VN. . .
      . . . After I got home, I started getting letters from my friends who were in VN. The letters told of horror after horror. . .
      . . . Then I got the most important letter I had ever received. A buddy wrote and said, Sandy, everybody here hates us. I wondered, how could any of them hate us? My friends were dying to protect them from communism, from the North. We were spending billions of dollars in VN. How could they hate us? We were the good guys, we wore the white hats. I was confused. Things didn’t add up. I began to critically think – possibly, for the first time in my life. . .

      ENTIRE COMMENTARY – link to counterpunch.org

  5. Shmuel says:
    October 19, 2012 at 2:01 am

    Is the Arabic-styled font intended to suggest Arabs are the “you”?

    Definitely. There are other clever uses of fonts in the clip: childish handwriting, army font, religious font, Likud font, children’s book font, 60s-style peace font, etc. Some I couldn’t put my finger on, but are familiar and arouse certain associations.

  6. Ira Glunts says:
    October 19, 2012 at 7:30 am

    I turned on my computer at 7 AM EST this morning and went to “A Matter of Time” at YouTube. These were the last seven comments, all written in Hebrew.

    Izhar Ashdot you are a piece of shit

    AntiSemtic Israel hater

    Ugh. (Expression of disgust)

    I swear I won’t hear you anymore or go to your performances anymore. You lost an audience.

    There is a limit on expressing differing opinion and saying the things that you said….
    …you have crossed the line and have gone too far.

    There is no freedom of expression here… we are becoming a third world country.

    Izhar kill yourself. Izhar kill yourself. Izhar kill yourself. Death waits for you behind every corner. Izhar you are a traitor. Izhar kill yourself.

    • Annie Robbins says:
      October 20, 2012 at 7:03 pm

      Ira, the first day it came out i went there and scrolled thru pages of comments and translated them. what you have copied here is representative of what i saw. i noticed there were some comments that did not appear unless you clicked ‘show more’ (probably responses). but there were also youtube messages that said (paraphrasing) ‘lots of people disagreed with the content of the message so it is hidden and click here if you want to see it’, so i did. and it was a short polite average comment supporting the video.

  7. Clif Brown says:
    October 20, 2012 at 3:09 pm

    I went to YouTube just now to check the stats on views of the video, but found something I have never seen before on YouTube “public statistics have been disabled”

    Hummm, now I wonder what the story is on this? Though I can understand how comments might be disabled because of nothing but profanity, etc., what sense does it make to disable statistics on viewing?