DANIEL ESTRIN, HOST:
I didn't listen to music for a long time after the October 7 attacks and in those first weeks of war in Gaza and Israel. I couldn't stomach it. But I remember the first time I heard live music again. It was at a hotel, and there was a band playing Hebrew and Arabic classics.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
ESTRIN: At the beginning, many musicians here were not writing, but they were going around the country performing for Israelis who had fled their homes out of fear. And they were in shock about the deadliest day in their country's history and about the hundreds of hostages taken to Gaza. As the war dragged on this year, Israel's bombardment of Gaza has brought unprecedented death and destruction for Palestinians. The Palestinian and Israeli music worlds have been shaken up dramatically.
EINAV SCHIFF: I didn't listen to music, but I did read the words. Music was just demoted at that point.
ESTRIN: I reached out to Einav Schiff. He's a music critic for a big Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Aharonot. And later on, we'll hear from a popular Palestinian musician. And I asked them to walk us through this year in music in the shadow of war.
Hi, Einav.
SCHIFF: Hi, Daniel.
ESTRIN: So now it's been more than a year, is there a new song you think captures the spirit of what Israelis are feeling now?
SCHIFF: Yeah, I think it's called "Even Better."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ALWAYS LOVES ME")
SASSON IFRAM SHAULOV: (Singing in non-English language).
SCHIFF: It's a cover song by Israeli pop star called Sasson Ifram Shaulov, and it was written by a rabbi. Basically, the song says that whatever happens, God loves you. And you're good now, and you will be even better tomorrow and the next day and the next day.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ALWAYS LOVES ME")
SHAULOV: (Singing in non-English language).
SCHIFF: The words, the lyrics, let's say, represent the way that Israelis want to suppress the pain and trust in God and think that no matter what happens, he loves them and gives them better things every day.
ESTRIN: It'll be better. It'll be better one day.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ALWAYS LOVES ME")
SHAULOV: (Singing in non-English language).
ESTRIN: We should talk about "Harbu Darbu."
SCHIFF: Well, "Harbu Darbu" is total war. We should unite behind the army and let them do the work in Gaza. And I'm saying in the most delicate way because of the platform, the song is much, much, much more. Parental advisory before kids listening to the song.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HARBU DARBU")
NESS AND STILLA: (Rapping in non-English language).
ESTRIN: I mean, let me read some of the lyrics.
(Reading) Who do you think you are coming and shouting free Palestine? You children of Amalek.
That's a reference to the Biblical enemy of the people of Israel.
(Reading) We brought the whole army on you, and I swear there will be no forgiveness. Everyone who planned, everyone who murdered, every dog shall have its day.
Meaning every bad person will get their punishment.
(Reading) All the units of the Israeli Army are ready for a complete mess on your heads.
SCHIFF: This was the biggest song of the year. That was the sentiment in Israel. It's still the sentiment in Israel.
ESTRIN: The music is really catchy. And at the same time, this song is accused of being a battle cry to kill Palestinians.
SCHIFF: I can understand people who see it in that way. This is why I think the song is actually problematic. People in Israel has less attention and careness (ph) to civilian casualties of what the army calls noninvolved. The atrocities of October 7 was in a magnitude that nobody in Israel has ever known. And their natural react was, OK, so now we'll do the same. We don't care now for parents and kids. No, no, we just want our peace back.
ESTRIN: What song speaks to your soul right now?
SCHIFF: The song that talked to me a lot was a song called (non-English language spoken) by Aya Korem.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
AYA KOREM: (Singing in non-English language).
SCHIFF: When you watch Israeli TV and when you listen to the radio and you listen to most of the popular songs, everyone expects you to be strong, be strong for the nation, for the families that lost their sons, for the soldier, be strong for the hostages. And at some point, Aya Korem came and said, be weak.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
KOREM: (Singing in non-English language).
SCHIFF: The people that accept that this is a time of weakness, they're the ones who were strong.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
KOREM: (Singing in non-English language).
ESTRIN: Einav Schiff, thank you so much.
SCHIFF: Of course, thank you so much.
ESTRIN: Of course, there's a parallel music world in Arabic. Let's bring in Tamer Nafar.
TAMER NAFAR: Salam, how are you?
ESTRIN: You are a Palestinian artist, rapper, actor, screenwriter.
NAFAR: Yeah, emcee, ADHD - something like that, yeah.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
NAFAR: (Rapping in non-English language).
ESTRIN: Can I ask you to go back to the beginning of the war? What was the Palestinian and Arabic music scene?
NAFAR: Before the 7 of October, it wasn't all love and pop towards the Palestinians. They were under siege. We were having our lands taken. So sad songs and political songs were always part of the spine of the Palestinian music. And to be honest, a year before the 7 of October, I took a decision where I want to write only love songs. I get inspired by my wife, by my kids, by people I love, so I want to sing to them. And when things happened, I understood that when you have superpowers, you're going to have to carry super responsibilities.
ESTRIN: So all of those love songs you had written and were planning to release, you put those back on the shelf.
NAFAR: The way that humanity works is they put ammunition and guns under the pillows just in case and war happens. So let's say I'm doing the opposite. I'm saving love songs just in case peace will come.
(SOUNDBITE OF TAMER NAFAR SONG, "WHATEVER")
NAFAR: Took me a while until I released my first song. I've always had that passion of using happy music and still deliver a message. So the song is called (non-English language spoken), "Whatever."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHATEVER")
NAFAR: (Rapping in non-English language).
It was just that feeling. You want to arrest me, whatever. I'm owning the bank a lot of money. I'll take another loan, whatever. My existence doesn't matter anyway.
ESTRIN: You sing - sometimes I give up, and sometimes I hold my head up. Sometimes I run away; sometimes I stand.
You're not just giving up.
NAFAR: Even if I'm - not giving up is thinking, OK, I should leave. I should have plans. But it's just letting go.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHATEVER")
NAFAR: (Rapping in non-English language).
ESTRIN: Can you tell me about "Law Marra Bas" - "If Only Once" - by Big Sam?
NAFAR: Yeah. Big Sam is one of my dear brothers.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IF ONLY ONCE")
BIG SAM: (Singing in non-English language).
ESTRIN: He's from a Gaza family, right? His family's originally from Gaza.
NAFAR: Yeah, yeah. He lost a lot of friends in Gaza during his lifetime.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IF ONLY ONCE")
BIG SAM: (Singing in non-English language).
NAFAR: It's just the way - because it's very individual - he's talking about Gaza from experience. When he says, if only once, you could rest in my weary soul. If only once, the one who slept in your land would find peace. If only once, you would find relief from the enemy's brutality. It's like he's living outside.
ESTRIN: It's describing that feeling of watching the war from afar.
NAFAR: And he's just - just be OK so I can sleep at night. If only once, you can be OK.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IF ONLY ONCE")
BIG SAM: (Singing in non-English language).
ESTRIN: Maybe the last thing I want to ask you, Tamer, is - what do you want listeners to take away from listening to your music?
NAFAR: I'm sorry, I cannot fake an answer. I don't look at music or art as a tool. I'm answering how I feel right now while seeing people being isolated and being bombed 24/7 and being starved to death. I'm doing music now only because that's what I know what to do for the last 45 years of my life. If I could have done something else, I would drop it in a minute and help people. I'm not making music to make anyone feel better, but if it helped you, then thank you. I didn't mean to.
ESTRIN: Palestinian musician Tamer Nafar and Israeli music critic Einav Schiff reflecting on this year in Palestinian and Israeli music amid war.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Rapping in non-English language). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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