Music of Israel - 1967 As A Turning Point

1967 As A Turning Point

The 1967 war marked an important turning point in Israeli culture. In the words of Amos Elon, "in the Six Day War of 1967, the Israeli people came of age... it marked the transition from adolescence to maturity." The period after the war saw a burgeoning of cultural activity — within a few years, the number of art galleries increased by a third, the number of theaters doubled, and a proliferation of restaurants, night clubs, discothèques opened. Economic growth went from 1 percent per annum before the war to 13 percent the following year.

The Israeli music scene opened up to the rest of the world. Rock music, which prior to the war had almost no audience and was almost never played on the state radio, started drawing audiences. Muzika Mizrahit, the underground style of popular music enjoyed by Israelis of Sephardic origin, gradually gained legitimacy and recognition. Israeli musicians performed abroad with increasing frequency, and European and American musicians came to Israel to perform.

In this growth of diversification, much Israeli music lost its national flavor, and became largely inspired by international styles. The Israeli preoccupation with defining a national style faded. "I don't like the attempt to be ethnic very much", said rock musician Shalom Hanoch in an interview. "I don't search for roots, my roots are within me... I don't have to add oriental flavor for people to know that I am from the Middle East."

Nonetheless, many Israeli musicians, both popular and classical, continued to be concerned with defining a distinctly national identity in their music.