Ars Gratis Artis

Good music knows no borders. And one of the things I liked a lot when I lived in Israel was learning to appreciate Mizrachi (eastern) music. It is something I haven't gotten to hear too often since I left.

One would think that Israeli music with Arabic influence might be a bridge between Jews and Arabs. In fact I'm not so sure. But nevertheless here are two such songs by the incredible Israeli singer Zehava Ben.

The song featured above is in Arabic, and is a cover of a classic hit by the great Egyptian singer Oum Kalthoum. I found links to it on Lebanese and Pakistani web sites, as well as Israeli ones.

The song featured below is in Hebrew, but the Arabic influence is obvious.

I wonder if these would qualify as "Zionist Art" now being promoted by the Israeli Ministry of Culture (see previous posting.)