Israel's history in 11 songs (from the 1930s to 2000) 

You are a star. I connect with other cultures through music and / or food. Your music touched my heart. I hope you will have a huge abundance soon. Sending you lots of love. I’m originally Palestinian. Never lived there but visited and the last time was a few years after you were born. Hopefully peace will prevail. Stay well and thanks for this great video.

I wont ever stop crying when i hear "Yerushalim shel zahav"

I love Jerusalem of gold and a tribe of brothers and sisters. Love from India. I didn't understand Hebrew but I don't know why I touched by this music. Jerusalem of gold is very addictive in good sense.

Apart from Latin Countries and ex soviet Union countries, I don't know why I am interested in Jewish culture & keen to know about Israel. Since my teenage year. Thanks to RU-vid channel like this. Kudos to you. 👋👋 👋 From Malaysia ☺️

Oren, you are brilliant. Great format for teaching-blending history and culture. Keep up the good work!

Very much appreciate your videos. I'm non-Jewish, but have been to Israel and developed a strong admiration for your country.

Great video Oren. I really enjoy listening to your historical and political videos. This one has a bit of both.

There's something really special about the Haza songs.

Wow... Had never heard of any of these songs. Learned a lot about music and history of Israel today. Todah Raba! Love from India! 🇮🇳🇮🇱

Lovely vlog. I enjoy your cultural/historical vlogs as much as the travel ones. Thank you for posting.

Israeli songs have nice rhythm! I love the way how you did this video telling recent Israel history by songs! Good selections ang meaningful context!

This was great! I would gladly watch another video about Israeli songs, it's enlightening and entertaining at the same time!

Totally awesome video! Brought memories to my mind and tears to my eyes. I already bought your booklets. They are really fantastic. It would be nice if there was another way to support you. Your videos are exceptional.

very impressive and a very genius idea to use these songs , really marvelous

Just had to share this, Oren on my FB page! Great video! You are beginning another way to share your knowledge and love of Israel! 🇮🇱

Oren, Great 👍 and informative video which I learned a lot and enjoyed. Glad your still active while in Germany 🇩🇪 promoting isreal and God chosen people. Stay healthy and safe.

Another good video - thanks! Travel is so much more than sightseeing - its really the culture and the life of a place. Thanks for teaching me a little more about your culture. Music says a lot about a people. BTW - purchased your books last week and just waiting on delivery. Can't wait to read them.

ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!! Oren - you are a gem.

I came to live here in the Shomron in 1982. But the first time in Israel i was in a religious kibbutz ulpan in 79. We were youth from 13 countries. Each group with its language and song. We were not close knit in those first days of the ulpan. Then came Eurovision. Of course I as an American Jew wouldn't have heard of it were it not for Izhar Cohen of 1978. Anyway when it aired it had all the different European-raised Jews cheering for their respective home-countries. Gali Atari and Milk and Honey did something very emotionally special: they united us. We were all crying happy tears when WE won the contest. And "Hallelujah" was such a superb joyous song to boot. It is a warm fond memory for me and probably for each one of us to this day. I hope everyone eventually came to settle in the land of Israel.

You are a great teacher of Israeli history 👍. Connecting the stories with the songs makes it even more pleasant to learn. 💯💙

This was a lovely video, well curated. Thanks!

Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge ❤️. I really enjoy it 😊 I am studying for guide course in Tel Aviv, soon will finish all courses. You build an excellent example for me. Support you and will continue to follow you ❣️😘

I really liked this video! I think another important song is "Chai" by Ofra Haza, because it was sung in Munich, the place where in 1972 there was this incident in the Olympics and Munich is also very close to Dachau, which is connected to the Holocaust. It was very significant because it was like a celebration, "Am Israel chai", the people of Israel are alive no matter what. Btw, I love Israeli music! Keep up your great work and הרבה נשיקות מיוון!

Brilliant! It’s a quick and entertaining informative history, of modern Israel! The presentation has the soul of the Israeli people.

Thank you, Oren, for this fascinating study of Israeli history in popular song. I have a friend who was born in the USA to parents who had left Israel in the 1950s, seeking a better life abroad. When I was a teenager I would visit him, and sometimes his parents would have their fellow Israeli expat friends over for dinner. They would play their albums of Israeli music, and everyone would sing along. I was an avid record collector back then, and I would study the album jackets because they seemed so interesting and exotic. I remember some of the artists, including some whom you mention in your video: Yaffa Yarkoni, Shoshana Damari, Yehoram Gaon, Shuli Natan, Haparvarim, Shmulik Krauss, etc. Real old school stuff. My friend was into Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, etc. He wasn't interested in his parents' music at all. Sometimes, especially after a few glasses of wine, his parents would become very chatty and emotional when playing these songs. I asked him what his parents and their guests were talking about. He said, "Oh, they're just being nostalgic for their youth...the moshav where they grew up, their school, the youth movements, the Army... and they're asking themselves why did they ever leave Israel. You know, the same old BS". More than sixty years since leaving Israel, my friends' parents still live in America, and his own children - the grandchildren of Israeli emigres - don't know anything about Israel, have no interest in visiting, and don't speak or understand a word of Hebrew. This is probably a common experience for emigres. I guess that those songs were good for nostalgia, but not so good for passing anything on to the next generations.

This video is absolutely incredible, thank you for posting! Would you also consider doing a video of the most important Israeli movies over the decades? Thank you!

Thank you for your video. Beautiful and grate songs about Israel´s culture. My dream is one day visiting Israel .

It just hit me.The 16 minute mark sounded very familiar.Now after 5 minutes I knew where I heard it.Madonna sampled it in a song.Ofra has a beautiful voice.

12:52 singing Hallelujah in the Holy City of Yerushalaim - it could not have been otherwise that it was the winning song. This is the Lord's doing and it is marvellous in our eyes. 😊👍🤗Is

Thank you for this video, I really enjoyed it! What about 'Adon Olam', and no Sarit Hadad at all? I love to listen to Jewish messianic worship music. Greetings from Germany :)

Yerushalaim shel Zahav gives me chills. For some reason many western songs came to Israel many months before they came to the West, including America. "In the Summertime "by Mungo Jerry and "Sweet Baby James" by James Taylor will always remind me of a visit to Israel in 1970. "Everyday is a Winding Road" by Sheryl Crowe will always remind of a 1990 visit, as well as others. I can't listen to Ofra Haza's "Kaddish" without getting choked up. It has a Mizrachi flavor as you'd expect and that gives it a more ancient and timeless sound. I can hear the pain of our people when I listen to it. In the mid 1980s I went to a concert in Sultan's Pool and discovered Kaveret, who I was told were the Beatles of Israel. From "He holechet B'drachim" to "Nechmad" to many others they remain my favorite Israeli group. "Lyla b'krach" by Kol Over Habibi also reminds me of this period. 17:54 I know that Israel follows alot of American trends and culture. It worries me when they find appeal in the nihilism of a guy like this. It's always a dead end road.

This is super! Very enjoyable and informative and you made sure you included different genres that show the vast range of the music we are privileged to be exposed to in Israel . People are asking why you didn't put in this or that song, just goes to show you can't please everyone! Israelis love Brazilian music and in general are open to all sorts of music styles from different countries, much more than the UK for example, where I grew up. Israelis like Idan Raichel and Avishai Cohens (jazz) are extremely popular and admired the world over, partly thanks to the many musical influences they were surrounded by. אני חובבת מוסיקה ישראלית, היא אחת מפלאי התקומה היהודית בארצנו. לא ידעתי שמלאו אסמינו מ1932 ושבחוצפה ישראלית מקסימה , היינו חייבים לנצח עם הללויה כדי לבצע את השיר במלואו

מגניב. מאיר עיניים. עליתי מארה"ב אחרי תיכון, תמיד מחפשת לסתום חורים בהשכלה, זה עזר. Thanks!! ‼️ 😍

Great video, keep up the hard work!

Thanks! Great video as always, keep on the good work

Very nice video, thanks Oren.

Thanks Oren, Gadol, is the best word for this video. way to go. Excellent content.

Thank you Oren very much. Interesting. informativ truth Shalom from Switzerland

Very interesting Oren, thank you for sharing and showing us a brief history of Israel. Love to see and hear what you have to share

Oren, You are Amazing! Thank You so much for showing us the history of Israel trough the music. Your comment about the music of the Euro vision in the present day was smartly funny and unfortunately so real! I wish You and Your family all the Best!💖🌷🌹💐

As a child, the song 'HalleluYoah' and before that, the Dutch Heddy Lester (born Affolter) with her song 'Mallemolen' and afterwards (when I was a young adult) Ofra Haza have heavily changed my life. I did not know exactly what it was in that time that attracted me to those songs, but I am now speaking and learning Yemenite Hebrew (from YT and from Rashi) and I am reading he daily portion of toroah. I guess I am one of the few non-Jewish individuals that have actually found out that Jiddishkeit (read: Jewishness) is the way to go.

Thank you for such an interesting posting.

Really like your channel, thank you for the new portion of interesting content:) Have you ever thought about making a video about Russian-speaking community in Israel? Which is the biggest community in terms of share of population outside of the post-Soviet countries. I am Belarusian and I think that there is lack of attention in Belarusian school program and mass media towards the history of Jewish communityin my country (as well as other post-Soviet republics). BSSR had Yiddich as a one of the official language, and many prominent figures of Israel are/were of Belarusian or Ukrainian (Shimon Peres, Levi Eshkol etc.). I think it would be very interesting to make a video about it.

It was a brilliant idea of yours to present a short history of Israel through its popular music. For anyone who is interested in Israeli pop songs, there is almost every song from the last 100 years on RU-vid. The Voice Israel is a good start.

Loved this! Really appreciate your videos! Thank you!

Just listened to the High Windows album last night, looking for more Shmulik Kraus now. Great video!

My favourite was ezo midina from the '80s, it was actually banned at one point!

Sehr eindrucksvoll, Danke. Shalom 🇮🇱🇩🇪

As an admirer of Israel and her people for over 40 years - young man - you just made my day.

Just got my books the other day! Well worth the wait!! Very well done as they are done in such a way as to be very informative but not too heavy. You obviously know your stuff but explain in a way that keeps a novices attention and interest. As travel is so hard in these days of the pandemic, Your books are the next best thing to being there. If any of you out there haven't ordered them I highly recommend that you do so. I like that instead of lightly touching on a myriad of places and history the books instead go into great detail on some of what I assume are the really vital and important sites one should get to know when approaching Israel. Thanks for bringing your country to me. Peace.

Awesome video. A lot of good and interesting information. Thank you

What a great journey through the history of Israel. I remember learning to sing Halleluya and Im Ninalu on my Hebrew course, in the very beginning. Shir HaReut is one of my absolute favourites and I actually added this name after finishing my giur last January in honor of our soldiers in this hard time. And since Israeli music is what I listen to the most, I'll add two more songs to the list - שרליה by Hava Alberstein, that describes the aliya, and גולני שלי sang by Yehoram Gaon, where many of the important events are mentioned.

Thank you, amazing songs

Fabulous video. Thanks so much for putting this musical history on RU-vid. It’s a keeper!

I like this guy's videos I learn allot about my farthers lands

אחלה וידאו. thanks for the video. there are plenty of more great songs with other angles of our country and hisrory in them. please make another one. and more then 30 sec please

I enjoyed watching this video. most interesting. always so nice to get to know other nation's history.

We were taught Yerushalyim Shel Zahav in Hebrew School in Richmond VA when I was a kid.

You breath authenticity, Oren! Watching your videos makes me want to come to Israel and see the places you recommend. I will come and join one of your tours one of these days. Keep up the good work!

Beautiful upload!

Thank-you. This was very interesting and helpful for a program on Jewish/Israeli music I am planning.

Music touches the soul like no other. I'm non-Jewish, but have been to Israel and want peace for the middle east. I was looking songs by Naomi Shemer and found - "Ho Rav Chovel" - הו רב חובל I was not aware of the Poem by Walt Whitman about President Abraham Lincoln. We need more Captains like Lincoln and Rabin in our world. On 4.11.95, the Prime Minister was murdered in Israel. In the memory of Itzhak Rabin, Naomi Shemer translated and set to music the poem of the American poet Walt Whitman "Oh Captain ", which was written after the murder of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. O captain ! my captain ! our fearful trip is done ; The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won ; The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the stead keel, the vessel grim and daring. But O heart ! heart ! heart ! O the bleeding drops of red ! Where on the deck my captain lies, Fallen cold and dead. O captain ! my captain ! rise up and hear the bells ; Rise up ! for you the flag is flung, for you the bugle trills : For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths, for you the shores a-crowding : For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning. O captain ! dear father ! This arm beneath your head ; It is some dream that on the deck You've fallen cold and dead. My captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still ; My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will. The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done : From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won ! Exult, O abores ! and ring, O bells ! But I, with silent tread, Walk the spot my captain lies Fallen cold and dead.

Hello. Just felt I should ask how you are doing. Stay safe and keep up your awesome videos!

Great topic! You can do a follow up video on more "off brand"/"special" Israeli musical genres (Idan Rachel's "world music", Hadag Nahas's "hip-hop", Avi Bitter's "depression music" )

Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Beautiful collection (especially Yerushalim Shel Zahav), thank you Oren! B.t.w., I have a personal favorite: שלום לך ארץ נהדרת sung by Yehoram Gaon (plus the sample version by Sheygetz).

Thank you for sharing modern Israeli History. I Love Israel and hope to visit.

Oren, I've watched all your videos in two days having so far the most amazing virtual and genuine tour of your beautiful country, Israel. I've gave all your videos a like, one by one and subscribed to Traveling Israel; because you were not interested in impressing us, you've showed us the best of The Holy Land...It's nice people with their virtues and defects that invite us to visit all of you and taste your delicious cuisine, enjoy your music and learn from your history Great job! My family and I really appreciate what you share us with your hard work making these videos *Thank you and The Lord bless you and your family with health, love, happiness and prosperity!🙏* PD I apologize. I've watched the "Israel's History On 11 Songs" and couldn't catch the emotional bonus...Is Arak Einstein?

What a wonderful video!

Very interesting!

Great video! A video about today's Israeli music would be also great. I would like to know what Harel Skaat represents for the present generation... I really like his songs

Great songs !! Thank you !!

Thank you for sharing! Great music showing the history… Just an FYI, there was a McDavid’s in Tel Aviv in 82...Strictly kosher which made it really interesting!

Amazing - toda 😊👌❤️😁

Hi Oren, I just stumbled across your channel and I love it. I want to tell you a bit of a funny story. I was born in the US but my father and his entire (the 5 that survived) family moved to Israel in '48. He was a Golani in the 6 day war. Anyway, he moved back to israel in the late 90s and I went to live with him for a while in around 2005. My Hebrew wasn't that great, but I had enjoyed Israeli music, especially Zohar Argov. One night I was drinking with my dad and we started talking about music, he was saying how much better the lyrics in America were than in Israel. He said, "Just about every Israeli song is the same, I loved you but we broke up or you left me and now I'm heartbroken". I decided to challenge him by playing my favorite Israeli song, "Badad" by Zohar Argov. The second it started he started laughing uncontrollably. I didn't know what the song meant at the time. Thanks for your wonderful content. It's been too long since I've been back there.

Hi Oren I love your content! As a Christian educator who LOVES visiting Israel mainly for the religious/holy sites, your videos have really fostered within me a deeper interest to explore modern Israeli history, culture, and society in new and exciting ways. In the future when I return to Israel with tour groups from the US, I want to ensure that my groups incorporate learning and exploring some of the fascinating features of modern Israel rather than focusing exclusively on the ancient past. In light of that desire...what are some indispensable activities/sites/tours that you would recommend (that could be done in 1-2 days) for American Christian tourists who are interested in experiencing and understanding more of modern Israeli society? Thanks again for your great work and content!!

Hi there...Just discovered your videos today....What a breath of fresh air!! Yes...I am now old...72..cough, cough..born in 1948. Always had an affinity for Israel for some reason, maybe the the history, don't rightly know, but with the internet, I am able to catch up with things over there, yes I live in the UK and relations between our countries have not been exactly hot but I hope that the future will quickly reverse all that. Thanks for your postings and yes, I have subscribed and look out for more of your very informative way of putting things (IN A NUT SHELL) And by the way...My initials are JEW. ..Thing is...I,m Church of England and not very religious.....Until recently.. Thanks for the vids..Now an avid follower.

I just love Arik Einstein. First song I ever heard of him was: "San Francisco on the water" Also Matti Caps, Judith Ravitz and Shlomo Artzi are among the artists I still play after hearing them first back in 1981 when spending 2 years in Israel (Beit Oren)

New suscríbale from Madrid here and a future client. תודה על הסרטונים שלך

This is by far the most concise, authentic and entertaining guide to Israel that I’ve encountered. Two charming characteristics of Israelis are: a) “Git ‘er done” - rather than talk about what they’re going to do, or are doing, or have done, they just do it (which explains how things like health care and educational systems were in place before there was even a State); b) “Don’t take yourself so damned seriously” (contrast this with the trolls in these comments - people who actually believe they’re going to dismantle Israel by leaving comments on RU-vid videos...). Israelis have self-scrutiny and an ability to laugh at themselves that I can’t find in other countries and cultures. These are just a some of the things that make this channel so Israeli - and so enjoyable. Sakhtein, Oren. Yishaar ko’ach!

מאוד מעניין! עבודה טובה 😊👍

Shabbat Shalom dear brother 🥰🤗

🇮🇱 I can’t thank you enough for making this video.

אני מאוד אוהבת את הסרטונים שלך ואני בכלל ישראלית 😁

For me Ofra Haza was the best female singer

And from Aviv Gefen... a song he wrote and was sung by Nurit Galron... for me the most special song in Hebrew: Ata po chaser li (אתה פה חסר לי)

There are great songs on that jerusalem of gold album . My first visit to Israel was 1968 as a teenager

I liked the songs you chose

Hello, shalom!!! I'm a PhD student in Brazil and I'm writing a thesis on the Yom Kippur war. I would like to know which song was the most played in Israel during this period, the most famous. Thank you very much!

Is there a site to lead me to buy your products?

Thanks for the video. BTW,regarding Corona times for Tourism.. Haven't you tried Patreon?

אורן תודה! כישראלית התרגשתי. כל הכבוד על התמציתיות, התוכן והמקוריות. אשלח לידידי בעולם!

I think what people don't u nderstand about the jewish soul is,they had to be the best in everything throughout the diaspora for 2 millanea just to survive.so when they finally got the opportunity to establish their homeland,it wasn't like a bunch of nomadic people try to build something out of nothing...jews were the driving force in research,technology,finance, ,free and equal society,human rights in Europe and America .keep going guys!big fan of Israel!

Your an amazing Soul. Thank God for you.

Im from UAE i enjoy your videos it taught me many things about israrel we want more videos..do you have instagram account..peace from UAE

Can you do a video talking about the West Bank annexation? It is hard to find information without media bias. Thanks!

יפה מאוד!

This was great...thank you! I will be sharing this!

Missing from the list (after 2000): Arim Roshi by Shay Gabso, and Jerusalem (Out of Darkness Comes Light) by Matisyahu

I’m really liking Danny Bassan and his band T-Slam these days.