A post I came across from the InDnegev festival: 25 years ago, Berry Sakharof's The Other was released, a special and different album, demanding and sometimes gloomy, released into a difficult and chaotic national atmosphere - terrorist attacks, exploding buses, and the Second Intifada. Out of this chaos and difficulty, a glimmer of hope emerged from Sakharof's work through a gaze "towards the Other", inspired by the writings of the Jewish-French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas and the ethics he developed, based on a direct encounter with "the face of the Other". At times, this moral imperative is stated explicitly, at other moments in the album, it and its implications are implied and illustrated as an alternative to how 'Israeliness' deals with the complex reality.
The Other is a timeless work rooted in a very, very specific time, and it seems that even today the materials created a quarter of a century ago still resonate and are incredibly relevant to this current, confusing, and harsh period.
The decision we made to keep InDnegev in Mitzpe Gvulot and in the Gaza Envelope, taking part in the area's renewed flourishing, was quick and very clear, back in the dark days of October 2023.
And yet, throughout this whole period, we've grappled with the value of this decision and what it means: what is the message and meaning of our existential need to be here in this space, what we're able to do, and what our role is in this moment and in this time.
The Other holds within it many of the answers to the questions that occupied us during this period (and a few new ones...)
Engaging in creative work in a period of chaos, confusion, and pain, speaking and writing honestly and directly about reality as we experience and understand it, and constantly trying to direct an open and loving gaze at and about the other, not out of fear and terror, but out of the desire to discover the humanity in him and in us.
InDnegev strives to be an open and enabling space, capable of containing complexities and imagining the reality in which we would like to live. This year we have chosen to mark and to highlight this work as a central theme that will guide the festival, both internally and externally, and many of the artworks at the festival will focus on the Other.
We invite you to dive into this incredible work again, which even from the distance of time still sounds amazing, and to join us in the rebuilding of InDnegev, this year in its full format again.
I was only familiar with Monsoon, the only single from The Other, so I heard the album for the first time, and wow, it really blew me away. It was just what I needed to hear. Here is the complete album, with the help of translations from LyricsTranslate:
Movie
Day, day and night
You're in a different movie
Monsoon
We'll burn time, we'll burn, burn / Everything that's between us
Let the moment pass / The past is still ahead of us
Just as I came, I left / It's all dreams
And maybe I wasn't there to love
I must have forgotten / Maybe I went far
I can't love you from up close
The thirst for love / And a hunger that lasts
And there is a lily and there is a thorn in it / And a small scratch in the heart
Just as you came to me you left me / It's all dreams
And maybe you weren't there to love
I must have been forgotten / You went far
It must be like that in dreams
Trembling
The house is trembling over me
Wind from the sea, fire on the mountain
Crooked and disjointed
Here it begins, here it ends
Everyone is on their feet
Half a pill, half erased
Time is split in two
The clock ticks backwards
And I see double
A black and white light of illusions
The house is trembling over me, swaying side to side
And it seems that in the meantime
The Messiah is waiting for an invitation
On the cellphone, in the bizarre
In a dream and in hope
The house is trembling over me
A crack is bleeding from the ceiling
The fear in the eyes
And the heart, the heart is in a suitcase
Smoke on the water
The sun is gray, the light is blocked
The noise in the ears
The sweat that sticks to the body
And I see double...
Dust on the Shoes
It's so nice to just walk / As if we were never here
In light steps on the sidewalk / Let the streets clean you
There is a bustle all around / Like bees when springtime arrives
Sometimes it seems we are not alone / Or I am you, we are everyone
We are everyone
There are those who hide their horns / And others who have glued wings to themselves
Walking to the beat, everyone on their feet / Left right, right and left, dust on the shoes
There is a bustle all around / Like bees when springtime arrives
Sometimes it seems we are not alone / Or I am you, we are everyone
We are everyone
Madness Again
Madness again / Drilling in my head
From the closet / The demon escapes
Just like that, suddenly / The rope broke
In an ancient fervor / The dam was breached
Someone said (these are) the birth pangs of the Messiah/ Today it burns (but tomorrow) tomorrow it will grow
What is hidden from you promises / That the answer my friend is blowing in the wind
No solution / is certain
The horizon is close / The wound is open
Again the dream / Is caught in the net
And into the imagination / Reality invades
Someone said..
Seeing but Not Seeing
And these are the days / nights of canned goods / eyes up and down and sideways / seeing but not seeing / so little is necessary / so much is needed / moving moving moving / lost in relationships / and the love boat / shows only reruns / on those days / the heart is locked up / converting the pain into the pain of others / the heart is locked up / they go and sing / an anthem to indifference / a voice still in the heart gets lost / seeing but not seeing / in a sea of holes / the whole is always greater than the sum of parts / mine is his is yours / yours is not mine / it doesn't matter / you and I, they've said it before / it doesn't matter / just a tool
"I'm not a singer, I'm a father who sings. I never intended to be a singer or to sing. I was kidnapped, they took everything from me. I woke up there in a hospital with a bandaged hand that didn't respond, a leg in a cast, handcuffed to a bed, they even took my earring. What they didn't take, simply because they didn't know, was the real strength from within. It helped me maintain hope, health, and sanity. Music was there for me in the most difficult moments: songs by others that played in my head. After a few months in captivity, I found myself starting to create songs. I couldn't write them; I memorized the words in my head. I couldn't play or sing them, so I just imagined the melodies.
On February 15, 2025, I was released from captivity. After two days, at night, in a hospital (the right one), I went to a side room and, with a voice like a toad without oxygen, quietly, even with a little shame, I recorded all nine songs on my phone, lyrics and melody. A few weeks later, I decided that one day I would perform the songs in a show. That day was postponed due to medical matters, rehabilitation, family, Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, and mainly because I couldn't allow myself to perform like this when there were still hostages I left behind.
After a long journey, this day has arrived. Today the music will be released, first of all in a concert - and then the entire album will be released to the world. It is no coincidence that I am doing the first show here in Nir Oz, in my home. This is the same lawn on which I ran all my childhood, the lawn on which I met Mili for the first time, the lawn on which I raised two daughters, the lawn on which I fought, and the lawn where my friends fell. This is a lawn with a different green. This is the lawn on which there were happy events in the past; since then, mainly funerals. Today's event is not a celebration, not a party, not a closing of a circle, not a victory; it is simply part of the story. Even though I chose not to return to live in Nir Oz, the kibbutz is very important to me, and I hope it will be rebuilt with new life; I hope this event will be a cornerstone of its foundations. This is also your story. Thank you for coming."
These are the words written by Sagui Dekel-Chen from a booklet given to the 3,000 attendees at his show at Nir Oz last Monday, along with the lyrics to his songs. So much has been said about the show and how moving it was, but I want to share the words that Itay Mautner, the director of the show, shared last week in a post:
"For one evening, Kibbutz Nir Oz was full of life...
3,000 people filled the saddest lawn in the world. A lawn that knew a normal, pleasant, and beautiful life before that Saturday (and not only, of course), and since October 7th has simply lost signs of life. Make no mistake about it: Nir Oz has a present, and there is growth, and there are all sorts of beautiful words, but mourning prevails in everything; the horror is on the paths, and in general almost all of the residents have not returned.
On Monday evening, a member of the kibbutz, Sagui Dekel-Chen, took to an amazing stage with talented musicians and delicate screens and sang the songs he wrote in the tunnels.
The songs are moving and delicate and beautiful, but this evening was not only tested musically. Underneath the moving two and a quarter hours, there hid an undercurrent which was present throughout the way - it's simply unbelievable! It's unbelievable that he's alive, that his daughters and beloved Mili are with us, that his mother (who was also kidnapped and escaped from them) is there. And many more friends and supporters. A packed lawn, from heart to heart.
It's simply unfathomable, and throughout the show you are constantly reminded of this terrible/joyful fact.
I had the privilege of directing the show and working closely with Sagui and Mili. Throughout the entire process, I was careful not to turn this evening into another symbol of the government's false 'redemption', another moment of so-called unity.
It was a joyful evening that does not ignore the sadness. A colorful evening that sees all the black. An evening packed with people that sees the pit.
Thank you very much for the privilege of taking part in an evening like this. For the opportunity to create moments of catharsis in front of people who, for too long, have worked to achieve the obvious - to bring our sons and daughters home.
And it was a tremendous evening that showed that music knows how to enter the wounded heart and does a dazzling job of polishing it.
Thank you to the wonderful Sagui, Oren Arnan, the hero from Shuki Weiss, to Michal and Daphna and Uri from the Israel Festival who invited, accompanied, and supported me, to the many friends who came to be with us on the grass...
I won
Now there is only one important job to do at the end of October, and we are on the right track".
I was curious to hear Sagui's songs the moment I heard about the show, and I was eager to listen to the entire album, Minus One. Some moments brought tears to my eyes, but there were also many moments of joy, celebrating the precious, ordinary moments of life. Here they are, track by track:
Mazal Tov Sasha and Sapir! Sasha and Sapir were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7th while they were visiting Sasha's family. His mother Yelena, and his grandmother Irena Tati were also kidnapped, and his father, Vitaly, was murdered by Hamas terrorists. The three women were released after about 50 days, and Sasha was released in February 2025 and had to undergo extensive medical treatments due to untreated injuries to his legs, where he was shot by the terrorists.
It was so emotional to see the couple walk down the aisle and start their married life together. Under the chuppah, Sasha shared why they chose to walk down the aisle to this beautiful song by the Idan Raichel Project. He said that he was isolated in captivity and one day, at around day 50, when he was at his lowest, one of the guards had left behind a small radio. He was afraid to use it and would only listen to it for a few minutes at night and at the lowest volume, to try to understand what was going on. And then he heard this song, with the chillingly accurate lyrics calling out from the depths and he thought of Sapir. May they build a joyous home together with love, light, and laughter ♥
Out of the depths I called to you, come to me
When you return, the light will return to my eyes
Unfinished, your touch does not leave
May it come and shine at the sound of your laughter.
Out of the depths I called to you, come to me
Beneath the moon that lights your way back to me
They spread out and melted at the touch of your hands
A whisper in your ear asks
Who is calling you tonight? - Listen
Who sings to you - at your window?
Who devotes his soul so you will be happy?
Who puts his hand to building your home?
Who will place his very life beneath you?
Who will live like dust at your feet?
Who will love you more than all your lovers?
Who will save you from every evil spirit?
Out of the depths.
Out of the depths I called to you, come to me
Beneath the moon that lights your way back to me
They spread out and melted at the touch of your hands
When the missiles from Iran started to fall last Sunday, my first thought was 'oh no, there goes Pride, again'. Last year's Pride celebrations were cancelled at the last minute because of the war with Iran, and it wasn't clear at all how long this round would be. But by Monday evening restrictions were lifted and the Pride Parade was back on. It was so nice to see everyone gather to celebrate love and freedom, and just to have a good time. It's not Pride weekend without Offer Nissim's legendary 'Ofra' party, long-awaited after his Purim party was cancelled because of the war. He released this new track with Shiri Maimon ahead of the concert, and I just can't get enough of it! Check out Shiri's stunning performance at Ofra here. Queen!
You said that one day you'd break my heart
So I ran away, but the fire pulled me close
And who are we to know
If it's just a moment or real love?
It takes its place, it scares us both
And sometimes, in the middle of life
Without a warning, the heart gets caught
And brings us to our knees
Blow the smoke around me
Mix up all my sense of time
With three glasses of wine
Make love to me once more
I just want to be close to you
And touch the sky
A broken heart never lies
Feel the way my heartbeat rises
Just look into my eyes
I cried the whole night long
Until there were no tears left to fall
Outside it's a party, inside it's screams
And I didn't know how to come back
When my whole body was drunk
And only my mind kept pulling me forward
And sometimes, in the middle of life
Without a warning, the heart gets caught
And brings us to our knees
Blow the smoke around me
Mix up all my sense of time
With three glasses of wine
Thank you Youtube user @benleontlv for the great translation!
I was so sad to hear of Astar Shamir's death today after battling cancer. She wrote so many classics, and one of them that stands out is 'Mid-September', which she wrote in 1982, following the Lebanon War and the Sabra and Shatila massacre. Gali Atari first performed it four years later, as the title track of her classic album, capturing the heavy mood at the time.
The year begins in mid-September With great and growing rage Stormy winds do battle on every front Winter kills and reaps
They say the end of the world is coming
At night the dark deepens
All summer long the sky was red with pain
Beneath it the earth was burning
Between us madness comes and goes
Life makes fools of us too
I look for the stillness in myself but can't find it
Shamir wrote 'Fireflies' 20 years later, and it's become one of her most beloved songs. Her beautiful soul shines in the song, and she will be dearly missed.
I am returning to the forest to gather fireflies
I left little lights behind when I left
Words heavy with sorrow, that couldn't fly
Songs I didn't gather when I left
I'm going back to the past to gather fireflies
To build from them a ladder of stars
Paths I didn't walk because they couldn't be
Maybe they are still waiting there for me
If my heart goes there
Come to the past without stopping
We'll gather all the good
We'll gather all the innocence
We'll gather fireflies and return
A girl there is waiting for me, she falls in love without seeing
From Yoni Rechter: This is the first song I wrote with Arik Einstein 50 years ago. And this is the first time I'm recording a performance of it.
I thought it would be interesting to divide the role of the speaker in the song between two performers and I was very happy when my friend Eli Degibri agreed to sing it with me.
I have been collaborating with Eli for over 20 years in various settings, and it's always been a great pleasure for me.
The song will be released on a new album, 'Closed Open Closed', most of which contains instrumental pieces."
Lyrics - Arik Einstein, Composition - Yoni Rechter, Arrangement - Yoni Rechter and Eli Degibri
I can't wait for the new album to come out. In the meantime, make sure to check out Yoni Rechter and Eli Degibri's concert for the 2020 Piano Festival. I still remember what a delight it was to watch it during the pandemic. And here is a beautiful performance of Arik Einstein performing the original with a young Yoni Rechter.
Serenada is the Hebrew word for Serenade, a musical composition dedicated to a loved one, often performed outdoors at night. It's also the name of an antidepressant medication given to people to treat depression, panic attacks, OCD, and PTSD. Netta Barzilai and her ex-boyfriend, Guy, have been courageously open about Guy's struggles with PTSD after being called up to serve in Lebanon during the war, and their struggles as a couple, an all too familiar reality in this country.
From Netta: "If there's a word that has been used too easily in the last three years, it's 'post-trauma'. 'The society is in post-trauma', 'the country is in post-trauma'. No, first and foremost, it's the people, and for them too, this word is a sticker or title, not something that scratches the complexity and the coping or the depression and the mental crisis that are an inseparable part of it.
We live in a visual, flat world. Sometimes what you don't see doesn't exist. And this damage is transparent. There are no visual signs.
I loved one person, but so many people around us are standing before the abyss during this time, and so many people who love them are standing before them helplessly - like me."
Netta's new seven-song album was made to be heard and seen in one sitting, track by track. For 21 minutes and 52 seconds I encourage you to join Netta's journey as she learns to breathe instead of drown.
Serenada
I can count
On one hand, the times that
You said it was hard for you
But I see it all
Don't lie to me, tell me when
Because it burns me to see
You consciously
Hurting
Yourself a bit again
It hurts me, my heart hurts
I can't
See you like this
And hopefully
Someone will stop the
Serenada
All the demons, the ghosts, now
They are all singing
We stayed up at night
We heard in our heads the
Serenada
All the good words that turned into songs
We were already happy
I don't know anything
Just to love you like this
And to try to give you
Everything I can
And then to cry in the shower
Because it burns me to see
You consciously
Hurting yourself a bit again
It hurts me
My heart hurts
I can't see you like this
And hopefully
Someone will stop the
Serenada
All the demons, the ghosts, now
They are all singing
We stayed up at night
We heard in our heads the
Serenada
All the good words that turned into songs
We were already happy
Oxytocin
It's best if we get back to routine
Deep sleep
We'll wake up to the birds
Breathing, not speaking
Even when we do everything by the book
And it's impossible to say okay
Yes, we can say we're trying
Oxytocin
Let's hug and wait
Until we feel close
Oh my love
Let's inhale and exhale
Air from the lungs
Something's not going through the indicators
It's stuck between the heart and the uniform
And to tell you honestly, I don't have the strength for a high alert
Because you already left and you're still inside
Oxytocin
Let's hug and believe
Until it feels good here
Oh my love
It scares me too
Between darkness and light
Air to the lungs
Until dawn we'll wait together, I have patience
Even Rome wasn't built in a day so patience
Brick by brick we'll build an empire of gentleness
I sing all the way
Rounds
Talking is taboo
So I got a tattoo
About things that touched me
A life I had
Just so they wouldn't suspect
Emotions were robbed
The demons that burned in me
Dreams I had
The conclusion suddenly drips down on me
Anemones won't bloom in a cotton field
And you can't live a life without intention
I know
Just rise up, up
To release what's not mine, not mine, what's mine?
And the road is not easy, not easy
Holding tight during all the rounds
It's a necessary change
Fate insists
A bowl turned upside down
Walking on the border
Between the good and the forbidden
Between the gray and the clear
I'm not satisfied
And I'm not holding back either
Without floats, I jump into the abyss
Giving up on yesterday for today
To be swept away by the violence of the imagination
Not afraid
Just rise up, up
To release what's not mine, not mine, what's mine?
And the road is not easy, not easy
Holding tight during all the rounds
Alone alone alone
We did everything
We tried to go with the wind
We drowned in the sand
When we stopped to rest
All night climbing up the walls
Don't turn on the lights I want to cry
You and I
We were a perfect chaos
Yell at me again that it's not for me
It was real
That's what I wanted
You left yourself when you left me
Alone alone alone
Alone alone alone
Alone alone alone
Small in the world
Not anyone's
Keeping my distance
Paving a new, safe path for me
I tried hard
Not to bite the apple
All the dreams I left behind
Sad to be alone
Sadder to return
You and I
We were a perfect chaos
Yell at me again that it's not for me
It was real
That's what I wanted
You left yourself when you left me
Alone alone alone
Alone alone alone
Alone alone alone
Small in the world
Not anyone's
Leftovers
The cheese in the past few days
Has been packing up all its belongings
It said goodbye to the peppers
And to the apple, which they ate a bit of
There are three slices left
Slowly rotting away
Poor thing, they opened it and didn't finish
See what it has to offer
And they exhausted the idea
Everyone wants to be the first
You're not so pretty without the nylons anymore
Leftovers, you're just leftovers
Everyone ate from you
You're all marks and traces
Get yourself outside
There's something a bit sour about you
And say hello
To the cats
They once told you that you were pleasant
Smooth and comforting
They skipped a beat
They messed with you from all directions
And you let them take
Because you thought they were giving
You're sorry you gave up the lid
And because you were so hurt
You covered yourself with a hard crust
You told the cats
And you kept asking
If I'm so delicious then how come they didn't finish everything?
This too will happen
Something in me below is dying
Something in me above is dying to be with you
If I had anything to give
Everything I had was already yours
In bright lights
You wanted it all
Begging, wait
With time
This too will happen
I'm a new person tomorrow
I promise
I promise you
I'll manage
To love you
Just as you deserve
As you deserve
We had a nice ride
I don't have to worry about you, you'll be happy
I didn't want you to see this
One day I'll manage to ask for forgiveness
In bright lights
You wanted it all
Begging, wait
With time
This too will happen
I'm a new person tomorrow
I promise
I promise you
I'll manage
To love you
Just as you deserve
As you deserve
Elevator
Not yet
I promise that you don't have to worry about him yet
This stunning cover of Chava Alberstein's classic was released a few months ago as part of Beit Avi Chai's Song of Hope series. The song starts at 5:00, but I highly recommend listening to Shye Ben Tzur (there are English subtitles in the video). He says that he felt that something inside him wrote the song, and I can really feel in his performance the connection to Rachel Shapira's beautiful lyrics, which have brought comfort to so many people.
Shye's much-anticipated new album with Jonny Greenwood and The Rajasthan Express will be out next week and in the meantime you can see the video for Shemesh, a gift that couldn't have come at a better time. ♥
I used to like watching the torch-lighting ceremony marking the beginning of Independence Day celebrations, but I felt like I couldn't see it last night. In the past few years, it has become so political, organized by Transport Minister Miri Regev, with constant camera cuts to her seated next to Netanyahu and his wife. I heard that Netanyahu gave an election-style speech, in which he talked about returning all the hostages from Hamas captivity, without differentiating between those who were returned alive and those whose bodies were returned. I thought of the moving interview I saw with Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose son Hersh was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7th and was executed in August 2024, along with five other hostages. In the interview, Rachel talks about the day of the funeral and how she saw people in the streets carrying signs reading the word "sorry". I remember the anguish during that time. It wasn't just "we are sorry for your loss", it was "we are sorry that we didn't bring Hersh back sooner, before it was too late". We will always have enemies, but he should never have been kidnapped from a security-cleared music festival within Israel's borders.
This song was written in 1990, in response to Shimon Peres's attempt, and failure, to form a narrow government with the ultra-orthodox parties, in what became known as "the dirty trick". Reading the lyrics, this could have been written today, and it's not a surprise that Zehu Ze chose to perform it on their show last week, together with T-Slam, who are still rockers to their core.
He went out in the morning of a tiring summer's day Kissed his wife, crossed the road
An elegant car, a skillful driver
Galloping to the capital - a new day for the small businessman
Places a call during the trip - party business
And worries about his part of the slice of the cake
The conversation streams, things were promised to him
For many years now, he hasn't represented those who voted for him
Documents for review, budgets for development And cigar smoke out the open window
He says to a member of the party, "Just a moment Gedalia
Perhaps you'll be the Ambassador to Australia"
He observes the landscape of the nation he loved
So what if on the way, he lied and stole
His face is reflected in the window in the corner
His face is
The face of the nation...
The halls of power and the floors of bureaucracy
Budgets for Yeshivas at the cost of inflation
He cut in a minute three factories
And four hundred workers were made unemployed
Driving south in his car - bluish window blinds
He stopped for a visit to bereaved parents
He forgot he advocated for war
His face is
The face of the nation
He's important and well-connected and will continue, come what may
He is the one who will decide if there will be a war
He is the one who will determine your children's education
He is the one who will set procedures, and you'll lose your temper
In a fiery speech to an emotional crowd
Redeeming ground with sickle and scythe
Vote correctly and I implore you...
Give me power
Let me scream
Whatever I desire
Because I had
A land of milk and honey
Play music now...
And I don't understand what changed
If I'm the only idiot in the country,
Who is anxious about tomorrow and dreams of olive leaves
