Zohar Argov and the Hebrew Language Gap

by Norman Berdichevsky (May 2013)

Zohar Argov (1955-1987) is a name that only provokes a blank stare from an overwhelming majority of American Jews. He was more than a popular singer and represented the underprivileged, under represented Mizrahi (Oriental) face of Israel. He was called the King and deserved the title as much or more than Elvis did. Zohar came from the most impoverished sector of Israeli Jewish society, the oldest child in a family of ten of Yemenite immigrant parents and became the leading figure of the Mizrahi and Mediterranean music in Israel, following the startling victory of Menahem Begin and the Herut-Likud Movement that had become the champion of many Mizrahim in the 1977 general elections.

He was strikingly handsome with very pronounced Middle Eastern features, almost as dark in skin complexion as Obama and by the time of his premature death at age 32, had achieved more success than any popular Israeli entertainer. His voice and oriental style of singing had until his appearance, largely been consigned to hazzanut (cantorial repertoire and the use of silsul or trills akin to warbling).

It is no exaggeration to say that his fame and achievements are unknown among American Jews who are at least 97% of East European origin (Ashkenazim) and are with each passing generation more and more ignorant of popular Israeli culture, literature and much public debate in the Modern Hebrew language.

Modern and Biblical Hebrew

Lack of a Common Language as well as Territory

Mizrahi Jews in Israel felt that they were being discriminated against by the Ashkenazi hegemony which extended into all cultural fields. (See “Edot HaMizrah” Israel’s Oriental Jewish Communities New English Review, August 2009) Therefore, on the advice of his manager, Zohar changed his family name from the typical Yemenite sounding Orkavi to the more neutral sounding Argov but this device was hardly necessary and even comical and ironic since Zohar was already immediately identifiable by his Yemenite features and singing style. The managers themselves were of Yemenite origin.

Rishon LeZion, scant education and avoidance of military service all marked him for expectations of failure. Through his participation from early childhood in the singing and chanting of the religious Yemenite community, he polished his style at home until given a chance in 1981 to make his first cassette recording debut album, Eleanor (1981) that featured the title track, “Sod HaMazalot” (“The Zodiac Secret”), and “Mah Lakh, Yaldah?” (“What's With You, Girl?”). A divorce from his wife Bracha with whom he had a son and with whom he earnestly tried to reconcile, added to his personal problems but the immediate success of the first album even on a very low quality cassette made him sought after by recording studios and nightclubs and the object of adulation by thousands of Israeli teenage girls.

The Yemenites New English Review December 2011).

The Coming Book

The disinterest in the Modern Hebrew language and the sometimes poor quality of instruction throughout the Diaspora are an unfortunate result of the decline in the worldwide devotion to the national rebirth that Zionism sponsored. For most Jews outside Israel, the language is still perceived only as part of the religious liturgy and ceremonial rituals. During the pre-statehood period, Jews in the Diaspora sympathetic to Zionism regarded it as the creator of the new and dynamic largely secular Hebrew culture, the product of three generations of pioneers.

Palestine Betrayed (by the Palestinians) (September 2012) and Arab Support for Zionism, 1917-1948 (Feb. 2009) and the importance of the language for mutual understanding between Israelis and Diaspora Jews.

It is a book dealing primarily with the social and political use of the language and does not cover literature nor is it another biography of the pioneer founder of the movement to make Hebrew into a modern spoken language, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda. It is the story of his vision and how it animated a large part of the Jewish world, gave new confidence and pride to Jewish youth during the most difficult period of modern Jewish history and infused Zionism with a dynamic cultural content.

here.

here.  

If you enjoyed this article and want to read more by Norman Berdichevsky, click here.