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The anger we’re seeing on the streets of Egypt and in the Arab world has been building for a long time.

There are all sorts of reasons: lack of free speech, dismal economies, and sectarian wars. Some solace can be had through screaming — in a public square, or through song.

And that’s why heavy metal has grown on a parallel track with that anger, especially among young people.

Ophaned Land is a hit among Arabs in the region — even though the place where it’s from isn’t.

The fans have tattoos, leather boots, t-shirts decorated with skulls. The guitarist on stage is a bouncing blob of long hair. Nothing unusual for metal heads.

But then I went backstage and met lead singer Kobi Farhi. And he started talking like a flower child.

“The land who gives us so many fruits so many vegetables, so many air to breath. This is just love.”

Heavy metal in the Arab world

Farhi is an Israeli Jew, whose music is creating a stir around the Arab world.

“People stereotype heavy metal as something who is not the way it truly is, we are breaking all stereotypes,” Farhi said. “Simply as that. Of music, of religion, of politics, of nationality: We are just here to break it.”

Farhi wants you to look past his tattoos, all 11 of them, and try to understand why heavy metal speaks to him and to so many young people in the Middle East.

“I was a teenager and when I discovered metal, I felt this is the only true thing that I have discovered in this world. The only thing that was without masks.”

Farhi said he got sick of fanatics masking their beliefs as religion. He got sick of the endless wars plaguing the Middle East. The song “Disciples of the Sacred Oath” is from their latest album. It directly addresses the conflict between Jews and Muslims in the region.

“We are speaking with our Muslim brothers, it’s like we are speaking to them face to face in this song and asking them, ‘shall we see the end of war, blood brothers or shall we fill another grave for ourselves we couldn’t save.’”

But “Disciples of the Sacred Oath” isn’t a song of peace strummed on a guitar around a campfire.

Anger is a part of our art

“Yeah, anger is a part of our art. If we want to describe the wrath of god, or if we want to describe the anger of people fighting each other, killing each other in name of God, distorted guitars and growlings will be the best filter to do it,” Farhi said.

Orphaned Land actually came on to the scene 20 years ago, mixing Middle Eastern melodies with quotes from the Koran and the Bible. Another song, Sapari, takes its lyrics from a 400 year old Yemenite Jewish poem.

Ears perked up throughout the region, and the band gained fans in Arab countries, where they usually have no exposure to Israeli culture. For some Arab fans, it’s been risky. Farhi said a while back, an Egyptian fan got six months in jail because he had an Orphaned Land CD. The authorities said the music was Satanism.

Then, when the band went on six-year hiatus — the usual rock band nonsense — they got an email from a fan in Jordan who sent a video attachment showing his tattoo of the Orphaned Land logo.

“This was a moment that changed our life,” Farhi said. “I understood right there, the band is most important thing we could do. So the Israeli Orphaned Land was resurrected by an Arab guy.

Fans from Iran and Syria

When the unrest in Egypt broke out last week, Orphaned Land sent a shout out to their Egyptian fans on Facebook. Many Egyptian fans replied with gratitude. The band recently performed in Turkey, at a time when Turkish Israeli relations are at an all time low. When the band was there, they got a peace award from a Turkish university. And they met fans from Iran and Syria — countries that are sworn enemies of Israel.

“You can still practice your religion and still have peaceful relations with people around you,” said one Israeli fan in Tel Aviv. “So that’s the message and that’s good.”

You don’t need to flood the streets of Tunisia or Egypt to challenge the norm in the Middle East.

Around these parts, subversion can take many forms, from marching in the streets to banging your head to Koranic lyrics and tearing your vocal cords singing Jewish poetry.

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In recent years, Israeli officials have become more and more worried about what they see as a concerted international campaign to de-legitimize the Jewish state.

Right-wing Israeli politicians have also complained about an enemy within, funded by foreign governments. They say left-wing non-governmental organizations inside Israel are part and parcel of this campaign to smear Israel’s government and military with lies.

The hard-line party of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman – Yisrael Beitenu – is sponsoring a bill that would launch an investigation into the funding sources of left-wing rights groups.

The bill accuses a host of organizations of falsely portraying members of the Israeli military as war criminals and rights abusers.

When the bill came up for debate on the floor of the Israeli parliament this week, things got pretty heated, even by the Knesset’s own standards for being a place where politics is conducted bare knuckle-style.

One lawmaker said the bill said amounted to “borderline McCarthyism.”

Another called out, “it’s a black day for Israel,” only to be shouted down by someone saying, “it’s a black day for the enemies of Israel.”

The proposed bill is now headed toward a full Knesset vote.

If it passes, some Israeli rights groups would be investigated by parliament to see if they are being funded by unfriendly foreign governments.

Mikhael Manekin is co-director of Breaking the Silence, one of the organizations likely to be targetted. The group is a veterans’ organization that collects anonymous testimony from Israeli soldiers who’ve served in the Palestinian territories.

“We actually don’t have a problem with the [Israeli] military or with the soldiers, but rather with the policy of occupation,” Manekin told The World.

“Bascially, the bottom line of the organization is that occupation is an ugly thing and that what we experienced is that you can’t occupy a people politely if they don’t want you there.”

Manekin said he puzzled by the proposed investigation. He said there is no need for an probe into where his group’s funding comes from, because everything is right there on its website.

As for the charge that organizations like Breaking the Silence are providing ammunition to those who seek to delegitimize Israel, Manekin said Israel’s policies speak for themselves.

“If an Israeli goes abroad today and he’s embarrassed, he’s not embarrassed because of an organization like Breaking the Silence, he’s embarrassed because of Israeli policy. Because Israeli policy doesn’t fall in line with what the western world expects.”

Manekin said, “I look at this not only as an Israeli, but the Jewish world in general. They want an affiliation not with any type of Israel. They want an affiliation, not with any type of Israel, they want an affiliation with an Israel that they can be proud of, which falls in line with their value system. And that’s what’s on the table at this point.”

Last month, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the most serious threats facing the state of Israel right now are Iran’s nuclear program, the missile threat from Islamist groups Hamas and Hezbollah, and then, what he called the “Goldstone threat.”

That was a reference to the United Nations inquiry into Israel’s war in Gaza that ended in 2009. The inquiry was headed South African judge, Richard Goldstone.

Netanyanhu said “Goldstone” is a code-word for the international attempt to de-legitimize Israel’s right to self-defense.

Knesset member Danny Danon says the Goldstone report is just one example of how left-wing non-governmental groups are hurting Israel.

“We see riots in Israel, demonstrations, and when you see who is causing all those problems, it’s the same extreme left NGOs,” Danon said.

“I cherish the freedom of speech. But when I see foreign governments intervening in our democracy, it is unacceptable and that’s why I am committed to change it.”

Danon – who is mentioned as a possible candidate to lead any investigation into left-wing groups – said if these groups had nothing to hide, they would not be complaining about a possible investigation.

On the other hand, human rights activists say if the proposed investigation was really about transparency, it would also target right-wing organizations. And those include pro-settler groups receiving money abroad.

The Obama administration also seems to be worried about Israel’s reputation on the world stage. According to one of the Wikeleaks cables, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has expressed concern about the potential fallout for a quote “steadfast ally Israel.”

But the cable goes on to suggest that the solution is to make “urgent headway” on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Pamela Anderson attending the Hollywood Style Awards in 2009 (Photo by Glenn Francis)

At a news conference over the weekend, Anderson unveiled her pet project. She’s trying to woo a group of Israelis generally adverse to her particular brand of charm: the fervently religious ultra-Orthodox Jews.

Here’s the back story: Israeli lawmakers have been on the cusp of passing legislation that would ban animal fur for clothing. Opinion polls show that the majority of Israelis support the initiative and most people in this balmy Mediterranean climate don’t wear fur coats anyways.

But the bill was temporarily tabled by Israel’s minister of religious services, himself an ultra Orthodox Jew. He was worried that the legislation would unfairly punish many men in his community who do wear fur – on their heads.

The shtreimel is a round hat lined with fur that many ultra orthodox Jews don on holidays and other festivities. It’s a way of dress that goes back to 18th century Europe.

Pamela Anderson wrote the Israeli minister a few weeks ago and asked him to support the anti-fur bill. Anderson has become an active champion of animal rights. She admitted that over the years her career’s been frivolous and silly. But now, she said, this is serious.

Anderson: “To incorporate my beliefs and compassion in what I do, and to be able to see the results in the last 20 years has been really inspiring, and it keeps me going. I feel like I have actually done something”.

Anderson said she’ll be taking up the issue with religious leaders this week. But Anderson’s pleas might be falling on deaf ears. Menachem Friedman is a professor emeritus of Bar Ilan University near Tel Aviv. His expertise is on the ultra Orthodox Jews – called Haredim. He said he’s doubtful that Anderson will be able to do something in Israel.

Friedman: “In my view, it will be very difficult if not impossible to pass a law. What can be done is to reach a compromise. That means an agreement that the haredi people will buy artificial streimlich, and not the original streimlich.”

In other words, he said, some Haredi leaders might agree to stop wearing real fur hats. And get their followers to do the same. But a former Baywatch star and Playboy model, convincing ultra Orthodox Jews to see things her way, Friedman said?

“Pamela Anderson – oy vey.”

But Friedman said she could help things a bit by putting on some more clothes.
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• This story comes to us via ‘Vox Tablet,’ a weekly Jewish news and culture podcast produced by Tablet magazine

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This text below is a phonetic transcript of a radio story broadcast by PRI’s THE WORLD. It has been created on deadline by a contractor for PRI. The transcript is included here to facilitate internet searches for audio content. Please report any transcribing errors to theworld@pri.org. This transcript may not be in its final form, and it may be updated. Please be aware that the authoritative record of material distributed by PRI’s THE WORLD is the program audio.

MARCO WERMAN:  Our next story opens outside another school in another part of the world.  We’re going to Tel Aviv to a section of the Israeli city known Ramat Aviv.  It’s one of Tel Aviv’s swankiest neighborhoods.  But a culture war is brewing there.  It pits an ultra Orthodox Jewish sect known and Chabad against the mostly secular residents of the community.  Chabad rabbis are known for their outreach efforts, but what some call outreach, others call interference in their way of life.  We get the story from Daniel Estrin.

DANIEL ESTRIN:  its a few minutes before school lets out on a Friday afternoon.  Five parents circle up in the large leafy park in front of the high school and strategize.  Just as they are about to check the perimeter of the school, the man they have been waiting for arrives.  A young guy with a modest brown beard, wearing the signature ultra Orthodox Jewish garb, black cap and black coat, and clutching a blue velvet bag of tefillin, the boxes and straps Jewish men wear for prayer.  He sits down on a park bench and when a group of teenage boys passes by he shouts.  The minute he offers the boys to put on tefillin, the father in sweatpants shouts it’s illegal for him to talk to you and this is only the beginning.

MALE VOICE 1:  It’s like a sect, like the moonies or the scientologists.  They’re approaching children all the time.  It’s disgusting.

ESTRIN: These concerned parents are residents of Ramat Aviv, a northern suburb of Tel Aviv.  It’s an upper middle class neighborhood founded in the fifties by actors and artists.  Today there are even wealthier in Israel, but Ramat Aviv has remained a symbol.

DAVID:  Because it is the fortress of secular Israel.  So for them it’s an attractive target.

ESTRIN: David, who didn’t want to say his last name, has lived here for 40 years.

DAVID:  And it bugs me that these parasites come here and proselytize our children.

ESTRIN: Things weren’t always this tense in Ramat Aviv.  Rabbi Yossi Ginsburg set up a Chabad House here 14 years ago.  But over the past few years the ultra Orthodox presence in the neighborhood has expanded exponentially.  A vintage movie theater was transformed into a kollel, a religious learning institution.  A labor union meeting house was turned into an ultra Orthodox kindergarten.  And more and more ultra Orthodox Jews have moved to Ramat Aviv.  This scares David Shulman.  Do you think their goal is to take over the neighborhood?

DAVID SHULMAN:  I can tell you without a shred of a doubt that that’s what their goal is.  They were not approaching adults.  The kids are our responsibility, leave our kids alone.  Okay?

ESTRIN: Shulman is a 43-year-old economist who has lived in Ramat Aviv since the age of four.  In September helped found the Ramat Aviv resident’s association to unify the neighborhood against Chabad’s activities.  He fears that what will happen in Ramat Aviv is what has happened in other non-religious neighborhoods in Jerusalem.  The ultra Orthodox, or Haredi, population booms, their neighborhoods become overcrowded, they move into neighboring secular neighborhoods, secular people start to feel uncomfortable and they leave.  T

RABBI SCHWARTZ:  Those people who came because they were interested in their own things.  It’s not because we did things to take them.

ESTRIN: - – Schwartz is one of the Yeshiva’s head rabbis.

SCHWARTZ:  Our intentions are clearly to help the population here.

ESTRIN: Rabbi Schwartz says Chabad folks in Ramat Aviv don’t spit at immodestly dressed women and yell in front of restaurants that remain open on Shabbat as some Jews do in the ultra Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Sha’arim in Jerusalem.  But he says some secular Ramat Avivis can’t tell the difference and so they demonize Chabad.

SCHWARTZ:  I remember the first time I was going on the street and I heard someone shouting from the window, go from here.  So the first time I heard this here from a Jew I can’t describe you the deep terrible shock.

ESTRIN: And Israeli columnist Gideon Levy, known as Israel’s most radical journalist and who usually aligns himself with the liberal politics of Ramat Avivis wrote a recent column that surprised readers.

GIDEON LEVY:  I think that racism is racism is racism.  If it’s directed towards Palestinians, if it’s directed towards black people and if it’s directed toward the haredi, the ultra Orthodox society or community.

ESTRIN: Chabad is flourishing in Ramat Aviv and so is the resident association.  In October the association organized the first large scale community wide Sukkot celebration to take place in Ramat Aviv.  And then for Hanukkah the association sponsored a public candle lighting ceremony, which ironically, might make a Chabad rabbi smile.  No matter which side of the battlefield you look at, there’s more Jewish celebration on the streets of Ramat Aviv than ever before.  For The World, I’m Daniel Estrin, Ramat Aviv.

WERMAN: This story comes to us via Vox Tablet, a weekly Jewish news and culture podcast produced by Tablet magazine.

Copyright ©2009 PRI’s THE WORLD. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to PRI’s THE WORLD. This transcript may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior written permission. For further information, please email The World’s Permissions Coordinator at theworld@pri.org.

Photo by Matthew Bell

Today is Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year on the Jewish calendar. And for Jews around the world, it’s a day spent at home and at synagogue to ask God for forgiveness. In Israel, the “day of atonement” means that much of the country simply stops. Stores are closed, there’s no school, no newspapers and no Israeli television. And much less traffic. In and around Tel Aviv, the holiday has turned into a festival of bicycles for children. The World’s Matthew Bell has our story.

• See more of Matthew’s photos
• More information about Yom Kippur

A couple of videos Matthew shot on the streets of Tel Aviv:

And more pictures:

Read the Transcript
This text below is a phonetic transcript of a radio story broadcast by PRI’s THE WORLD. It has been created on deadline by a contractor for PRI. The transcript is included here to facilitate internet searches for audio content. Please report any transcribing errors to theworld@pri.org. This transcript may not be in its final form, and it may be updated. Please be aware that the authoritative record of material distributed by PRI’s THE WORLD is the program audio.

JEB SHARP: The revelations of Iran’s nuclear facility and its missile tests may have made the holiest day of the Jewish calendar more somber than usual in Israel.  Yom Kippur is the Jewish Day of Atonement.  It began at sundown yesterday.  TV and radio stations in Israel went off the air.  There were no flights in and out of Israel’s international airport.  And nearly all businesses closed.  But The World’s Matthew Bell reports that not all of Israel came to a halt.

MATTHEW BELL:  Hundreds of Jews gathered to pray in front of the western wall in Jersualem’s old city hours before the start of Yom Kippur.  They were mostly men and boys.  The women and girls were cordoned off to one side.  They all faced the holiest site on earth for Jews, the Temple Mount.  Many rocked back and forth as they recited from books of scripture.  It was an example of the kind of religious devotion that makes Jerusalem Israel’s most pious place.  On the other side of Israel, less than an hour’s drive away, a different kind of preparation for the holiday took place, at bicycle shops.  Six-year-old Itimar was with his dad to pick up a few last-minute items.    Itimar wasn’t exaggerating.  Traffic in most of Israel completely stops for Yom Kippur.  And so the holiday has turned into a festival of bicycles for children, especially in and around Tel Aviv.  Karen Brima and her husband assembled a new Spiderman bike with training wheels for their three-year-old son.  They got it ready just in time for the big day.

BRIMA:  Yom Kippur in Tel Aviv might seem like a carnival, with all the kids on bikes.  But it’s also a solemn day.  This is when we fast and repent, and it’s the most important day of the year for the Jewish people.

BELL:  But for the young kids, who don’t fast, Yom Kippur is mostly about having fun.  By sundown, the normally traffic-clogged streets of Tel Aviv were free of cars.  That’s when the kids took over.  These kids say the best things about Yom Kippur are being able to ride as fast as they want, pop wheelies in the middle of the street, and stay up past their bedtime.  Lots of people in

Tel Aviv also go to the beach on this holiday.  But many secular Israelis here still fast and go to synagogue on Yom Kippur, even if they aren’t especially observant throughout the year.  Some people see all the bikes and the people at the beach, and are saddened by the growing secularization of Tel Aviv, but Raafi thinks it great.

RAAFI:  It is a very, very special atmosphere that suddenly, the city stops all the usual daily activity and becomes a unique capsule of quietness.  And the kids and the noise of laughter and all that is not something that is continuing the daily aspect.  Because it’s very, very different.  Usually, you have cars and the kids have to be very afraid and suddenly everything opens. It’s an amazing experience.

BELL:  Raafi says there’s something else that makes Yom Kippur special this year.  2009 is the 100^th anniversary of the official founding of Tel Aviv.

RAAFI:  We are really a fantastic place.  And every week almost you have an event that is happening here that is exciting, artistic, whatever.  You walk in the streets and see all the paintings.  So it’s a very exciting year, very strong acknowledgement of how far Tel Aviv came in terms of simply love of life and happiness and optimistic view of the future.  And Yom Kippur is simply part of the fun in that sense.

BELL:  The holiday ended tonight for many families with a meal to break the fast.  Tomorrow, Tel Aviv returns to the faster rhythms of modern-day city life.  For The World, I’m Matthew Bell in Tel Aviv.

Copyright ©2009 PRI’s THE WORLD. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to PRI’s THE WORLD. This transcript may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior written permission. For further information, please email The World’s Permissions Coordinator at theworld@pri.org.