I was born in Tel Aviv in 1951, under the sign of Libra. I received my first musical education as a five-year-old child in Australia, where my parents were living. I connected with the music culture from the mid-fifties, the early days of rock and roll. Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and Buddy Holly were my first heroes.
When I returned to Israel in 1960, I tried to maintain the Anglo-American connection I had discovered as a child by listening to foreign stations: BBC World Service, Voice of America, Radio Ramallah, and BFBS – a radio station for British soldiers stationed in Cyprus. I was 12 when Kol Yisrael (The Voice of Israel) played “I Want to Hold Your Hand” by The Beatles for the first time. I heard the early Beatles albums on the record player of high school friends.
I got my first record player at the age of 15. The first album I bought was If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears by The Mamas & the Papas.
During my military service, I constantly had a transistor radio glued to my ear. It was on the program of broadcaster Uri Lotan on Army Radio, one of my first radio heroes, that I first heard Jimi Hendrix performing Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower.”
Jewish roots in music
From that moment on, I naturally started searching for Jewish roots among my musical heroes. To my surprise, I discovered that Mama Cass of The Mamas & the Papas was Jewish, born Naomi Ellen Cohen.
When I was discharged from the IDF, I started working at Kol Yisrael as a music program editor. In 1976, I was among the founders of Kol Yisrael’s first music station – Reshet Gimel. I have been involved in music and media for over 50 years. Even today, every week, I “sail” to a deserted island with a classic album on a radio program called Album for a Desert Island on KAN 88.
Like everyone else, I connected with the music of Simon & Garfunkel and immediately understood that the helm of creation was in Paul Simon’s hands.
His songs have always given me inspiration and hope. I saw him here in Israel twice: once in a performance with Garfunkel, and another time in Jerusalem at the International Convention Center. It was a dream come true.
The dream was shattered after I discovered that the Jewish component in his work and personality was simply missing, prompting me to write the following letter:
A letter to Paul Simon
Dear Paul Simon, I have followed you – not to say admired you – and your work for many years, ever since the days of Simon & Garfunkel. Your music has enriched my life and given me countless hours of joy and inspiration. As a producer and presenter of music programs on Israeli radio for over 50 years, it has always been a pleasure to share your songs with my listeners time and again.
But today, I feel deeply disappointed. For two long years, while Israel has been at war, you have not uttered a single word of support, not a word of encouragement for the people of Israel, nor a word condemning the terrorists who invaded our land on October 7, 2023 – murdering, looting, raping, and burning men, women, and children in a massacre unlike anything the Jewish people have seen since the horrors of the Holocaust.
I do not expect Sting or Annie Lennox to support Israel’s path. In fact, over the past two years, I have followed Annie Lennox’s hate-filled posts accusing us again and again of genocide.
But you, a descendant of Hungarian Jewish parents! I find it hard to believe that your father, a professor of education, would have approved of your recent stance. Nor do I think your mother, also an educator, would have remained silent in the face of support for those who lead movements dedicated to killing innocent Jews.
You now ask for the release of Marwan Barghouti, who sits in an Israeli prison – a man who led a terrorist organization whose sole purpose was to kill innocent Israeli citizens, and under whose orders Israelis were murdered and wounded in cold blood. How can such a man be compared to Nelson Mandela, a freedom fighter who stood for humanity and reconciliation? How could you lend your name to a declaration so profoundly anti-human, anti-Jewish, and anti-Israeli?
You and I share the same zodiac sign – Libra, the scales of balance. It is said that those born under this sign strive for justice and equality. Dear Paul Simon, it is not too late to restore that balance.
With respect and regards, Menachem Granit Yadin.
The writer is a former presenter on Israeli television and radio.