Album Details

• Artist: Various Artists
• Album: Putumayo Presents Israel
• Label: Putumayo
• Year of Release: 2007
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2007-09-15

Pretty much anytime Israel pops up in the news, the news ain’t good. If they are not being attacked, they are attacking. If they are not being blamed, they are being coddled by Evangelicals, who love the Jew only because their country is where Armageddon will be, so it needs to be preserved to be destroyed, and the Jews saved only to convert or else down the road. Yet, it is, like everywhere else, a country with more richness than what is focused on in the news.

The melting pot that is Israel has, in the midst of the most volatile region in the world, managed to produce a stew of amazingly varied music, reflecting its diversity. Tencho, reggae, Arabic drone-influenced pop; this is music that, as expected, is rooted in the region’s history, yet looks to the future. It also finds time in the present to provide reasons to dance. Highlights include "Bereshit" by Moshav Band, "Vehapa'am Shir Ahava" by Tea Packs and "Mi Ma'amakim" by the amazing and getting famous Idan Raichel Project. Proceeds from CD sales go to Latet, an Israeli humanitarian group, and to A New Way, a project to develop tolerance and friendship among Jewish and Arabic children in Israel..

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