75 years of
Israeli Music

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1936 by musicians escaping the rise of fascism in Europe. Many of its founders were fired from European orchestras because they were Jewish.

Mizrahi music had been around in Israel since the founding of the country, but not until the late 1970s and early 1980s did it become a fixture of mainstream Israeli culture. Mizrahi music is a popular genre that blends modern sounds with traditional elements of Middle Eastern and North African music, including instruments like the oud, kanun, and darbuka. Photo by Moshe Shai/FLASH90

Today pop music, especially by Mizrachi artists, dominates the Israeli music scene. Israeli music isn’t defined by one specific sound because so many different genres are popular. Photo by Tomer Neuberg/Flash90

Founded in 2016, Koolulam is an immersive social and musical movement that brings people of different backgrounds together through the power of music, creativity and collaboration. More than 350,000 people have participated in Koolulam events. Photo by Hadas Parush/Flash90

A massive shift occurs in Israel after the Six-Day War, marked by patriotism, optimism, and a radical change in the art scene throughout the country. Bands begin experimenting with psychedelic, pop, and rock sounds similar to musicians in the United States.

Punk and hardcore music arrived in Israel in the 1990s. Many themes in the music revolve around dissatisfaction with the status quo, the country’s mandatory military service, and other anti-establishment ideas. Photo by Moshe Shai/FLASH90.

Omer Adam is one of the most successful Israeli singers of all time. His catchy music fuses elements of traditional Mizrahi music with Western pop instrumentation. Adam has been ranked as the most listened-to Israeli singer for the past four years in a row on Spotify and Apple music. Photo by David Cohen/Flash90

Many musical genres emerged in Israel in the 1970s, but rock continued to dominate. Progressive rock, characterized by abandoning pop traditions in favor of elements usually associated with jazz or classical music, was especially popular. Photo by Gili Yaari /Flash90.jpeg

In their 2004 album, Israeli hip-hop group Hadag Nahash released a unique, satirical track called “The Sticker Song.” The lyrics are a collage of direct quotes and slogans appearing on bumper stickers in Israel, juxtaposing competing political opinions, religious ideologies, identities, and more. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90

Israel has entered the Eurovision Song Contest 44 times, hosted it in Jerusalem twice in the 90s and again in Tel Aviv in 2019. Israeli artists have won at Eurovision in 1978, 1979, 1998, and 2018, with 1998 being especially notable because the winner was Dana International, a transgender Israeli singer. Photo by Shlomi Cohen/Flash90