Conspiracy of Love

In his teens, Ofer Golany voluntarily served an extra year in the Israeli army after the standard three. Now, however, the Israeli singer-songwriter and peace campaigner has initiated an anti-militarist project called "Guns 2 Guitars". Martina Sabra met up with the activist and artist

"My father was a soldier / My grandfather a general / And me? I'll be who I will be / I will be a musician."

Saying no to the army? Anyone who makes such an uncompromising decision in Israel is likely to have been through a great deal. Almost all young Jewish men and women have to do military service after finishing school, and most of them are absolutely convinced that it is right.

Young Ofer Golany was one of those who started off shouldering his Uzi straight out of school. In fact, he voluntarily served an extra year after the standard three, signing up for an elite unit.

"I was young and naïve back then. Later I gradually started to understand that I was being misused for political and personal ends. At some point I realised it was all a game, and I was just a pawn on the chessboard. That's when I quit," the singer says. He didn't object to service immediately, however, but asked to be transferred to the music corps.

"It wasn't until I travelled the world after the military and got to know other countries that I saw how we live in a madhouse in Israel. It's just not normal for people to walk around with machine guns in the middle of the road."

"Guns 2 Guitars"

Ofer Golany managed to get himself officially discharged from the army. For him, leaving the military meant no longer doing the annual reserve service. Israeli men normally have to spend four weeks a year in the reserve corps up to their early 50s, after their three years of compulsory service.

Golany now offers advice for young Israelis who want to object to military service. "I can put myself in their shoes, because I found it far from easy saying no to the military," Golany explains.

He named his anti-militarist project "Guns 2 Guitars" – a play on the "swords into ploughshares" of the Hebrew bible's book of Isaiah.

"The 'Guns 2 Guitars' project aims to make people think differently, and supports those who want to change in a similar way as I did: from soldiers to musicians," Golany explains. "It's important that people in Israel realise there is an alternative to military service."

Music for coexistence

Ofer Golany's main calling is as a musician. The singer-songwriter, whose voice occasionally evokes the early Cat Stevens (alias Yussuf Islam), has released eight albums so far, featuring songs in Hebrew and English.

Some of the songs are his own compositions and some are cover versions, including the work of Leonhard Cohen and Frank Zappa. He takes a playfully ironic approach to these role models. His albums feature a Russian-Hebrew adaptation of Frank Zappa, an homage to the "high priest" Leonard Cohen, Hebrew children's songs and Yiddish ballads, lively pop songs audibly influenced by Manu Chao, und even religious peace hymns recorded with Palestinian Christians from Nazareth.

Collaborating with Palestinian musicians and artists has been part of Ofer Golany's work for many years. One of his albums – entitled "Vegetarian Wolf" – plays on the prophet Isaiah's apocalyptic vision that the wolf will one day dwell with the lamb.

Conspiracy of love

"For me, this image symbolises the coexistence of Israelis and Palestinians," Golany says. He hopes it won't take until the day of judgement for the wolf and the lamb to get along, but that people will come to their senses sooner than that.

As Golany sees it, it's mainly up to the Israelis to take the initiative.

"I might be a bit of an oddball with my views. But as an artist, I can show people that what they're feeling isn't all that unusual. That they're not alone in the belief that Arabs and Jews can live alongside one another."

Martina Sabra

© Qantara.de 2008

Translated from the German by Katy Derbyshire

Qantara.de

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Ofer Golany's Webiste