Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Latest Charedi censorship target: Music

Haredim move to eradicate 'foreign' pop

Musicians who use rock, rap, reggae and trance influences will not receive rabbinic approval for their CDs, nor will they be allowed to play in wedding halls under haredi kosher food supervision, according to a new, detailed list of guidelines drafted with rabbinical backing that differentiates between "kosher" and "treif" music.

The guidelines, which are still being formulated, also ban "2-4 beats and other rock and disco beats;" the "improper" use of electric bass, guitars and saxophones; and singing words from holy sources in a disrespectful, frivolous manner.

"Michael Jackson-style music has no place in our community," says Mordechai Bloi, a senior member of the Guardians of Sanctity and Education, an organization based in Bnei Brak that enforces what it sees as normative haredi behavior.

...
The man responsible for drafting the list is Rabbi Efraim Luft of Bnei Brak, who heads an organization called the Committee for Jewish Music. Luft works in conjunction with Bloi's organization and with the Jerusalem-based Council for the Purity of the Camp headed by Rabbi Yitzhak Meir Safronovitch. These are the two most important and influential "modesty patrols" in the haredi community.


This is a really interesting quote:

"We might be able to adopt Bach or Beethoven, music with class, but not goyishe African music and beats.

It will be interesting to see if this succeeds.

Sources in the haredi music scene who spoke off the record for fear they would hurt their relationship with the rabbinic representatives said they doubted the rabbinic establishment would succeed in their newest crusade against CDs.

"What are they going to do listen to every single disc that is released? What about the thousands of discs that are already in the market?"

3 comments:

Mighty Garnel Ironheart said...

This is not what it seems. Actually it's a grab for free CD's because now these Chareidi musicians will have to send copies of their CD's to the rabbis in question who will then "judge" if its suitable while, at the same time, expanding their personal collections.
Who knows? Maybe for an extra seal of approval they'll have to play certain family weddings for free...

bluke said...

That is quite cynical.

In any case it is like putting your finger in the dike. It isn't going to work.

Staviyski613 said...

Good! The sooner meaningless detritus like pop music is flushed out, the sooner modern Israelis can get back to listening and singing along with the singers who matter the most - Henry Wahrman, Israel Alter, David Roitman, Samuel Vigoda, Leibele Waldman, Isaac Goodfriend, Mordecai Hersham), and the faster modern Israelis will start appreciating their rich, timeless cultural and historical tapestry, and begin focusing more in preserving Israel than turning into Westerners and appeasing Arab Palestinians.