Kosher Mosh Pit Issue #28

A new documentary sheds light on what it means to be a young punk in Israel

By Dina Zwiebel
Published: June 1st, 2006 | 12:00am

Punk is still an emerging movement in Israel, but its presence is a powerful one. Filmmaker Liz Nord’s 2005 documentary Jericho’s Echo: Punk Rock In the Holy Land — shot with only a digital camera and a rigged-up mic in Tel Aviv during the summer of 2003 — gives voice to the country’s tiny punk scene. It pieces together footage from shows and interviews with bands, including Useless I.D., Punkache, and the all-female Va’adat Kishut

Many of these young punks have taken drastic action to back up their personal beliefs. To avoid serving the required two to three years in the army after graduating high school, left-wing band members purposely fail psychological assessments. “That’s one thing that sets the punk scene apart from your mainstream kid,” says Nord. “Future prospects, if you’re not going to the army, are pretty dim.”

However, punk singers often choose not to address the political situation. In the film, Gutzy, who’s in various bands, explains that there is “the newer scene of punk rock kids who go to shows. The other scene is the political scene, which is smaller mostly because it’s less fun to be a part of.” Nord says that when she returned to Israel for the screening, “some of the bands were embarrassed that their political views were shown in front of their punk peers.”

While most bands, such as Va’adat Kishut, see punk as a way to “break the grayness” and promote creativity, bands like the Retribution use music to express the need to defend their country and not cede land to the Palestinian government. Nonetheless, the message of hope resounds throughout the documentary. As one member of Retribution says, “As Jewish people, we’ve got hope embedded in our genes.”