Black Musics, African Lives, and the National Imagination in Modern Israel The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Hankins, Sarah Elizabeth. 2015. Black Musics, African Lives, and the National Imagination in Modern Israel. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:17467531 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Black Musics, African Lives, and the National Imagination in Modern Israel A dissertation presented by Sarah Elizabeth Hankins To The Department of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of Music Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts March 2015 © 2015, Sarah Elizabeth Hankins All rights reserved. Advisor: Kay Kaufman Shelemay Sarah Elizabeth Hankins Black Musics, African Lives, and the National Imagination in Modern Israel Abstract “Black Musics, African Lives, and the National Imagination in Modern Israel,” explores the forms and functions of African and Afro-diasporic musics amidst heated public debate around ethnic identity and national membership. Focusing on musical-political activity among Ethiopian Israeli citizens, Sudanese and Eritrean refugees, and West African labor migrants in Tel Aviv, I examine how diverse types of musicking, from nightclub DJing and live performance to church services and protest concerts, voice African and Afro-descendent claims to civic status in a fractured urban environment. Grounded in ethnographic participant observation, the dissertation analyzes musical and political activity through the lens of “interpretive modes” that shape contemporary Israel’s national consciousness, and which influence African and Afro- descendant experiences within Israeli society. These include “Israeliyut,” or the valorization of so-called native Israeli cultural forms and histories; “Africani,” an emerging set of aesthetic and social values that integrates African and Afro-descendent subjectivities into existing frameworks of Israeli identity; and “glocali,” or the effort to reconcile local Israeli experience with aspects of globalization. Tracing “blackness” as an ideological and aesthetic category through five decades of public discourse and popular culture, I examine the disruptions to this category precipitated by st Israel’s 21 century encounter with African populations. I find that the dynamics of debate over African presence influence an array of mass-cultural processes, including post-Zionism, 
 iii conceptions of ethnic “otherness,” and the splintering of Israel’s left into increasingly narrow interest groups. Contributing to the literature on continuity and change within urban- dwelling African diasporas, this dissertation is the first monograph exploring dramatic transformations of Israel’s highly consolidated national culture through in-depth ethnography with migrant groups. iv Contents List of Figures vii A Note on Translation and Orthography vii Acknowledgements viii Dedication xiii 1. Introduction: Blackness, Black Musics and Identities in Israel 1 March-April, 2013, Tel Aviv 1 Shachorut: Blackness in Israeli Society and Politics 11 Studying Blackness in Israel 21 Black Musics in Israeli Popular Culture 26 “African Music” 34 Blackness and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict 45 Motivations and Methodologies 53 Fieldwork Locations, Conditions, and Strategies 58 Overview of Chapters 63 2. Cityspace, Music, and Israeli Interpretive Frameworks 71 Intrepretive Frameworks 78 The Hevreman in Cityspace and Time 87 Mizrahiyut and Native “Blackness” 100 Glocali: Foreignness in and as Schonah 111 3. Othered Selves: Ethiopian Israeliness, Multidimensional Blackness 122 “Your Mother’s Negro”: Ethiopianness and Peripheral Israeli Identity 129 Reggae’s Ethiopian Sabra, Hip Hop’s Glocal Ethiopian 137 Amharic Music and Complications of the “Regional” 155 4. Refugees, Activists, and Sonic “Hidden” Transcripts of Dissent 165 Refugee Status and the Making of a “Community of Dissent” 171 Performance as Oblique and Overt Resistance 179 Public Sound as Force in the Refugee Debate 187 Israeli Pro-Refugee Activism and Glocal Music 200 Music and Commemorative Narrative at Refugee Seder 212 5. Friendship House: Christianity and African Expression in the Migrant-Israel Relationship 226 Body Display and African Expression in Church 234 Migrant Musicians’ Presence, Power, and Performance 250 Christian Zionism at Friendship House 266 6. This Na’African Style: Glocal Community in Tel Aviv’s African Branja 278 “Zombies Be Ready… U Dey Tell Dem Go Dance”: Groove Politics 283
 v Community of Glocal Affinity: Structure, Constituency, and Musical Taste 292 Black Music, White Community? Branja Frameworks of Authenticity 307 Emotion 310 Proximity 318 7. Epilogue 332 Bibliography 335 Discography and Videography 346 Interviews 349 vi List of Figures 1.1 Rasta Club, 36 HaRakevet Street, Tel Aviv 3 1.2 Khen Elmaleh tending bar at Albi 20 1.3 An army DJ on break in the Galgalatz studios, Jaffa 33 1.4 Promotional flyer for “Tribal War” 38 1.5 Map of Neve Sha’anan neighborhood and environs 60 2.1 Sleeping gear in the Levinsky Park playground 77 2.2 Promotional photo for the Idan Raichel Project 115 2.3 Still image from “Part of the Glory” video (Balkan Beat Box, 2012) 120 3.1 Menelik promotional flyer, with members of the house band 127 3.2 Efrat Yerady at the Raav poetry night, Be’er Sheva, February 2013 133 3.3 Still from “Going to Zion” video (Zvuloon Dub System, 2014) 152 4.1 The protest outside of Sudanese Cultural Day 170 4.2 S2(A)5 card belonging to Sudanese refugee “Din” Ahmed 174 4.3 Fura “warrior dance” at Sudanese Cultural Day 182 4.4 Giving back to the neighborhood at Darfur Remembrance Day 187 4.5 Mubarak’s King Lear monologue at Teatron Tmunah 197 4.6 DJ Andrea spins at Refugee Seder while a group of kids watch from the Levinsky Library roof 219 5.1 Pastor Chidi at the “Double Portion” RCCG 2013 conference, Jerusalem 239 5.2 Dancing at Friendship House 246 5.3 Bonfils Nkiza at the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem 255 5 . 4 H i l l a r y S a r g e a n t 2 6 4 6 . 1 E l i s e E l e m e n t Y v e s 2 8 1 6 . 2 T h e G r o o v e A m b a s s a d o r s a n d g u e s t C h a l e D a v o e A s c e n d o a t A f r i c a F e s t 2 9 1 6 . 3 P e r f u s i o n e n s e m b l e a t t h e Z o n e 3 1 7 6 . 4 A r i e l N a h u m o f F u l a E x p r e s s 3 2 3 6 . 5 P r o m o t i o n a l m a t e r i a l s f o r T a m T a m e v e n t s 3 2 9 A N o t e o n T r a n s l a t i o n s a n d T r a n s l i t e r a t i o n A l l t r a n s l a t i o n s a r e b y t h e a u t h o r u n l e s s o t h e r w i s e n o t e d . S o n g t e x t s a r e t r a n s l a t e d w i t h a t t e n t i o n t o i d i o m a t i c m e a n i n g w h e r e r e l e v a n t . H e b r e w w o r d s a r e r o m a n i z e d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e g u i d e l i n e s o f t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l S t a n d a r d s O r g a n i z a t i o n i n I S O 2 5 9 - 2 ( 1 9 8 4 ) a n d , w h e r e e x p e d i e n t f o r e a s e o f r e a d e r c o m p r e h e n s i o n , I S O 2 5 9 - 3 ( P h o n e m i c C o n v e r s a t i o n , 1 9 9 9 ) . R o m a n i z a t i o n o f A r a b i c , A m h a r i c , a n d T i g r i n y a u s e s t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l P h o n e t i c A l p h a b e t , r e v i s e d 2 0 0 5 . I n d i v i d u a l , e n s e m b l e m , y a a n s d s o v c e i n a u t e e s n ’ a mp er se f ae r r ee n t c r e a s n . s l i t e r a t e d a c c o r d i n g t o v i i Acknowledgements The vital seed of this dissertation was sown more than a decade ago, when I was working at the American Embassy in Tel Aviv, and it has been growing ever since. Countless individuals have helped me tend this project over the years, and written thanks to everyone who contributed would require a book of its own. Yet I am boundlessly grateful to all of them. I remember each name, wheter inscribed here, or in my heart and mind. My advisor Kay Kaufman Shelemay must have seen the potential of my dissertation proposal even before I saw it myself. Her guidance helped transform my impassioned notions about Israel’s Afro-diasporic musics into a mature piece of scholarship. She offered essential methodological training, theoretical and structural assistance, field connections, area studies expertise, and a peerless eye as a reader. Dr. Shelemay’s reputation as one of ethnomusicology’s foremost innovators and student mentors is well-deserved. Over six years of graduate study, she gave me room to pursue unconventional academic interests, always stepping in with advice and perspective at just the right times. She supported my personal endeavors in the same way, and gave me invaluable help when I had trouble in the field. I came to Harvard with an anthropology B.A., a government background, and a quirky love of music; I leave it as an ethnomusicologist. I could not have achieved this without Kay Shelemay’s guidance, generosity, and intellect. Ingrid Monson was a crucial voice on African and diasporic musics. Her scholarship on black musical politics inspired many aspects of my own analysis. As course head for many of the classes I taught at Harvard, Dr. Monson also played a major role in my pedagogical development, shaping my ideological approach to instruction in the liberal arts classroom. Our talks about music, race, gender, and identity have enriched my graduate experience immensely.
 viii Richard Wolf has been a constant source of learning throughout my time at Harvard. His feedback on the content, structure, and writing style of my dissertation chapters was incisive and enormously helpful. His breadth of knowledge, rigorous attention to detail, and deep commitment to music are qualities I will seek to emulate in my own career. As a classroom teacher, a reader, and a respected senior colleague, Dr. Wolf has always “pointed to his ears,” and reminded me to use my own. Many Harvard faculty members were significant in this project. Carol Oja taught me the pleasures and challenges of music history, and the value of clarity in writing. Christopher Hasty welcomed me into a wonderful theoretical conversation about musical meaning. Visiting Professor Martin Scherzinger introduced me to sound studies and music industry politics. Other professors, preceptors, and lecturers also contributed to my academic development, especially Chaitanya Lakimsetti in Women and Gender Studies, and Steven Caton in Anthropology. The Music Department administrative and library staff were always ready with aid and friendship. I owe special thanks Nancy Shafman, Sarah Adams, Eva Kim, Kaye Denny, Charles Stillman, Jean Moncreiff, Lesley Bannatyne, Kerry Masteller, Liza Vick, and Andrew Wilson. Friends are a life-giving source of intellectual inspiration, companionship, and joy. Anne Searcy and Olivia Lucas entered the Harvard program with me, and I have relied on them through the years in more ways than I can name. The spirit of our friendship imbues my writing. Ian Power, Jon Withers, John Gabriel, Sam Parler, Emerson Morgan, Krystal Klingenberg, Cynthia Breckenridge, and Madeleine Blum have also been special colleagues and friends on this journey. All of the graduate students of the Harvard Music Department are like my family. I honor them, and look forward to a long and fruitful engagement as our careers progress. 
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