6 - Words and Music

Summary

Modern Hebrew was invented among Eastern European Jews as part of the Enlightenment and nineteenth-century nationalist development, and it became a cardinal feature of the Zionist Movement. Hebrew became the language of the small Jewish community in Palestine, and following 1948, immigrants to Israel were trained in the language. A thriving spoken and written Hebrew culture emerged. Hebrew is the language of Israeli pop music, and three genres – nationalist ballads, rock, and musica mizrachit – compete for popularity. Hebrew is challenged by the global power of English as a dominant language.