Chutney’s musical solidarity with Israel
Sydney-based Jewish band Chutney has released its debut album’s first single in solidarity with Israel.
The video below has already been viewed over 260,000 times across social media. The song is called ‘Kama At Yafa’, a Hebrew pop anthem that translates as ‘How Beautiful You Are’, and is intended as a gift to Israel from Jews around the world.
CHUTNEY also wants their release to help draw local and global awareness to the almost 140 hostages who have now been held by Hamas for two months, in contravention of every international law and ethical norm. With the onset of Chanukah, a festival in which Jews light candles to symbolise the triumph of light over darkness, the band hopes their music will spread light, hope and strength to the hostages’ families and friends, to all Israelis, and to the global Jewish community, which has faced an unprecedented surge in local antisemitism in the past two months.
Band leader, violinist Ben Adler, said the events of 7 October – the worst and most brutal massacre of Jews since the Holocaust – prompted CHUTNEY to respond unequivocally:
Violinist Ben Adler and his band, Chutney
He said: “Like Jews the world over, 7 October shook us to our core. We felt compelled to take a principled stance and be our authentic selves, despite the risk of backlash. Within 36 hours, we had postponed a big show scheduled that week and pivoted to perform instead for the communal solidarity vigil attended by almost 10,000 Jews and allies.
Since then, we’ve been making music at vigils, in synagogues and in every other context we can to galvanise and empower our community. The expedited production of ‘Kama At Yafa’ and its music video is an embodiment of those efforts.”
‘Kama At Yafa’ was written by Kobi Aflalo and first performed by Shiri Maimon in 2012, Israeli artists that Adler and CHUTNEY’s Australian-Israeli guest singer, Sarit Michael, have long admired. The song’s lyrics speak potently of hope and resilience, as Adler explains:
“We see this song as a prayer, not only for the hostages, but also for the spirit of the people of Israel: ‘Do not fall, do not break. Come back.’ We want this powerful message to reach Israelis and Jews in the furthest corners of the globe, and we encourage everyone to share it widely.”
CHUTNEY will release more singles in the leadup to the release of their debut album in March 2024.
