Oznia, a blog of Israel things

A few days after the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, David Grossman, an author and essayist, passed by a stopped car while driving on the highway. He aimed to get a closer look at what the driver was doing and soon saw he was scraping off a bumper sticker that said “Rabin rotzeach;” Rabin is a murderer. It was at that moment that Grossman suddenly realized how effective bumper stickers really are. They convey the strong viewpoints of political firebrands and portray a contemporary Israel. If you think about it, popular songs serve a very similar purpose.

The resonant lyrics and compelling beat allow the message of the song to seep into the minds of listeners, thereby subconsciously persuading them of some position. Grossman kept this in mind when he compiled Shirat HaSticker, a popular rap sung by HaDag Nahash. (Although he did not write it with the intention of creating a rap, Grossman, the father of teenagers, ultimately collaborated with HaDag Nahash.) The lyrics are essentially a recitation of bumper stickers representing a variety of topics and individuals’ standpoints in modern Israel: left wing, right wing, religious, secular, Zionist, and humorous. Many people feel that, in putting bumper stickers on their cars, they gain the ability to openly express their opinion in a society or under a government that they believe is denying them of the right. Similarly, music has been used as a powerful means of voicing one’s view freely for many generations. Many educators have incorporated this song into their curricula for teaching about modern Israel as they believe it provides “an extraordinary opportunity to tap into the best of two worlds, the impact of the Israeli bumper sticker and the power of the Israeli song.” Check out the video with subtitles here: