3th Stop: 1967-1973
The Six-Day War
and the Years of Euphoria (Part A)
The 1967 Six-Day War was a lightning war that ignited the imagination of Israel and the entire world..
It was preceded by a month-long "Waiting Period", during which military forces mobilized on both sides of the "Green Line"—the long, winding border established after Israel’s founding.
Anxiety gripped the Israeli public.
Within the small territory of the state lived 2.5 million Jews, most of them immigrants who had arrived after World War II, which had ended about twenty years earlier. The memory of the Holocaust of European Jewry was still fresh; the trauma of the persecutions in Asia and North Africa was still raw. The surrounding threats suddenly resurrected the existential anxiety, the fear of another possible annihilation of the Jewish people.
And then...
The IDF launched a preemptive strike—a "No-Choice War."
It was swift, powerful, and elegant. In just six days, it defeated three major armies and captured vast territories that tripled the size of the State of Israel: the Golan Heights in the north, the Sinai Peninsula in the south, and Judea and Samaria in the center.
The lightning victory instantly dispelled the fears.
Anxiety was replaced by a sweeping spiritual elation felt in every home in Israel. The prestige of the IDF reached record heights, and Israeli society stood as if in a dream before the reality created by its new heroes. It was an almost mystical reality: three sacred sites—the Western Wall, Rachel’s Tomb, and the Cave of the Patriarchs—had returned to Jewish hands, suddenly fulfilling dreams and hopes of two thousand years of exile.
Lips murmured prayers; heart and soul reconnected with ideals that seemed to have been forgotten — the rebirth of the Jewish people in its land, the two-thousand-year-old tradition, the biblical sources.
The Six-Day War marked the beginning of an euphoria that found unique expression in Israeli culture.
Daily newspapers and weekly magazines were filled with "color stories" and special supplements detailing the battles; nimble publishers produced "Victory Albums" packed with photos and accounts of heroism. War books and novels set against the conflict became instant bestsellers; children’s toys were redesigned with victory themes; and Films explored the war and its aftermath. Postcards, posters, independence decorations and keychains, and a flood of visual items that washed over country.
Israel’s light-entertainment stars — singers and actors — enlisted to shape the soundtrack with topical songs in a cheerful, patriotic tone, and almost overnight Israeli music aligned itself with the national mood. Imported pop and rock songs that had begun to slip into the hit parades were pushed aside; loud rock bands in clubs "turned down the volume," and Even humorous and satirical songs went on hiatus.
The iconic album "Jerusalem of Gold" became the ultimate symbol of the period. Its title track became an unofficial anthem, while other tracks celebrated the newly accessible holy and strategic sites—from the Western Wall to Sharm el-Sheikh and the bittersweet reality of soldiers in the reserves.
The album, crafted from the very "raw materials" of euphoria, sold over 100,000 copies, shattered all sales records of that period. Radio stations broadcasted the album's tracks incessantly; the Hit Parades hurried to include them in their weekly rankings, and the status of every artist who participated in the album soared, turning them into highly sought-after stars.
Conspicuously absent were the military bands, who took no part in the most popular album.
The bands did not partake in this spontaneous celebration.
Each had its own pre-arranged program, prepared in the days leading up to the war when Israel was still small and confined within the 'Green Line' borders. They limited themselves to performing for soldiers with their existing songs and sketches, adding a bit more to morale — which was already high anyway.
The Nahal Band introduced "Hayiti Na'ar" (I Was a Boy), and the Armored Corps Band performed "Mi SheHalam" (Whoever Dreamed).
The Armored Corps Band performing “Whoeer Dreamed.”
A powerful, haunting tribute to the fallen, honoring those who dreamed of the victory but did not live to see it.
To listen and watch on YouTube, click here
The Nahal Band performing “I Was a Boy.”
A poignant contrast between youthful innocence and the scarring reality of battle, highlighting the personal loss behind the national victory.
To listen and watch on YouTube, click here
Each of these two songs offered a distinct perspective on the war.
Ironically, it was the military bands—a quintessential military symbol of the invincible IDF—that deviated from the general fervor. Rather than joining the euphoria and cheering along, they reminded Israelis of the heavy price of victory: those who fell and would never return, and those who came back alive but remained shell-shocked.
Two years later, the Nahal Band’s song was included in a series of music clips produced by the newly launched Israeli television. Every frame and character in the video presented a gallery of Israeli stereotypes that perfectly matched the spirit of the era. At the center: the "macho" warrior—a kibbutznik with hair windswept in the breeze—and his beautiful girl with flowing hair, greeting him at the kibbutz gates.
The song "I Was a boy" ("Hayiti Na’ar)" was an exceptional, and not only in its lyrics.
It was also unique in its composition—a fusion of European waltz and South American bossa nova—as well as in its musical arrangement, which highlighted solo passages for the electric organ, the modern successor to the traditional accordion.
The synthesis of these elements with the lyrics enhanced the song, adding a dramatic dimension. It can be viewed as a significant milestone in military band productions—a leap forward in harmony and rhythm.
How did this manifest?
While modern instruments had begun trickling into the bands before the Six-Day War, musical arrangers had previously downplayed them, keeping them as subtle accompaniment. Then came the Nahal Band under the direction of musician Yair Rosenblum, who propelled musical production several grades forward. The rich arrangement became an integral part of the song itself. This shift was also evident in other songs from that same program, such as "Hallelujah." (link to YouTube)
The Musical Dam Breaks.
The Nahal Band burst the musical dam, followed immediately by all the military bands, which began delivering high-quality, professional, and diverse musical productions.
Six months after the Six-Day War, just as the musical euphoria seemed to be subsiding and a return to routine felt possible, the military bands began "showering" the hit parades with a rapid-fire succession of musical output. Band after band—Central Command, Southern Command, Northern Command, and the Armored Corps—followed suit. They were joined by a new ensemble: the Navy Band.
Song after song.
Hit after hit.
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Playlist of Military Band Hits, 1967–1969.
To listen and watch on YouTube, click here or on the image
In the late 1960s, the prestige of radio hit parades gained immense momentum, playing a pivotal role in the entertainment industry. The weekly rankings were determined by listeners who mailed in postcards with their personal top choices. Editors would tabulate these results to present the final weekly chart.
A song’s position on the chart was not necessarily a testament to the artist's or the band’s intrinsic quality. The selection offered to listeners was often based on the arbitrary discretion of editors, and the rankings themselves were driven by teenagers and young adults—the most loyal and active listeners. Nevertheless, these charts had a decisive impact on a song’s public popularity. A high ranking influenced a track’s rotation in other radio programs, boosted record sales, and determined which artists were booked for live performances across the country.
The most popular and widely listened-to chart of those years was broadcast on Galei Tzahal (IDF Radio), whose programming was primarily tailored to soldiers. The station’s staff—comprising both uniformed personnel and civilian employees—functioned within the military hierarchy. This unique institutional connection gave military band songs a significant advantage, ensuring they were frequently introduced in the newcomer segment known as "Hapina LeShiputchem" (Your Review Corner), from which the path to the general chart was significantly shortened.
On the competing civilian radio station, Kol Yisrael, editors could not—or would not—give up on the military stars who had already become celebrities in their own right.
Following the general atmosphere of euphoria and the immense prestige of the IDF, editors there also aligned themselves with the trend, tapping into the same fertile musical wellspring.
The growing popularity of the military bands among the Israeli public especially impressed senior officers in the IDF, then at the height of their post-victory glory. high-ranking commanders patronized "their" unit’s band. They allocated resources and were often personally involved in selecting the repertoire and comedy sketches. In headquarters of units that lacked a band, such as the Artillery or Engineering Corps, professional envy led to the establishment of their own ensembles.
The proliferation of bands could not keep pace with the demand for performances dictated by the new reality on the ground.
Following the war, Israel’s borders had expanded dramatically—from the Golan Heights in the north to the Suez Canal in the south, encompassing all of Judea and Samaria in the east. The IDF was forced to reinforce troops deployed across vast territories, where soldiers served in remote outposts, and various installations as part of ongoing security duties. These soldiers, stationed far from home, had significant leisure time, and the demand for entertainment echoed from every corner of the now-expanded country.
The bands’ captive, built-in audience of the military bands grew to unprecedented proportions.
The units responsible for IDF entertainment could no longer dispatch a full-scale production—complete with instruments, choreography, and lighting rigs—to every remote outpost housing only a few dozen soldiers.
To meet this demand, it was decided to split the larger bands into smaller "cells" that could travel between units and entertain soldiers in the most secluded locations.
When even this proved insufficient, a new framework was established: "entertainment team" ("Tzevet Havai") - a kind of mini military band, with fewer soldiers and fewer instruments.
This marked the birth of troupes for units such as the Golani Brigade, the Engineering Corps, the Paratroopers, and the Air Force.
These Entertainment Teams were by no means overlooked by the hit parades; they contributed their own iconic songs to the Israeli soundtrack of those unforgettable days.
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It went on for another year, and then another.
In the early 1970s, the Israeli soundtrack expanded, taking on new shades influenced by musical styles arriving from America and Europe—featuring electric guitars, electric organs, booming drums, and brass ensembles. On the Israeli stages, vibrant, large-scale productions were mounted; singers recorded tracks in state-of-the-art studios, competing for high rankings on the hit parades and on the dance floors of the clubs that were opening one after another.
The military bands did not lag behind.
Equipped with a new generation of musical producers, they infused every new program with fresh colors and sounds, diversifying their repertoire with a wide array of styles, both new and old: European pop, American rock, Greek sirtaki, Italian tarantella, and South American rumba. To these were added nostalgic songs from the past, rearranged with modern rhythms. And, of course, there were songs centered on military life military life and culture, which had become a central part of the Israeli experience, in a country where "the whole nation was an army."
The IDF managed these productions through a specialized unit known as the "Entertainment and Arts Branch" (Anaf Havai ve-Bidur). The branch commanders enjoyed the full backing of senior officers within the military high command, who ensured the bands were provided with nearly unlimited resources. Every producer of a military band in his unit could shape the material at his disposal in whatever way he saw fit.
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Playlist of Military Band Hits 1970-1973
To listen and watch on YouTube, click here or on the image.
By the early 1970s, the military band phenomenon reached its zenith—in both Israeli music and culture.
More on this, and much more, in the second part of our look into the post-Six-Day War era of euphoria.
This is our next stop, in the following chapter at the link below:
The Six-Day War and the Years of Euphoria – Part II
This is a chapter from the musical monograph on Israel’s IDF military bands—an extraordinary cultural phenomenon that flourished between the wars and shaped the music and culture of Israel for over 40 years.
The full monograph spans eight separate chapters, including an introduction, summary, and table of contents. You can explore the complete series by clicking the link below:
Research, Writing, and Editing: Shlomi Rosenfeld
