Born Noah Shufutinsky to an African-American mother and a Russian father, both Jewish, Gravy hails from California but now lives in the Israeli coastal town of Bat Yam. Often rapping about the racism and antisemitism he faces along with themes of Israeli solidarity, Gravy laments that Zionism is unjustly used as a slur by pro-Palestine rappers.
The debate over what the term “Zionism” means has been ongoing ever since the idea emerged in the late 19th century among Central European Jewish intellectuals. Critics of Israel refer to it as a form of settler colonialism, while advocates of Zionism regard it as a liberation movement. Rosenman might advocate Jewish-Arab unity with Dugri, but he also doesn’t shy away from being referred to as a Zionist. The Israeli rapper feels that Zionism has turned into a pejorative term used to imply an underlying racial ideology.
“Diaspora” by Westside Gravy
“In Israel, we are Zionists because we believe we have a right to exist. That’s it,” he said. “We don’t perceive it like we’re more worthy than the Palestinians. Of course, you can find extreme right-wingers who would propagate that we are more worthy of the land. But that’s not how the majority of Israel is thinking, definitely not the secular liberal citizens of the country like us.”
Reclaiming such labels and ideas has become crucial in the current wave of politically conscious hip-hop, be it the principles of Zionism or protest cries like “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a slogan chanted at rallies across the world during the Israel-Hamas war. Though many claim the slogan is peaceful and only about Palestinians’ right to a homeland — situated between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean — the slogan irks Gravy, so much so that he even released his own track called “From the River to the Sea.” The hook of the semisatirical song goes, “From the river to the sea, we ain’t gonna pretend that we don’t know what you mean. From the river to the sea. You want the land free of the people like me.”
Gravy might represent a new voice in Israeli hip-hop with his subversive takes on polarizing histories, but is it enough to spread his message? While he switches his flows between English and Hebrew, he feels that many new talents from Israel are limited in their reach because of the language barrier. Rosenman agrees. “Israeli hip-hop artists get less attention because Hebrew is not a popular language,” he said. “But the Arabs and the Palestinians, their narrative and language are used by millions of Muslims across the world. So their message can reach more widely.”
On the global stage, too, Gravy laments that Jewish hip-hop artists have said little to nothing in support of Israel, pointing his fingers at the Canadian hitmaker Drake, whose silence on the issue has been notable. The Palestinians, too, have had their own disappearing act in mainstream hip-hop. Speit lamented that DJ Khaled, the American producer whose parents immigrated from Palestine, “doesn’t even mention Palestine on any of his platforms.”
Regardless of international support, rappers on both sides of the conflict continue to adhere to their ideals and fly the flags they represent, marching past the political and economic challenges that threaten their artistry. For someone like Mic Righteous, protesting for Palestine overseas is necessary, and he openly encourages his audiences to participate in public movements for the cause. He screams at the mic, “Those who do not have freedom, we’ll continue speaking up for them with our freedom.”