There is perhaps gentle irony in the fact that Israeli singer-composer Effi
Netzer is bringing his one-man concert to Congregation Beth Am at 8:30 p.m.,
Monday, Sept. 9. 

Asked about the sing-along genre for which he is famous in Israel, he
replied: "I think that for us secularists it comes as a substitute for
praying. That is what keeps us together."

Of course, religious people too are welcome to sing along with Netzer, whose
appearance here is sponsored by the United Jewish Federation of San Diego.
For some four decades, Netzer has composed songs that have become Israeli
standards, among them Balada Lahovesh ("Ballad to a Medic"), which was
performed by Yehoram Gaon; Malchot Tzafon ("Kingdom of the North"),
performed by Moti Aviv; Haye Rahel ("Be Rachel"), performed by Arik Lavie,
and Misho Holech Tamid Etie ("Someone Is Always Walking With Me"), preformed
by the late Ofra Haza. He also wrote Golni Sheli ("My Golani"), the anthem
for one of the divisions of Israel¹s army.

Asked if the political situation in Israel affects the way he is received in
other countries, Netzer replied that "people always saw me as an ambassador
of Israeli culture. The situation in Israel affects mostly Israelis. When it
gets really tough, people want to sing, to go back to their roots, to be
together. 

"The togetherness is an incredible force," he said. ³Even when there are
horrible bombings, I still perform and people still come to see me, and they
sing together, and then they come to me and tell me that they came to the
concert with a feeling of being tired and left with a whole new energy. I
think that singing is one of our secret weapons."

In his Beth Am concert, Netzer will appear on stage alone with his
accordion, but he will be backed up with sound tracks of well-known Israeli
vocalists singing his songs.

"It gives me the opportunity to take some of that Israeli aroma and spread
it all over the place," Netzer said in a telephone interview from Los
Angeles, where he performed a concert last week.

Netzer said he considers it his "job and duty" to make people happy, to make
them remember where they came from. "It is a great privilege. We are strong
and we'll stay strong forever. The other side thinks that they're going to
win, but we will never stop singing."