Poptastic Confessions!: Israelism 2023 by Army Of Lovers

Monday, November 13, 2023

Israelism 2023 by Army Of Lovers

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Army Of Lovers have just released a new version of their controversial 1993 hit "Israelism." Why was it so controversial? Well, it celebrated Jewish culture while also being a bit tongue in cheek with taboo subjects like sex and circumcision. The song was hit around Europe, even landing at #3 in the Israel Airplay Chart. The brand new version is called "Israelism 2023."

So what's the new version like? Well, it isn't as good as the original 1993 version. However, it is isn't bad. It's a bit stripped back from the original giving it a more modern feel to it. We think if you aren't familiar with the original, you might like this version a lot, and it might make you want to check out the original version. We've added the official audio of "Israelism 2023" to our 2023 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on YouTube ....

Here's what Army Of Lovers member Jean-Pierre had to say about the both the original and the new version on social media ...

The original single cover from 1993

Isrealism-23.

30 years ago we made the song 'Israelism,' a celebration of my rich culture. It was initiated by my brother-in-arms Alexander inspired by myself and my Dominika, my beloved sister-in-arms.

Loved performing this song - a celebration of love and peace. The word shalom means both 'greetings' and 'peace,' just like the Arabic 'salaam' - a bonus for me since I come from an Arabic-speaking Jewish family. Performing this song always gave me a goosebumps out of excitement and pride.

But why the name Israelism? This is where Judaism was born, the center of our culture, both for secular and Orthodox Jews, probably the reason why Israel is a semi-secular state today, as both groups of Jews have equal pride and heritage in that land.

I am secular, and for me the bond is just as loving and strong as for any Orthodox Jew.

Just as any countryman to its country, I don’t always agree with the different governments in power, but that doesn’t keeps us from living our country. This is the reason why the flag on the original cover is vertical: the blue stripes on the flag refer to the tallit, a Jewish prayer mantel making it a symbol for both country and culture.

To honour the anniversary of the song we were inspired to give a new and loving dancy groove to it.

I hope you will enjoy it as much as we did making it. And for those who are not familiar with the first version of this song, our new release will make you discover the original from 1993 (omg the last century!)

I swish you, wherever you are, SHABBAT SHALOM

With love to all our beautiful fans.

Jean-Pierre

PS I love my new middle name porr Moses, thank you siss!!

Here is the original camptastic music video ...

"Israelism" was written by Alexander Bard, Dominika Pecynski, Jean-Pierre Barda, Michaela de la Cour, and Anders Wollbeck, who also produced the new version: "Israelism 2023." It is available on digital outlets everywhere. Buy your copy today! We've added it to our 2023 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on Spotify.