Zion Golan ( ''Tzion Golan''; ''Sahyoun Ghawlan''; ''Zion Golan''; born 1955), also known as Tzion Golan, is an Israeli singer of
Yemenite Jewish
Yemenite Jews, also known as Yemeni Jews or Teimanim (from ; ), are a Jewish diaspora group who live, or once lived, in Yemen, and their descendants maintaining their customs. After several waves of persecution, the vast majority of Yemenite J ...
origin.
Background
Most of Golan's songs are in
Judeo-Yemeni Arabic
Judeo-Yemeni Arabic (also known as Judeo-Yemeni and Yemenite Judeo-Arabic) is a variety of Arabic spoken by Jews living or formerly living in Yemen. The language is quite different from mainstream Yemeni Arabic, and is written in the Hebrew alph ...
and in
Yemenite Hebrew
Yemenite Hebrew (), also referred to as Temani Hebrew, is the pronunciation system for Hebrew language, Hebrew traditionally used by Yemenite Jews. Yemenite Hebrew has been studied by language scholars, many of whom believe it retains older phonet ...
. Most of his songs were written and composed by himself, his mother in law Naomi Amrani, and by other writers. Some of his songs were written by the famous
Rabbi Shalom Shabazi.
Golan has recorded over 22 albums. He records mostly from a studio in his own home.
Personal life
Golan was born to Yemeni immigrants in
Ashkelon
Ashkelon ( ; , ; ) or Ashqelon, is a coastal city in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip.
The modern city i ...
, Israel. A
modern Orthodox Yemenite Jew, he currently lives with his wife and three children (two girls, one boy) in the Ahuzat Etrog neighborhood of
Merkaz Shapira.
In 1974, Golan joined the
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
as a soloist in the
Israel Army Rabbinical choir.
Worldwide reach
Golan's music is popular outside of Israel, particularly in Yemen, where his family originates. Though the Yemeni government prohibits direct contact with Israel, Golan's records have managed to reach the Yemeni public via the underground, selling around 50,000 copies per album release. It has been reported that his songs are known to "blare from cafes and taxis" in Yemen.
According to an interview in Israeli daily ''
Yedioth Ahronoth
(, ; lit. "Latest News") is an Israeli daily mass market newspaper published in Tel Aviv. Founded in 1939, is Israel's largest paid newspaper by sales and circulation and has been described as "undoubtedly the country's number-one paper." '', at one point in time Golan was set to give a performance in
Yemen
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
, and visas were to be issued by the Jordanian embassy in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
, but the concert was canceled because of concerns for Golan's family.
Golan's songs are also sung by contemporary Yemeni singers such as
Fadel Al Hamami.
In 2018, Golan collaborated with the Yemeni pop singer
Hussein Moheb at a wedding in
Amman
Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...
,
Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
of a relative of former Yemeni President
Ali Abdullah Saleh
Ali Abdullah Saleh Affash (21 March 1947There is a dispute as to Saleh's date of birth, some saying that it was on 21 March 1942. See: However, by Saleh's own confession (an interview recorded in a YouTube video), he was born in 1947.4 Decembe ...
.
Example of Songs
The following songs were written and composed by Israelis, as mentioned on his album covers:
Salam. Zion Golan
israel-music.com
*Aba Shimon – Lyrics by Naomi Amrani, Melody By Zion Golan
*Halaluyoh – Lyrics by Naomi Amrani, Melody By Zion Sharabi
*Bint AlYaman – Lyrics by Aharon Amram, Melody by Zion Golan & Aharon Amram
*Halani – Lyrics by Rabbi Mordechai Yitzhari, Melody by Zion Golan
*Salam Salam – Lyrics by Rabbi Mordechai Yitzhari, Melody by Zion Golan
*Ahai Bane Teman – Lyrics by Rabbi Mordechai Yitzhari, Melody by Zion Golan
*Yuma Ya Yuma – Lyrics by Naomi Amrani, Melody by Zion Golan
*Sali Galbi – Lyrics by Naomi Amrani, Melody by Jacky Tubie
*Yom Al Ahad – Lyrics by Naomi Amrani, Melody by Jacky Tubie
*Diker Almahiba – Lyrics and Melody by Aharon Amram
*Adan Adan – Lyrics and Melody by Naomi Amrani
*Shufuni Be'Enak – Lyrics by Naomi Amrani, Melody by Zion Golan
*Rais Al-Mal – Lyrics by Leah Zlotnik, Melody by Lior Farhi
*Alf Mabruk – Lyrics and Melody by Zion Golan
*Yaman Yaman – Lyrics and Melody by Naomi Amrani
*Allah Yhibak – Lyrics and Melody by Ahraon Amram
Selected discography
*''leAkhai Bani Teman'', 1992 (, ''To my Yemeni brothers'')
*''Salam Salam'', 1995 ()
*''Abo Sholem Shabazi'', 2000 ()
*''miTemon liYisroel'', 2001 (, ''From Yemen to Israel'')
*''Ashorer Shir'', 2001? ()
*''Irham ya Rabi'', 2004 ()
*''Mahrozot Niflaot v'Duetim'', 2005 ()
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Golan, Zion
1955 births
Living people
20th-century Israeli male singers
Israeli Modern Orthodox Jews
Israeli pop singers
People from Ashkelon
Yemenite Orthodox Jews
Israeli people of Yemeni-Jewish descent
21st-century Israeli male singers