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Doron Levinson

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Songwriter

The Resume

    Born in Israel
    Former Commanding Officer in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF)
    Composed the popular Israeli Peace Anthem, 'Lay Down Your Arms'
    Temporarily blinded while serving in the 1973 Yom Kippur War
    Wrote 'Lay Down Your Arms' in memory of his comrades who fell in battle
    Song was recorded by the Habonim Youth Choir of Toronto, conducted by Esther Ghan-Firestone and directed by Eli Rubenstein, in 1992
    Also composed the songs 'Prayer for Peace,' 'Ruach Toca Chamutal Ben Zeev,' and 'The Prayer for the Safety of Kings'
    Hebrew words to the song are taken from Isaiah 2:4 ('They shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks .... neither shall they teach their children war anymore')

Why he might be annoying:

    Root Canada heavily commercialized his song's message.
    His open advocacy for an independent Palestinian state before Knesset - specifically through the Chamber of Commerce Negotiation's delegation - probably hasn't endeared him to the Israeli population as a whole.
    YouTube searches for his song regularly turn up videos of a Chordettes song.
    His song has become a fixture at Holocaust Memorial events, even though lyrics like 'what we sow we reap' don't seem very pertinent to the atmosphere (in the case of Europe's Jewish population, 'laying down their arms' didn't help much against Hitler).
    His song became popular among international students, but because the lyrics were in Hebrew, many Western students couldn't understand them. An adaptation with English lyrics and an additional bridge had to be written.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He wrote 'Lay Down Your Arms' while recovering from his injuries at a convalescent home (where he taught himself the piano).
    He was haunted by the memory of one of his comrades worrying that it would be his last battle. He assured the soldier they would survive, but the gunner was killed anyway.
    He later relocated to Toronto where he attained a Doctorate and taught Hebrew/Jewish Studies at the Temple Sinai Hebrew School.
    When he learned of the March of the Living, an international campaign to organize trips for Jewish children from around the world to visit Auschwitz in Poland, and then Jerusalem, he successfully sold the directors on including his song in their campaign footage. The song has since been inseparable from the March of the Living event.
    His song is heart-breakingly beautiful and is a testament to the lives lost in war, and as a plea for peace and end to military conflict.
    The song has since been inseparable from the March of the Living event, with a modernized cover version being recorded and performed in Poland to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII, in 2015.
    The inaugural 1992 'Lay Down Your Arms' music video that was filmed was the first piece of exposure attained by a very young Tara Strong.
    He was a board member in the New Way Foundation, which advocates full civil rights for Palestinians within Israel.
    He founded the 'Together As One' foundation, with the goal of bridging the social/cultural gap of trust between Arab and Jewish youngsters, as well as their parents.
    He said 'My rehabilitation period at the convalescence home - where I went through some severe physical and emotional pains, took me into the search after that something to live for - something which, hopefully, will make a change and difference in our lives and in the lives of future generations.'

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 17 Votes: 52.94% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying