Album Notes

Ari Ben-Yam is an Israeli singer/songwriter writing about current Israeli and Jewish issues.

Ari began his musical journey at age 18, just before his service in the IDF. He co-founded a country/bluegrass group and performed all over Israel and annually at the Jacob's Ladder Folk Festival. Ari appeared as a guest musician with several bluegrass groups in the US. Ari plays guitar, mandolin and harmonica, with influences that range from Bob Dylan to Bill Monroe and Johnny Cash. In the last few years Ari writes and sings poignant songs in Hebrew and English dealing with the corruption and loss of values that plague Israel and the Jewish people. These songs have brought Ari to the forefront of the Israeli national protest scene. Since 2005, Ari is a member of the artistic collective “Zimrat Haaretz”.

Ari's debut album, “Obstacle to Peace”, contains ten original tracks, most of them in Hebrew, one in English, and one – a bluegrassy instrumental composition. Combining a disillusioned sadness with an uncompromising moral stance, the album lays bare the recurring tragedy of a Jewish people led to destruction by a handful of corrupt individuals whose loyalties lie elsewhere.