“Everything you loved forever…”

And no, this is not about an Israeli citizen.

Not about a Jewish public figure.

Not about someone whose story belongs naturally to Israel.

This is about a musician scheduled to appear on a Tel Aviv rock bill on July 3, 2026 — a musician whose name I will not use here.

Not because it is unknown.

Not because the story rests on rumors.

Quite the opposite: the problem is that too much has already been said publicly — in interviews, in explanations, in the kind of language that makes it impossible to hide behind the old excuse of being “outside politics.”

For the purposes of this column, I will call him simply “Will and Reason.”

One could call him differently, using his own formula: “for Putin, for the SVO.” But those words should not become a second name. They are already bad enough as a political slogan used to normalize Russia’s war against Ukraine.

One could also recall a line from his old rock biography: “Stand up, overcome fear.”

But in this story the question is no longer about fear or overcoming it. The question is what happens when a musician once associated by some listeners with rebellion, heavy guitars and anti-war energy publicly chooses another side.

So let him remain here as “Will and Reason.”

And “Will and Reason” is the musician from the Israeli concert listing who has publicly stated that he is “for Russia, for Putin, for the SVO.”

The question is not only about music

That is where the real question begins.

Not as an investigation.

But as a question to ourselves.

How did it happen that in Israel — a country where Ukrainian repatriates live, where anti-war emigrants from Russia live, where volunteers, families and communities understand that Russia’s war against Ukraine is not just a television image — such an artist can appear in ticket sales as if this were just another music event?

There is an old convenient phrase: “It’s just music.”

It is often pulled out at the most uncomfortable moments.

When an artist stays silent about war.

When an artist speaks ambiguously.

When an artist hopes to appear on a foreign stage without answering for what he said at home.

When organizers want to sell tickets but do not want to explain to the audience who exactly they are bringing to the stage.

But in the case of “Will and Reason,” that phrase no longer works.

Because he himself stepped out of the space of “just music.”

What he said publicly

In a public interview with Sergey Rezanov for the project “Russian in the Good Sense,” published on June 25, 2024, the musician speaks about Putin, Ukraine, the so-called “SVO,” anti-war artists and his own civic position.

The phrases are not vague.

“My position is unambiguous. I am for Russia, I am for Putin, I am for the SVO.”

“My position is unambiguous. I am for Russia, I am for Putin, I am for the SVO.”

“I........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)