Ariel Zilber

Ariel Zilber was born in 1943 in Tel Aviv

Zilber was born in Tel Aviv to singer Bracha Zefira and violinist Ben Ami Zilber of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra. He was sent to live on kibbutz Gan Shmuel as a child. He was later expelled from a boarding school after an explosion in his room, in which he lost part of a foot.

He studied music with Dr. Zvi Keren and at the Academy of Music. In 1964 he began a music career in England and then France, writing music for advertisements and songs for the duo Esther and Abi Ofarim. He returned to Israel in 1973.

In 1974 he joined the rock band Tamuz with Shalom Hanoch, and left it in 1976. That year he released his first album, and his song "Rutzi Shmulik" was named song of the year on the Reshet Gimel chart. He then formed the band Brosh and later launched a solo career in rock, pop, hip-hop and other styles.

In the first decade of the 21st century he protested the disengagement plan, became religious and joined Chabad. In 2007 he took part in a campaign for the release of Yigal Amir. He received an ACUM prize in 2014 and a lifetime achievement award from the Israeli Union of Performing Artists in 2016.