I just got back from the Tel Aviv International Documentary film festival where I premiered my film, Jericho's Echo: Punk Rock in the Holy Land, about none other than the thriving Israeli punk music scene. I know what you're thinking: "Punk rock in Israel? Who knew?" The people running the festival were surprised, too. They've never seen so many mohawked, pierced, and tattooed bodies gracing the seats of the Tel Aviv Cinematheque.

But is it really such a surprise? Being Jewish is SO punk rock! I tried to explain this to the Israeli punks who appear in the movie, but they really didn't understand where I was coming from. My experience with Judaism, growing up in a tiny town in the Northeast U.S. with a small Jewish minority, was almost exactly the opposite of the Israeli punks. They did not understand when I tried to explain to them that, for me, practicing Judaism in itself was in some way an act of rebellion against a predominantly non-Jewish society. For them, the mainstream authority is Jewish, and their rebellion is directed toward their own religious roots. So, for the sake of the Israeli punks and anybody else that cares, I've backed up my theory by showing how Judaism fits into the picture of some of the major periods of the 30-odd-years of punk rock history.

The New York Ramones Scene
It's been pretty well documented that many of the major players in this scene--the very scene that put punk rock on the map--are Jewish. If you note the fact that everyone from Joey Ramone (Hyman) himself to Chris Stein from Blondie to Richard Hell (Myers) have probably eaten homemade Matzoh-ball soup, it's pretty safe to say that Jews created punk rock!

The England Sex Pistols Scene
The Sex Pistols and the gazillions of skinny-plaid-pant-wearing bands that they inspired were all about being anti-authority. Guess what? So are the Jews! Think Egypt and the whole Moses-crossing-the-desert thing. Back in the day, those nasty Egyptian masters tried to bring us down. We were their slaves. We tried to talk some sense into them, but they didn't listen. So what did our G-d do? Oh, a little melange of blood, boils, slaying and the like, and we were set free. Now, if that isn't sticking it to the man, I don't know what is.

The American Hardcore Straight Edge Scene
Thanks to clean-living bands like Minor Threat and later on, vegetarian bands such as Youth of Today, American punk took a turn toward the politically correct in the early and mid-eighties. Well, Judaism beat it to the punch by a couple thousand years. As far as animal rights go, the whole purpose of the laws of Kashrut is to kill animals in a humane way. According to the organization Concern for Helping Animals in Israel, in the very old days, "people would rip off an animal's limb and cook and eat it, without killing the animal first. Kashrut would ensure that the animal was, at least, killed first and not made to suffer. It was also a way to remind people that eating meat is not the ideal and comes with many restrictions"

Judaism also had a jump on women's rights. The Ketubah, the ancient Jewish marriage document that is still in use today, was among the first documents conferring legal status and financial rights to women. It also gives a woman the right to divorce her husband if he does not satisfy her in the sack. Now that's my kind of religion!

The mid-90's Pop-punk Scene
Whether you consider Blink-182 a "punk" band or not is a different discussion, but the fact of the matter is that pop-punk is still thriving among teenagers everywhere. Pop punk's main themes are Food and Girls. (Think of the Descendents' classic chorus: "I like food. Food is good.")

Food and procreation are also two of the major staples of Judaism. Ever heard of a little ditty that goes, "Be fruitful and multiply"? Never mind that! Have you ever been to a Jewish summer camp? You need one hell of a challah-knife to cut through the hormones in the air at those breed-a-thons!  On the food tip, no good Jewish mother would let her child go home without feeding them at least twice the daily recommended allowance of everything on the food pyramid, plus some leftovers to nosh on later.

It comes down to this: no matter where or when throughout history, from the Maccabees against the Romans to the horrible fate of our European kindred in the last century, Jews have always been the outsiders. And any punk can relate to that.