Zohar Argov

Zohar Orkabi (זוהר עורקבי; July 16, 1955 – November 6, 1987), known professionally as Zohar Argov (זוהר ארגוב), was an Israeli singer, and convicted rapist.

A distinctive voice in the Mizrahi music scene, Argov is widely known in Israel as "The king of Mizrahi music".

However, he remains a divisive figure in Israeli culture due to his controversial rape conviction and charges.

Zohar Argov was born in Rishon LeZion, Israel, to Ovadia and Yona Orkabi, Jewish parents who immigrated from Yemen.

He was the eldest of ten children.

He displayed a talent for singing in childhood, and his classmates nicknamed him "nightingale".

All his siblings also displayed an interest in music.

As a result of Argov's disinterest in any aspect of school except music, which was exacerbated by his family's financial problems, he dropped out of school at age 14 to work at a construction company.

In 1972, he married a neighbour, Bracha Tzabari, and a year later, she gave birth to their son Gili.

Argov's father Ovadia, with whom he had had a stormy relationship over the latter's authoritarianism and alcoholism, died on the day of Gili's bris.

Gili would later follow in his footsteps and become a singer as well.

Due to his family situation, he was exempted from mandatory military service in the Israel Defense Forces.

In 1977, at age 22, Argov published a single with two songs written and composed by Moshe Nagar.

When releasing this single, in consultation with his wife Bracha, he changed his last name from Orkabi to Argov.

He felt that the name Orkabi would not "sound good" to the media and establishment, and chose the name of one of the greatest composers and musicians in Israel at the time, Sasha Argov.

The single was unsuccessful, airing only once on a radio broadcast featuring "musical oddities".

Nonetheless, he began working as a singer full-time, giving live performances.

His pay was meager, and within months, he had incurred huge debts, all of his property was repossessed, and he could no longer support his wife and son.

The family's poor financial status and the pressure of late-night club appearances put a strain on his marriage, which ended with Bracha moving back in with her parents and taking Gili with her.

In 1978, Argov was arrested for rape after he had offered a woman a ride home from a Bar Mitzvah performance, then forced her into his apartment and sexually assaulted her.

His trial was presided over by judge Dov Levin, who would later serve as a judge on the Supreme Court of Israel.

During his trial, when it was still not clear to the court whether the incident had constituted rape or consensual relations, Argov commented "there is no girl who doesn't want it, she just needs to learn how to take it."

He was convicted of rape as a result of this comment and sentenced to three years in prison.

His wife filed for divorce during this time.

Argov was released in 1979, after which he returned to his work as a musician.

At first, he joined a band which appeared at clubs and family events.

During an event in Beersheba, Argov asked to sing and the band members agreed.

He then performed two songs live.

Argov's debut album Elinor (1980) featured the title track, "Sod HaMazalot" ("The Zodiac Secret"), and "Mah Lakh, Yaldah?"

("What's With You, Girl?"), a tribute to his ex-wife, Bracha, who remained the love of his life.

With the success of the album, Argov became a popular singer, and performed live throughout Israel.

He was among the first singers to achieve commercial and nationwide success in the sphere of Middle Eastern-Mediterranean/Oriental (Mizrahi)-style music, despite the fact that his music was not mainstream at the time and radio stations gave predominance to pop music from overseas.

In 1982, Argov participated in the Mizrahi Music Festival with the song “HaPerah BeGani” (הפרח בגני, The Flower in my garden), the song would ultimately win the festival’s competition and became Argov’s and subsequently Mizrahi music’s mainstream breakthrough.

Ironically, Argov disliked the song and wanted to perform “Shir Prati” (שיר פרטי, Private Song) at the festival.

Afterwards, Argov toured the United States, and was invited to parties and clubs.

It was there that he was first exposed to hard drugs and began to develop his heroin and crack cocaine addiction.

He claimed that he was first introduced to hard drugs at Club Halleluyah in Los Angeles.

From 1983, his drug addiction began to affect his functioning.

By the end of the year, his drug abuse coupled with his demanding performance schedule was beginning to visibly affect his health.

In late 1983, three associates took him to Eilat and locked him in a hotel room to dry out.