Avi Bitter: 'This is what keeps me alive'
Avi Bitter in an emotional interview about the loneliness at the top, the industry's attempts to silence him, and the price of an independent path. 'I will choose Bibi, because the Left has no leader'
The world of Mizrahi and Mediterranean music is known for quite a few Cinderella stories, but in the case of Avi Bitter, the story is primarily one of stubborn struggle for survival, independent creation, and a fight against an industry that, according to him, tried time and again to push him to the margins.
In an interview with Yossi Marshak on the "All in" podcast, Bitter opens up about everything, from the hard path he walked completely alone, through the feeling of abandonment by people who were close to him, to the political and social reality in Israel.
'No one did me any favors'
For decades, Bitter built a loyal and devoted audience with his own hands, without the backing of major record labels or huge budgets. According to him, the price of this independent path was heavy:
'I did everything alone, without record labels behind me, without funding, and without favors from anyone. People forget how much I gave, and when I fell - everyone knew how to step on me and say: "Here is Avi Bitter".'
This feeling accompanies him on a personal level as well. According to him, the world of glamour and fame brings with it quite a few self-interested people:
'A person who lives like me, with an open heart and everything on the table, gets hurt the hardest. People come, stay as long as there is something to take, and when there isn't - they disappear without saying goodbye.'
Bitter never hesitated to criticize the media and cultural establishment in Israel, which he claims tried to silence his style for many long years. 'They tried to close doors on me my whole life,' he says without mincing words. 'They closed radio, they closed television, they thought that if they ignored me, I would disappear. But my audience did not forget me, and that is what keeps me alive.'
Alongside music and personal life, Bitter does not refrain from expressing a position on the burning political map as well:
'I will choose Bibi, because the Left has no leader... A prime minister needs to be a smart person, a person who knows English well. Listen, this is not an easy country, we have a million and one troubles. Bibi did not do bad, but people want change. There is no problem with change, but bring someone normal, bring someone at the level of Bibi.'
