Honorary Doctorate to Zehu Ze! Entertainment Troupe

Later this month, in the framework of its 68th annual Board of Trustees meetings, Bar-Ilan University will award an honorary doctorate to the members of the Zehu Ze! music and comedy group.  

From 1978, when it was first broadcast to today, Zehu Ze! has been a cultural touchstone, a source of gentle humor and classic Israeli songs. Its ability to raise morale in times of national emergencies, such as the Gulf War or the COVID-19 pandemic, and its significance as a social and generational unifier renders it a treasured piece of Israeli culture and iconography. In 2021, Zehu Ze! members won a Lifetime Achievement Award for their contribution to Israeli culture.

The members of Zehu Ze!, Dov (Doval'e) Glickman, Avi Kushnir, Gidi Gov, Shlomo Bar-Aba, and Moni Moshonov – began performing together in a program on the government broadcasting channel in 1978 and continued until 1998, then reunited for a show on KAN 11 during the pandemic.

In a congratulatory letter to the group, Bar-Ilan University President Prof. Arie Zaban wrote, in part: "For your joint contribution to Israeli culture in the 75th year of the State of Israel, the degree committee would like to thank you for your humor and poetry that have brought so much joy and draw us all around the tribal campfire." Zaban continued, "The Israel of 1978 is completely different from the Israel of 2023. During these years the record album became Spotify, Channel 1 became a media platform with a world name, and Zehu Ze! is still going strong."

Prof. Zaban added, "Your way of making people laugh is with wit and grace. Through the years, even in times of great hardship during the days of the Gulf War and, more recently, during the COVID pandemic, your talents are worthy of all praise in our eyes. It is worth amplifying the ripples of your influence that are not to be taken for granted."

"It goes without saying that twice a week you manage to create a connection among all facets of Israeli society, and this is what we seek to do by awarding you this honorable title," added Zaban.

The members of Zehu Ze! thanked the University for the award and explained that viewers feel they're in safe hands supported by the program during all crossroads and hardships, such as the Gulf War and the pandemic, adding that the program's positive and productive mood attracts viewers. Member Dov Glickman even shared that as a child his older brothers explained to him what an honorary doctorate is and for him it is a more important degree than an ordinary doctorate.

In a special video recorded by the group ahead of the ceremony, Gidi Gov explained the renewed interest in the show and its stars: "We flourish in times of crisis." Shlomo Bar-Aba added: "It is very natural for us to laugh in times of war. In times of peace we will still have to prove ourselves."

The honorary doctorate ceremony will take place on Monday, May 15, 2023 in the Dahan Family Unity Park on the Bar-Ilan University campus in Ramat Gan.