Background
He is an Orthodox Jew and a grandson of Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky.
He is an Orthodox Jew and a grandson of Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky.
Born in 1949, Shurin moved from Brooklyn, New York to Israel in 1984. He currently lives in the Sansur building in downtown Jerusalem. Shurin"s music ranges from soft folk ballads to electric guitar, fast-paced, danceable music
His lyrics range from original to biblical sources or a mashup of the two.
A major hit of his was "Zochreini Na" (Hebrew: זכרני נא). The lyrics of the song are the prayer of Samson asking God to restore his strength so he can exact his revenge upon Philistines who had captured and blinded him (Book of Judges 16, 28).
The song was initially popular mainly on Israeli settlements before gradually spreading to non-settler circles. The struggle for the Land of Israel is a recurring theme in his music
He was featured on the cover of The Economist with a Bible in one hand and an Uzi in the other.
Shurin has been featured in documentaries and briefly became a popular star within the settler movement with songs calling for violence against the Palestinians and resistance to Israel"s 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Shurin was in a documentary by Sean McAllister. In the documentary, Shurin stated that although he believes that the Land of Israel belongs solely to the Jewish people, he has no problem being friendly with individual Arabs.
Shurin has been video recorded interfering on behalf of an elderly Arab man who was stopped at the Western Wall Plaza by Israeli security by assisting the man in making his way across the plaza.
Shurin has stated that he is proud of what he did and that this deed was a Mitzvah. A 2011 documentary by Louis Theroux called The Ultra Zionists featured Shurin"s music
Shurin is noted for his Kahanist political views.
