Omer Netzer had long dreamed of making a name for himself in Nashville as one of the few Israelis in American country music. But on October 7, the first Israeli to perform at the Country Music Awards put his career on hold so he could fly to Israel and help defend his country.
“I went back, of course, and volunteered,” Netzer said. “24/7 we were risking our lives.”
Meet Omer Netzer, the first Israeli to play at the Country Music Awards.
On October 7, he put his career on hold and flew to Israel to help defend his country. pic.twitter.com/bhHdRWxpXp
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) October 9, 2024
Netzer volunteered to return to his previous job in a special forces police unit in Nahariya, a city just a few miles from the Lebanon-Israel border, for four months following the start of the war. He left behind his wife and newborn daughter to volunteer in the unit, which tracked terrorists aiding Hezbollah or stockpiling weapons in their homes.
Netzer said he lost three of his best friends who were serving in the Sderot police near the Gaza border on October 7.
“We did what we were doing to our best and that’s protecting our country,” Netzer told The Daily Wire.
Netzer said his mother — who lives in Achziv, even closer to the border than Nahariya — has been scared to leave her house for months.
“My mom called me two days ago and said she heard buzzing outside. I told her to go to the bomb shelter and in less than a minute there was a suicide drone that exploded,” Netzer recalled.
Since Hamas’s October 7 attack, Hezbollah has fired rockets and suicide drones daily at Israel’s northern communities. More than 60,000 people from northern Israel have been displaced from their homes.
Though his team is still serving, Netzer decided to return to the United States and use his voice to raise awareness about the October 7 victims and hostages. He has played at events around the country including at a joint Christian-Jewish event at the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., on Monday.
Omer Netzer with his unit in northern Israel. (Photo: Courtesy).
Music has helped Netzer cope with trauma since October 7th. He said writing about Israeli heroes has helped in his healing process.
“My best friend was a SWAT team leader and he died October 7,” Netzer said. “He wrote a note before he died, so I translated that note and made a song out of it,” he said. “It’s not about me anymore, it’s about them. It’s about the heroes that died protecting our country.”
Netzer said playing at unity events around the United States has given him hope.
“I see a lot of unity between Christians and Jews together fighting against hate,” he said. “I saw evil in my own eyes, so those people gave me hope.”
“I’m building the bridge of unity through the music, and I’m playing churches and military bases,”
Netzer said he was proud to be the first Israeli to perform at the Country Music Awards in November.
Netzer was introduced to music by his parents, first generation Israelis born to Moroccan immigrants. They owned a music store, Netzer says, and gave him his first set of drums at age six, his first guitar at 10.
He recalled his English teacher once asking him to play a song for his class in English.
“I picked up the guitar and I played Johnny Cash,” he said, adding that he also enjoyed growing up listening to blues and rock and roll.
Omer Netzer playing on his drum set as a child in his parent’s music shop in northern Israel. (Photo: Courtesy)
“I thought I was going to work in security, not as a musician, but God had a different plan,” he added.
Netzer will be performing at Nashville’s Whiskey Jam this week, an event where many famous artists, including Morgan Wallen and Brad Paisley, performed before becoming household names.
But Netzer’s not taking a victory lap just yet.
“I’ll know I made it when I play the Grand Ole Opry,” he says.
