Over the next 30 years, Jewish composers in Palestine began to seek new rhythmic and melodic modes that would distinguish their songs from the traditional European music they had been brought up on. Leaders of this musical movement were Matityahu Shelem ("VeDavid Yefe Eynaim", "Shibbolet Basadeh"), Yedidia Admon ("Shadmati"), and others. These composers sought to imitate the sounds of Arabic and other Middle Eastern music. They used simple harmonies, and preferred the natural minor to melodic and harmonic minors used by European music. They especially eschewed the interval of the augmented second, part of the "gypsy minor" scale used typically in klezmer music. "Its character is depressing and sentimental", wrote music critic and composer Menashe Ravina in 1943. "The healthy desire to free ourselves of this sentimentalism causes many to avoid this interval."