Members of the Jerusalem Youth Chorus came to Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C., on April 9 to tell the world that personal connections and music are what’s needed to end blind hatred and war throughout the world.
The 19 singers ranged in age from 13 years of age to their mid-twenties and are currently in high school or are recent graduates. Half of them are Israeli and half are Palestinians. Most had never met or talked to anyone who did not share their culture.
The singers meet weekly, spending time both practicing their music and getting involved in deep conversation with one another, said Gabrielle Richards, the chorus’ director of education and dialogue.
Following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, the future of the chorus was under debate. Members met a few times on Zoom. The parents were then asked if they wanted their children to continue, and everyone said yes, Richards said.
Each session begins with one hour of music, followed by 90 minutes of dialogue and then another hour of music. During those sessions, the members speak directly and honestly about their lives.
Some of the Palestinians, all residents of Jerusalem, talk about how scary it is to walk through the Old City and what it feels like to go through checkpoints. The Israelis speak out about feeling out of place in the Muslim Quarter.
This gets the conversations going, because “It’s really hard to tell someone your experience is not real,” said Richards. “We try to push the edges. There is something powerful about healthy discomfort.”
These conversations, often carried out with the help of a translator, have proven to be effective. “Our kids love each other. It’s really, really special, but it’s really, really hard,” Richards said. “I think the music is what gives them their voice. The music is the space where we build.”
Dana Jaouni, a Palestinian, said that following Oct. 7, “I lost a lot of my empathy. Losing that empathy is something that scared me.”
Thanks to the chorus, she no longer looks at her fellow singers as Israelis or Palestinians, but rather as the one person who sings off-key or the one who thinks everything is a solo.
“These connections, they inspire me,” Jaouni said. “I’m a Palestinian. There is so much more to me,” she said.
“The past few months have been really difficult for all of us,” said Ya’ara Mokady, an Israeli. “This is the only place where I feel like I am trying to change the future.” She added, “We are here because it matters, not because it is easy.”
She continued, “Whatever is happening back home is not new to us. We are all suffering. We are all losing. We’ve all lost people that we love.”
Another singer proclaimed, “Believe me, if we all are united and said ‘stop,’ they will stop.” Describing herself as part Israeli, Russian and Jewish, she said that before she joined the chorus, “I only knew one side, and suddenly my best friend is a Palestinian.”
Chorus Founder and Artistic Director Micah Hendler, a Bethesda native, told the crowd of 700 people, “By being here, we are deciding to choose a different path, and we are starting right now … If this isn’t a clear call to stop this war and stop the violence, I don’t know what is.”
Amer Abu Arqub, the chorus’ executive director, talked about growing up in Jerusalem as a Palestinian and “feeling so much afraid and feeling so unseen.”
For the young people to come together and show up on the stage “takes so much courage. Where we live is so polarized. It’s crazy,” he said, adding, “I choose the way of singing to fight for peace, justice and equality.”
The singers, all clad in shiny white shoes, black pants and colorful shirts adorned with Arabic, Hebrew and English writing, sang songs from the musical Hamilton and tunes by Adele and David Broza.
They enthralled the crowd with Olam Chesed Yibaneh – I Will Build This World From Love and A Candle in the Dark.
The Jerusalem Youth Chorus began in 2012 “to demonstrate a viable alternative to violence in Israel-Palestine and sing out for peace, justice, inclusion, and equality.”
The group’s mission “is to provide a space for these young people from East and West Jerusalem to grow together in song and dialogue. Through the co-creation of music and the sharing of stories, we empower youth in Jerusalem with the responsibility to speak and sing their truths, as they become leaders in their communities and inspire singers and listeners around the world to work for peace, justice, inclusion and equality.”
Adas Israel’s Rabbi Aaron Alexander thanked the singers “for bringing their hearts into this holy space,” adding, “We are not going to stop tonight a brutal 186-day war. We won’t be able to bring 133 hostages home or give respite” to all those who are suffering.
“Tonight is a giant middle finger to everybody who tells us there is not a way forward.
Tonight is what happens when you take the microphones out of yesterday’s leaders and put them in the hands of tomorrow’s leaders.”
Suzanne Pollak is a freelance writer.
