Our History

Heartbeat was born in 2007 when Fulbright and MTVu awarded American musician and educator, Aaron Shneyer, with a fellowship to build a music-based dialogue encounter with 12 Palestinian and Israeli youth musicians from East and West Jerusalem. Meeting weekly throughout that year, these young musicians formed a band, engaged in eye-opening dialogue, composed original music and forged relationships that otherwise would have never existed.

Since 2007, Heartbeat has united over 140 youth musicians from Haifa, Jerusalem, Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Bethlehem, Hebron and Ramallah. Together they have released more than 30 original songs and written countless more. Over 150,000 people have viewed their music videos online. Over 5,000 individuals have experienced Heartbeat through local performances and workshops in Israel/Palestine, and over 10,000 people have seen Heartbeat perform internationally through eight international tours and four international exchanges with Israeli, Palestinian, German, and refugee youth artists. Tens of millions have encountered Heartbeat’s music and messages through worldwide news broadcasts on the BBC, CBS, and other outlets.

Beginning in 2010, Heartbeat began engaging in a series of international exchanges. In 2010, in conjunction with the Willy Brandt Center, Heartbeat co-produced the Hip Hop Hudna (Hip Hop Ceasefire), which brought together Israeli, Palestinian, and German musicians and rappers for a week in Jerusalem and a week in Berlin. Participants explored the histories and present day realities of each city, wrote and recorded original music, and performed together. The exchange enabled the production of Heartbeat’s second album,“True Love,” as well as the production of Heartbeat’s second music video, “Boom Boom Boom.” The project was sponsored by the Foundation for Remembrance, Responsibility, and Future (EVZ) . It won the 2010 Europeans for Peace award for “Project of the Year.

In 2012, Heartbeat, the Willy Brandt Center, ActiveVision, and Addictz, e.V. produced “The Borderline Remix: A Hip HOpera” on migration and the human right of asylum. This first ever Hip HOpera of its kind united Palestinian and Israeli youth musicians from Heartbeat, young Sudanese refugee film-makers living in Tel Aviv, and graffiti artists and breakdancers from Mannheim, Germany.  Working together long distance over the course of six months, and then in person for a week in Jerusalem and a week in Mannheim, this team of over 20 artists co-wrote and performed the Borderline Remix for a packed audience in Mannheim. The project was again sponsored by the Foundation for Remembrance, Responsibility, and Future (EVZ), and won the Europeans for Peace award for Project of the Year in 2012.  

In 2013, Heartbeat, ActiveVision, Drei Wünsche Frei, and Addictz e.V., produced the follow up to their 2012 Hip Hopera, The 99% Remix, with the support of the Anna Lindh Foundation. The new Hip HOpera expanded upon the previous year’s work, uniting Israeli, Palestinian, Sudanese, and German musicians, dancers, film-makers, and graffiti artists in the creation and performance of an original Hip HOpera exploring today’s realities and each person’s power to create a better future.

Long concerned by the deep divisions in American society, in 2020 Heartbeat launched its USA programming to bridge conservative and liberal divides.