HEARTBEAT: Haifa

The Heartbeat: Haifa chapter consists of 8-12 high school aged Jewish and Arab, Israeli and Palestinian youth musicians from the Haifa area who will meet weekly throughout the 2014-2015 school year and come together for retreats to build mutual understanding and to co-develop new music. We are grateful to our partner the Beit Hagefen Arab Jewish Cultural Center for providing our weekly meeting space.

The following is an example of the program’s schedule in 2014-2015:

Bi-Weekly Meetings (November 2014 – June 2015) – The Heartbeat: Haifa band will meet regularly at Beit HaGefen Arab-Jewish Cultural Center, working together over the course of the year to learn different styles of music, create new music, and work towards live performances professional audio recordings.

Heartbeat Retreat (December 2014) – The Heartbeat 3 day music exchange will include previous and new Heartbeat youth musicians from both Heartbeat: Haifa and Heartbeat: Jerusalem. This formative experience will enable the group to meet and connect with their fellow band members through facilitated music activities. The retreat will take place in a neutral environment away from the participants normal routines.

Spring Retreat (June 2015) – Towards the end of the school-year, Heartbeat youth musicians will have the chance to deepen their experience through an overnight retreat. Potentially, Heartbeat participants from Haifa, Jerusalem, and Jaffa will be able to come together to strengthen their wider network of youth musicians for social change.

Performances and Workshops (December 2014 – June 2015) – Once ready, the Heartbeat: Haifa ensemble will offer concerts and workshops to bring their music and messages to their communities. To date, Heartbeat: Haifa has already given a handful of successful performances at community events in Haifa, such as the Holiday of Holidays Festival and Simply Singing, in addition to the Willy Brandt Center’s Imagine Change event in Jerusalem.

Recording New Music (March 2015 – June 2015) – Heartbeat: Haifa will record their original songs that were written throughout the year and release them on social media in Summer 2015.

HEARTBEAT: Jerusalem

The Heartbeat: Jerusalem chapter consists of 8-12 high school aged Israeli and Palestinian youth musicians, from East and West Jerusalem, who will meet weekly throughout the 2014-2015 school year and come together for retreats to build mutual understanding and to co-develop new music. We are grateful to our partner The Willy Brandt Center for providing our weekly meeting space.

The following is an example of the program’s schedule in 2014-2015:

Bi-Weekly Meetings (November 2014 – June 2015) – Heartbeat: Jerusalem will meet regularly in Jerusalem, working together over the course of the year to learn different styles of music, create new music, deepen their mutual understanding through facilitated dialogue sessions, and work towards live performances and professional audio recordings.

Summer Retreat (June 2015) – Towards the end of the school-year, Heartbeat musicians will have the chance to deepen their experience through a second overnight retreat. Ideally, Heartbeat participants from Haifa, Jerusalem, and Jaffa will be able to come together to strengthen their wider network of youth musicians for social change.

Performances, Workshops, Amplification (March 2015 – August 2015) – Once ready, the Heartbeat: Jerusalem band will offer concerts, workshops, audio recordings, and music videos to bring their music and messages to their communities.

Why We Do This Work

Years of traumatic violence, increasing segregation, antagonistic educational and media policies, power differentials, and occupation have dramatically polarized the Israeli and Palestinian populations.

Tensions between Israeli Jews and Palestinians are on the rise as continued fear, distrust, and increased separation further distance these communities from each other, thereby prolonging the status quo.

While the few who use violence and racism dominate headlines and dictate how our communities interact, the vast, silent majority of Israelis and Palestinians yearns for a secure, equitable future.

Even within Israel, most Arabs and Jews live in separate neighborhoods and attend separate schools. There are practically no equalizing spaces for Israeli and Palestinian youth. To transform this protracted struggle for land and recognition, we urgently need to provide safe, engaging spaces for youth from both sides to:

learn to build critical awareness of their reality
come to trust and respect each other as equals
imagine and proactively co-create locations of possibility

As an alternative to the status quo, Heartbeat breaks through these entrenched physical and psychological barriers.