Arab-Israeli teens play peacemakers

Aaron Shneyer's contribution to mediating conflict in the Middle East began with 12 teens and a jam session in Jerusalem.

The Georgetown University graduate brought together a dozen Israeli and Palestinian musicians as part of a Fulbright-mtvU project that used music to foster dialogue and understanding.

The result is Heartbeat, a peace-building collaboration that has been exported to the United States and will find its way to Congregation Beth Am Israel in Penn Valley on Thursday evening.

A Heartbeat ensemble will perform a concert featuring Israeli and Palestinian youth who got to know each while playing everything from Klezmer to Mos Def.

"Music forces us to be honest," said Shneyer, 29. "It allows two people who have never met to walk into a room and quickly open up and present their real selves. It's hard to hide behind walls."

Hearbeat, a nonprofit, aims to bring together musicians, educators and students in an effort to resolve conflicts through music. The youth meet to create music together, exchange life stories and then take their message on the road.

The band features a Palestinian violinist who studies classical music; an Israeli singer guitarist who's into folk and reggae; a Palestinian rapper; a jazz/funk-influenced Israeli drummer, and a Palestinian who plays the oud, an Arabic stringed musical instrument that resembles a lute.

That diversity is what Shneyer was hoping for when he applied for a Fulbright-mtvU fellowship in 2007. The son of a rabbi/folk musician and a psychologist, Shneyer was a student activist and also played bass in a Jewish-Arab band.

During the "second intifada," an uprising in 2001, "Pro-Israeli and Pro-Palestinian factions on campus were essentially at each others' throats," Shneyer said.

Shneyer and a few students began to organize activities to encourage dialogue between the two sides. His fellowship work was an extension of that effort.

After winning the award, Shneyer began recruiting students in Jerusalem. A dozen young musicians, 14-18, met weekly for nine months.

Together they wrote music and performed in Israel. In the process, they became friends.

"Everyday I'm with Heartbeat, I'm becoming more aware," said Moody Kablawi, 17, a Palestinian rapper who lives in Haifa. "There are problems on both sides, not just my side."

The initial program culminated with a concert attended by 300 at a YMCA in Jerusalem. The project was such a success that Shneyer decided to start a nonprofit and continue the mission.

Guy Gefen, 21, a guitarist who is Jewish and lives in Rehovot, Israel, believes seemingly small individual efforts can impact peacemaking.

"I have the same power as politicians and TV people," Gefen said. "I can have an affect on my country and my land. I have a responsibility too."

Gefen and Kablawi say they both have experienced some negative feedback from friends and acquaintances who call their actions naive.

"Every now and then I get a nasty message on Facebook, but I try to talk to them and have a decent dialogue," Gefen said.

Discussion will be an important part of the event at Congregation Beth Am Israel. The group will perform music in Hebrew, English and Arabic; share their experiences, and then take questions and hear reactions from the audience. Attendees will also be invited to interact and make music with the band.

Hazzan Harold Messinger, the synagogue's cantor who helped organize the event, believes the concert offers a universal lesson.

"[I hope] people are inspired by this to want to seek other ways to imagine relationships," Messinger said, "between Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Arabs, and anybody that faces conflict."

Contact Kristin E. Holmes at 610-313-8211 or kholmes@phillynews.com.

The concert will be held at 7 p.m., 1301 Hagys Ford Rd., Penn Valley. Suggested donation, $18, but no one turned away.