Published: 23 June 2023
Last updated: 5 March 2024
BATOOL ALJAFRI explores the potential of music to resolve conflicting narratives and build bridges for Jews and Arabs.
“Growing up, I never understood those Arabs,” Uriya stated candidly, reflecting a viewpoint held by many Jewish-Israelis. “And growing up I didn’t understand their fear from us, why are they so afraid from us?,” Sameh, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, responded.
Uriya and Sameh are co-founders of the “Dugri” project, which sees a united future for Jews and Arabs, leveraging music and education to encapsulate the personal experience of identities in an intractably divided region.
“I grew up so intertwined within my Israeli narrative … I was in constant fear of the other side,” said Uriya. Sameh grew up in Ramle, home to a mixed demographic of Jews and Arabs who experiences ongoing tensions, but he describes his collaborations with Jewish musicians positively.
“It’s amazing how much you can be exposed through music to the ‘other’s’ culture and to their perspective.”
Music has a transcending power that moves beyond boundaries and brings people from polarised backgrounds together. Professor Kim Cunio, an Australian of Iraqi-Indian-Jewish heritage, is an activist composer and Head of the School of Music at the Australian National University. He gives a deeper insight into the mechanics of musical creation.
“Music is the most elegant way to inhabit a shared space,” he said, drawing on his extensive portfolio of co-creating with the "other".
“It’s going to take a new generation to make a change through art”
Inspired by the "third stream" model of music, which combines conflicting dichotomous elements to create new music forms, Cunio found the best way to break down social barriers was through the language of music.
“It’s basically impossible when you sit next to someone … to really hate them very much. The music will sound really bad,” he explained.
Sameh echoed the same sentiment about Uriya. “It was hard for me to hate him, to look at him as the enemy. It was kind of impossible.”
