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Bridging The Gap

21/01/2016Performing With And For Refugees In Dresden – An official statement
 

During their "Global Warming Tour 2015" in October and November of last year, the Jewish Monkeys travelled to Dresden to take a musical stand against racism, discrimination and the rising Neo-Nazi-affiliated, right-wing Pegida movement by sharing a moment of love, unity and joy with and for the stranded refugees.

Needless to say, the impressions gathered there, left a lasting impression on everyone involved. Time to take a minute to reflect on the experiences of building cultural bridges between Tel Aviv and Dresden in a personal look back, that is actually looking forward.

If you want to know more about what went down in Dresden from the band's perspective, please read the official one-page "Building a Cultural Bridge" statement, to be found in our press section in German as well as in English:

“The concerts were a wonderful experience for the band. It was very moving to see how this ‘guerrilla event’ could magically transform the faces of these tired, fearful, uprooted and traumatised people. Young men danced the Dabke (a popular line dance in Syria) to old Yiddish songs and beaming children experienced their first rock concert. After the show they stormed the stage to touch the drums and guitars in awe. Careful at first, the band did not let the public know they were from Tel Aviv, however, some of the band members delighted their listeners with Arabic greetings and phrases of gratitude. During conversations with the public, when asked, ‘where do you come from?’, one of the band members, said: ‘Tel Aviv’. This answer did not cause animosity, but joy and surprise.”

AUTHOR: Lev Nordstrom