Hip hop unites Israelis and Palestinians

Posted on August 5, 2007 
Filed Under News

Sagol (Israeli) and SAZ (Palestinian) have performed numerous times together

Hip hop is thriving in the Palestinian territories and Israel.

For example, there’s SAZ, a Palestinian, from a working class Tel Aviv suburb of Ramle, and Sagol 59, a jewish Israeli, whose 2000 release Blue Period was the first album by a solo hip-hop artist in Israel

Tehy can be found freestyling together here in a recording from Israel’s most popular radio station, 91.8fm, available for download for a limited time through this link.

Sagol and SAZ have performed numerous times together. The event they were promoting was part of a series of Sulha performances that were launched last year in New York City to urge Arab-Israeli dialogue. The word “Sulha” is an Arabic term for a conciliatory agreement between two parties facing a dispute.

Here was what the two rappers had to say after the event.

“I’m not here to do ‘Kumbaya, Kumbaya’ with Sagol,” SAZ said. “But I write music as a minority in Israel with hope. Sulha is just another way to spread the message out. My music is not just for Arabs, my music is for the world. I participate in the Hip Hop Sulha because besides being a Palestinian or a Muslim, I am human.”

“We’re trying to have a simple dialogue. We’re not delusional. We’re not trying to solve all the problems in the world. Everyone should do something within their capacity to initiate progress,” says Sagol 59.

Corner Prophets, is a cultural initiative he co-founded by Sagol to inspire Israeli and Palestinian children to use music as a channel for finding a common ground. Corner Prophets organises several hip hop and art-related events in Jerusalem. There’s some good video and audio there.

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