We had the privilege of funding a musical performance for female Arab students at a college for Palestinian women in Beit Hanina. The Jewish musician, Idan Toledano, performed both Hebrew and Arabic songs alongside an Israeli Arab singer, Miriam Toucan. In addition to their stellar performance, the musicians offered explanations about the meaning behind the songs, and in so doing not only captivated the audience with the melodies, but also with accompanying stories, steeped in culture and history.
Through this musical extravaganza, the students were treated to an educationally enriching concert consisting of many familiar Arabic tunes as well as Israeli and Jewish motifs with which they were less acquainted. In hosting the concert at the college, we emphasized the importance of education as an indispensable tool for advancing cultural exchange and tolerance; an idea which found listening ears among the young women, the future of this region.
“In hosting the concert at the college, we emphasized the importance of education as an indispensable tool for advancing cultural exchange and tolerance”
For information about our other activities see here
"The connecting Hamza" association initiates connecting Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians, through learning each other's language.
The purpose of this learning is to provide a basis for an ongoing process of getting familiar with the meanings and nuances that are embedded in each language in order to pave the road to understanding the cultures and traditions of the participants.
The process of teaching each other creates bonding on a personal level through a combination of fun and challenge.
The process will include, among other things, educational and cultural workshops, such as: sharing authentic Arabic and Israeli music, food, lectures, watching films and discussing them and tours that allow experiencing the togetherness through fun, non-political activities.
Getting to know each other on a personal level allows the participants to overcome the barrier of fear, suspicion and dehumanization of the other.
Hamzah (Arabic: همزة) (ء) is a phonemic glottal stop in Arabic that is produced at the beginning of uttering a sound. More precisely, hamzat QaTaA is a sound that blocks the vocal tract.
However, the name of our non-governmental organization is derived from hamzat wasil (hamzat al-wasil همزة الوصل) which, UNLIKE the hamzat QaTaA, does not block the vocal tract but rather helps connecting and merging the sounds of two words.
This phenomenon symbolizes the purpose of our activities: to connect people from both sides on an individual level through language despite the barriers; Despite the "hamzat QaTaA": the obstacle that blocks the progress, the flow and the connection.
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The Connecting Hamza / המזת החיבור 