What better way to connect with others in solidarity than through music? Music helps us relax, relate to others, and become more attuned to our emotions. This is why I love Israeli singer Yael Deckelbaum’s trilingual song called “Prayer of the Mothers.”
The song, which has garnered over two million views, is a reaction to the October “March of Hope” in Israel, as well as the American Women’s March, which Yael participated in.
Yael also explained what the “March of Hope” was on her Youtube page, stating:
“Thousands of women marched from the north of Israel to Jerusalem in a call for peace. A call that reached it’s peak on October 19th, in a march of at least 4,000 women, half of them Palestinian, and Half Israeli, in Qasr el Yahud (on the northern Dead Sea). The very same evening 15,000 women protested in front of the Prime Minister’s house in Jerusalem.”
The song features Israeli and Palestinian women as a way to illustrate solidarity among all women, regardless of race or religion. The women involved in the song’s making are also leading the movement of “Women Wage Peace,” which Yael explained began several years ago during an Israeli military bombardment of Gaza. The song also includes a recording of Leymah Roberta Gbowee is a Liberian peace activist.
If you live in the New York City metro area, you can see Yael perform at the Iridium on March 26-27. Don’t forget to check out the video below:
