Hebrew-Arabic Children’s Songs from the Mediterranean, Israel

For hundreds of years, the Hebrew and Arab languages are part of a shared culture. Songs, passed down from parent to child, authentically reflect the many faces and the beauty of the culture.

We would like to share this beauty, with the belief that it has the power to enrich children’s educational and emotional experiences, to deepen the relationship between the young generation and the wealth of previous ones.

Based on the success of the Piyut in Kindergartens program and based on the connections that have been created in the educational System, we offer to create a repertoire of Songs accompanied with  educational materials and an implementation plan that will be offered to a wide circles in Jewish and Arab communities.

We plan to:

• Create an attractive and accessible  repertoire that will faithfully represent the cultures
• Create a high Level musical production that will be widely accepted
• To Recruit to the Project leading figures in the World of Music, Culture and Education from the Jewish-Israeli and Palestinian society
• To Work together with leading partners in the Education System in order to implement the songs into to the curriculum and everyday life of Kindergartens and Schools

Yair Harel is a world-renowned Israeli performer, artistic director, and community organizer, active in the revival and contemporary interpretation of the ancient art of Piyut (liturgical Hebrew poetry) in Israel and abroad, that has revolutionized the face of Israeli culture in the last decade.

Founding Member of the "Oman Chai" Musical Ensemble Directed By the great composer Andre Hajdu (2001), founding member in the "Singing communities" project (2002), founder and Editor in chief of the Invitation to Piyut website since 2004, artistic director of the Ben Zvi Piyut Vocal Ensemble since 2006, artistic director of The Jerusalem Piyut Festival in Beit Avi chai since 2008, Hazan and Music Director of congregation ZION in Jerusalem since 2012, Harel was a Shustermann artist in residence at UC Berkeley (2014) and has also taught at the Hebrew University, The Center for Eastern Classical Music in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, and The Jerusalem Academy High School for Music and Dance.