Crossing boundaries via Hip-Hop: System Ali

System Ali is a unique multi-lingual hip-hop troupe, made up of nine musicians. The group -- founded in the Ajami neighborhood in Jaffa more than a decade ago -- creates music in four languages: Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, and English. They embody an inspiring multicultural spirit. 

They also run a non-profit organization called Beit System Ali (House of System Ali) that brings multi-lingual hip-hop workshops to youth around the country, particularly to lower-income areas.

Life in Israel can be tense. Too often people are pitted against each other because they come from different "tribes." They might be Arab and not Jewish, or Russian and not Sabra, or Mizrahi and not Ashkenazi.  

System Ali gives voice to all of these narratives (and others). And they have shown -- through art, personal example, and community --  how these strands can be woven into a single, rich fabric.  

All kids deserve the chance to get to know each other, to hear from one another and to create! That's why we are raising $10,000 to help Beit System Ali bring multi-lingual hip-hop workshops to diverse groups of kids around the country.

We need to do this now, so that the program can kick off with the start of the school year.

This work will be featured as part of a planned Bat Bayit Festival: System Ali’s flagship program -- a stage and creative meeting place that is multi-lingual, inclusive, diverse, and challenging.  

The festival includes poetry, dance, and music performances in different languages and genres, by local community ensembles. The creators, the participants, and the diverse audience are exposed to a wide range of cultural creativity -- from Ethiopian dance, to Arab poetry -- exposing the cultural wealth that exists in the communities of this land.

Music can be a tool for self-expression, for building new partnerships, and for making change. And all it takes is for people like us to step up and take part!