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Shalva Band

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U.S. President Donald J. Trump applauds the Shalva Band, performers at the Israeli American Council National Summit on December 7, 2019, in Hollywood, Florida. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)

The Shalva Band (Hebrew: להקת שלווה) is an Israeli band consisting of five disabled musicians.[1][2] The band was established in 2005 by Shai Ben-Shushan as part of his personal rehabilitation journey.[3] In collaboration with the SHALVA organizations music program, which supports and empowers individuals with disabilities and their families in Israel, the band has been a global representative of inclusion and integration of people with disabilities in society. [4][5]

The band gained public interest in 2019 when it competed in HaKokhav HaBa,[6] a music reality show which selects the Israeli representative to the Eurovision Song Contest.[7] The band reached the final stages of qualification, but later learned that they would be required to disobey Shabbat observance during rehearsals for Eurovision. Ultimately, they decided to respect the religious beliefs of several band members and withdrew from HaKokhav HaBa.[8] The band was then invited to perform as the interval act of the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 – without violating the beliefs of any member of the band – with a cover of "A Million Dreams".[9] A few days before performing at Eurovision, the band also performed at the torch-lighting ceremony that opens the celebrations of the Israeli Independence Day.[10][11]

Band members

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  • Anael Shira Khalifa (vocals) — one of the main vocalists of the band, visually impaired. She started singing at the age of five and immigrated to Israel from France at the age of eight. “Despite our challenges, music gives us the ability to see the light in everything. And gives us the strength to continue and connect between worlds...”[12]
  • Dina Samte (vocals) — Dina immigrated to Israel at the age of ten from Manipur in India. Dina, who became blind at the age of 6, learned Hebrew through music. In 2017 Dina was chosen to light one of  the Israel Independence Day torches at the official state ceremony.[13][14]
  • Yosef Ovadia (drums) — Yosef is diagnosed with Williams syndrome. Yosef joined the band as a singer and when his voice changed he started playing drums.[15]
  • Yair Vomberg (percussions) — Yair is diagnosed with Down syndrome. Yair is a graduate of the Shalva organisation, today living independently in the Shalva supervised homes. In addition to Yair music career, he works in the ceramic workshop and the tea factory in the Shalva center.[16]
  • Shai Ben-Shushan (founder and musical director) — Shai is a musician and drummer. Shai established the band as part of his personal rehabilitation journey after being seriously injured in the IDF. [3][17]

Band activity

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The band has performed in Israel and around the world in conferences, cultural events, and in ceremonies, including the official residence of the President of Israel.[18][19] The band has gone on international tours including performances to North and South America and Europe.[20][21] Their American debut was for the Israeli American Council,[22] where they performed for President Donald Trump[23] and summit attendees.[24] The band has cooperated with leading musicians from Israel, including Shlomi Shabat, Avraham Fried, Moshe Peretz, Eyal Golan, David Broza, Idan Amedi, Shiri Maimon, Yonatan Razel, and Natan Goshen.[25] Internationally famous singers and actors, including Demi Lovato and Jamie Foxx, have praised the band.[26][27]

In 2019, the band competed in the Israeli music competition "the rising star". As finalists, the band withdrew from the competition due to their religious beliefs.

In 2019, the shalva band performed at Israels torch lighting ceremony, celebrating Israels 71st independence day.[11]

On May 16, 2019, the band performed the song "A Million Dreams" as the intermission act in the Eurovision contest.[9]

In May 2019, the Shlava band led a social campaign together with Bank Hapoalim under the name "The door is open for everyone" aimed at promoting the integration of people with disabilities through the signing of the integration agreement. As part of the campaign, the band launched their new song "The door is always open".[28]

In December 2019, the band appeared at the conference of the Israeli-American Community Organization (IAC), in Florida in front of then President of the United States, Donald Trump, who hugged the members of the band at the end of their performance.[18]

In May 2023, the band performed on the stage of the United Nations in Geneva, in honor of Israel's 75th Independence Day, for hundreds of diplomats.[2]

On 4 October 2023, the Shalva band performed at an international music festival with an orchestra for the blind that takes place in Seoul, South Korea, in which many countries took part including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, Korea and Israel.[29]

References

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  1. ^ Algemeiner, The (17 September 2021). "Israel's Shalva Band Performs for Online WHO Event Promoting Disability Inclusion - Algemeiner.com". www.algemeiner.com. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b Eichner, Itamar (3 May 2023). "Shalva band performs for hundreds of diplomats at UN". Ynetnews. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  3. ^ a b "INSPIRATIONAL: Meet Founder of Israel's World-Renowned Band of Special Needs Musicians | United with Israel". UWI. 30 January 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  4. ^ Matyas, Nadine (23 May 2019). "The band that inspired the world to rethink disability". The Jewish Chronicle. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  5. ^ "Israel's Shalva Band continues to make a difference". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  6. ^ staff, T. O. I. "The real winners of 2nd Eurovision semifinal? Shalva Band wows the world". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  7. ^ "The rising stars of Eurovision who pulled out of the final". BBC News. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  8. ^ Oster, Marcy (6 February 2019). "The Shalva band chooses Shabbat over representing Israel at Eurovision". The Times of Israel.
  9. ^ a b "Israel: The Shalva Band withdraws from The Next Star...but they will perform at Semi-Final 2 of Eurovision 2019". wiwibloggs. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  10. ^ Ross, Adam (11 February 2019). "The Shalva Band: Winning Israeli Hearts through Music and Jewish Values". aishcom. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  11. ^ a b Julian, Hana Levi (7 February 2019). "Shalva Band to Perform at Opening Torchlight Ceremony for Israel's 71st Independence Day Celebration". Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  12. ^ ""I've Heard There Was a Secret Chord…"". UJA-Federation of New York. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  13. ^ Hoffman, Yair (1 May 2017). "Blind Bnei Menashe Immigrant to Light Israel Independence Day Torch at Official State Ceremony". The 5 Towns Jewish Times. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  14. ^ Ynetnews (8 June 2010). "A blind musician with a dream". Ynetnews. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  15. ^ "Shalva band readies for guest gig after nixing Eurovision bid over Shabbat".
  16. ^ "המתופף של "שלוה" נכנס לדירה חדשה". www.inn.co.il. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  17. ^ "Israeli musicians with disabilities to represent Israel on world tour". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 26 October 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  18. ^ a b "Watch: Shalva Band wows President Trump". www.israelhayom.com. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  19. ^ "Shalva Band wins hearts performing at Eurovision - watch". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  20. ^ "Shalva Band 2017 Tour". Israel Connection Tours. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  21. ^ "Israeli band of disabled musicians kicks off world tour in London". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 28 November 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  22. ^ Kaplan-Mayer, Gabrielle (2 December 2019). "Popular Shalva Band That Won Hearts At Eurovision To Perform In U.S." jewishweek.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  23. ^ Day, Video of the (8 December 2019). "Watch: Shalva Band Performs for President Trump at Israeli American Council National Summit". Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  24. ^ "Shalva band makes American debut at Israeli-American Council event". The Jerusalem Post | Jpost.com. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  25. ^ "Knesset holds annual 'Songs in Their Memory' event honoring Israel's fallen soldiers". Knesset. 8 May 2019. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
  26. ^ Rudee, Eliana (2 December 2019). "A new kind of ambassador: The rise of Israel's Shalva Band and Netta Barzilai". JNS.org. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  27. ^ "Jamie Foxx praises Shalva Band". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  28. ^ עומר, ענבל (29 April 2019). "קמפיין לשילוב בעלי מוגבלויות יוצא לדרך". כלכליסט - www.calcalist.co.il. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  29. ^ "באירוע בינלאומי בסיאול: ההישג המרשים של להקת שלוה". www.maariv.co.il (in Hebrew). 4 October 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
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