June 2, 2025
Dear JYC Global Family,
Thank God, our singers are safe.
Yesterday afternoon, as we were performing in Denver, sharing stories from the frontlines of hope and calling attention to the plight of hostages in Gaza and the citizens of Gaza who continue to pay the price of this ceaseless war, we received devastating news. Literally during our performance, and only minutes from where we had performed the previous day in Boulder, others raising some of those same stories—including some who had literally hosted us for a shabbat dinner two days before, to welcome us to Boulder—were firebombed.
It was a shocking reminder of the vital nature of our work and the extraordinary bravery of our singers to continue to do it.
Instead of the karaoke celebration we had planned after our Denver concert, we sat together in a dialogue session to process everyone’s fear. It was raw, deep, and honest. In another group of Palestinians and Israelis, the dialogue could have easily devolved into a screaming match.
But what emerged was deeply moving: instead of arguments over whose suffering was more important, or who was to blame for it, our singers shared solidarity with one another—and an understanding that our sufferings are actually intertwined. Palestinian members spoke of identifying with the fear their Israeli counterparts feel—of simply existing as themselves in a world full of hate. Israeli members reflected the same empathy back. Our singers know that in this war, we are all losing. And to stop it, it will take all of us.
Meet us on the Frontlines of Hope
That is the message of our tour—the Frontlines of Hope Tour—and what we had just brought to a full church in Boulder the previous night. The audience reception at our Boulder performance was electric—people were so excited to hear our songs and stories. Now those same communities are reeling.
Congregation Bonai Shalom—literally “Peacebuilders” in Hebrew—had been the ones to host our group when we arrived in Boulder on Friday night. And several of our hosts, who had cooked food for us, who cared for one of our Palestinian singers when she fainted from the altitude, and who had spread the word to everyone they knew about our concert the next day—were at the gathering for the Israeli hostages that was attacked. One was badly burned. This violence must be stopped—and the only way we can stop it is by escaping the vortex of us vs. them that got us here, and building a future for all.
Thank God we are safe. We are now en route to Washington, DC, where we are increasing our security measures once again. To keep our singers safe, we have made the difficult decision to stop advertising our tour on social media and to cancel the extensive outreach campaign to local media that we had just organized to fill our remaining concerts.
This is where we need your help.
Please share this to someone you know in DC and urge them to attend one of our remaining concerts. Word-of-mouth is now our primary way to reach people who need to hear these voices
Our DC Events – Tickets Still Available
June 3 @ St. Columba’s Episcopal Church
7:00pm Concert | 8:30pm VIP Reception
Tickets still available: VIP and “limited view” seats that are still well-worth the investment.
June 5 | Taste of a Shared Future: A Musical-Culinary Journey
5:30pm | 8:00pm at Nabiha DC
This is a completely unique experience—an intimate musical-culinary journey where Palestinian and Peruvian flavors meet the songs and stories of our singers. Nabiha, founded by Nesrin Abaza as a tribute to her mother born in Salfit, Palestine, and partnering with El Secreto de Rosita (named after owner Mauricio’s grandmother who raised him on an avocado farm in Ecuador, and whose grandfather survived the Holocaust), this evening transcends borders through music, storytelling, and shared experience.
You’ll experience soul-stirring, multilingual songs, personal testimonies from our young leaders, and a specially curated menu celebrating culinary traditions from across the Middle East and Latin America — with a guided conversation pairing for each course. This is not just dinner and a show—it’s a sanctuary where people gather to feel seen, speak freely, and taste what a shared future could be.
Come hungry. Come open. Come ready to listen.
If we want the future to look different, we have to invest in it now.
We are seeing in real time what happens when people with a vision of violence are the ones who get the investment, legitimacy, and air time. We need to invest in a different way, or we will continue to drown in violence like we witnessed yesterday.
Every dollar you contribute helps keep our singers safe, brings their message to more communities, and builds the infrastructure for a different kind of future—one where connection triumphs over division, where understanding overcomes fear.
The future is being built. But only if we choose to invest in it.
With gratitude and determination,
Micah, Amer, Jackie, and the Jerusalem Youth Chorus