With Roi in New York City - April 9, 2009

This past week, I attended a seder at the home of my good friend, Israeli journalist Roi Ben-Yehuda. (Read about the multifaith, modern seder Roi prepared here).

Roi’s gotten a lot of love on this blog, but also deserving of some major props is his brother, Yoni – aka “Sneakas”, a very talented rap artist. He’s not your average lyricist or performer – he turns his time on the mic into action for positive social change. I met Sneakas two years ago, when I learned that he’s hard at work using his music to promote constructive dialogue between Jews and Muslims.

Me with Sneakas - April 8, 2009

But Sneakas has taken his message of understanding a step further: he’s collaborating with Mazzi, another young rap artist. Mazzi’s an Iranian Muslim, and together they are “Most Hated” – a smart, powerful rap duo that’s set to change both the music scene and the minds and hearts of Israelis, Palestinians, Jews, Muslims and others the world over. Their single “Tug of War” tells the story of a young Israeli soldier and a would-be suicide bomber from Palestine meeting face to face. Watch the video by clicking here. Please watch through to the end – Sneakas and Mazzi explain the video in a behind-the-scenes commentary you shouldn’t miss.