Handmade in Israel: Koolulam

Tuesday, 10 July 2018

Koolulam at the Tower of David

Photo credit: Tali Raz

The idea of Koolulam is simply to stop everything for a few hours and just sing - together. Koolulam is a social-musical initiative aimed at bringing together people from all corners of Israel's diverse, multi-cultural society. In under an hour, participants learn a three-part arrangement of a Hebrew or English song, and then perform it for a video to be shared on social media.
Back in June I had the opportunity to join in a singalong of Bob Marley's "One Love" at Jerusalem’s Tower of David. It was an amazing experience, notwithstanding that we entered the ancient citadel at five minutes to midnight and didn't return home till around 4.30am!
Koolulam's popularity has soared since it kicked off in Tel Aviv in April 2017, with Israelis jumping at the opportunity to come together and sing with thousands of strangers. Tickets sell out in minutes and views of the videos reach into the hundreds of thousands. When the tickets became available for the Koolulam event at Migdal David (the Tower of David), I grabbed them with both hands!

Photo credit: Tali Raz

Koolulam was founded by Ben Yefet, Michal Shahaf Shneiderman and Or Taicher. Taicher, a 33-year-old director, screenwriter and social activist, saw a video of worshippers packed into the plaza in front of the Western Wall, praying in unison and fervour on Yom Kippur. It sparked off the idea behind Koolulam: That music and creativity could be used to unite Israelis of all backgrounds, regardless of their political views or affiliations, on a mass scale.

Shneiderman takes credit for the project's catchy name. It’s a play on the English word "cool," the Hebrew word "kulam" (everyone), the Hebrew word "kol" (voice), and "kululu," the ululation sound of joy some Israelis of North African and Middle Eastern descent make at happy occasions like bar mitzvahs and weddings.

Photo credit: Tali Raz

Yefet, a talented music educator and conductor, is the musical engine behind Koolulam. He creates the arrangements for the songs, taught "One Love" to us at Migdal David in about 45 minutes, and then conducted the recording. He was fun, brimming with enthusiasm and bursting with energy. By the end, everyone was jumping up and down and smiling at the people all around them.

"One Love" was recorded on the night of Eid al-Fitr, a holiday marking the end of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting and introspection. The recording coincided with the Jerusalem visit of Kyai Haji Yahya Cholil Staquf, Secretary General of Indonesia-based Nahdlatul Ulama, the world’s largest Muslim organisation with more than 60 million members. Staquf had seen a Koolulam video and contacted the organisation to say he was coming to Israel and wanted to be part of an interfaith social music event.

We entered the citadel of Migdal David shortly before midnight and were handed lyric sheets and divided into soprano, alto and baritone groups, before spending the next 45 minutes learning our parts.

Now this is probably the time for me to admit that I really can't sing! I loved the idea of participating in a Koolulam performance but was worried about my voice. I was reassured that the whole thing isn't really about the music or quality of the singing. With that many people, you can’t clearly hear one voice. Phew!

Yefet conducted five takes of "One Love", combining 1,000 voices, including my own rather off-key one. We sang in three languages - Arabic, Hebrew and English - along with Jewish, Muslim and Christian groups that took part in the event. The atmosphere was electric!

I must admit that I was, ahem, rather tired the following morning, when I had to be at a school end-of-year ceremony for my youngest son at 10am, but it was so worth it. What could be more exciting than a singalong in such a historic location, in a city where so many people fight for being there, in the middle of the night?

"One Love", Jerusalem, June 2018. A night to remember!