To raise awareness of Israeli government plans to expel 51 members of Dimona’s Hebrew Israelite community, NIF has produced a video clip (see below) of the community’s prodigious musical talent. Their appeal against the expulsion was recently dismissed by Israel’s authorities.
The twelve-minute clip was produced by the social-cultural venture Succulent Sessions. The musicians are familiar to many Israelis, having appeared in clips with prominent artists including Jonathan Mergui, Noga Erez, Yasmin Mualem, and many others.
The first of two sessions filmed has already been released and features Dimona’s Hebrew Israelite gospel band with producer Itay Drabkin and guitarist Tomer Katz. The session opens with the gospel classic “When the Saints Go Marching In,” identified with the old jazz of New Orleans, and ends with “It’s Alright.”