This chapter looks at the life and music of Yair Dalal. Dalal is a self-proclaimed “Arab Israeli Jew” and is actively trying to promote peace between Arabs and Israelis, especially in regard to the conflicts that have plagued Palestine and Israel for the past several decades. Dalal uses his own identity as evidence of unity between both Arabs and Jews. Both of Dalal’s parents are Iraqi and Jewish, which, Dalal says, gives him the right to both identities. Dalal wishes to promote the idea that these two identities are not so different and have a common history and culture of being “desert peoples.”
Yair Dalal’s music is his main tool to promote this common “desert culture” and history. In regard to his own musical background, Dalal is a masterful oud player and violin player. The oud, an instrument that could be seen as an ancestor to the guitar, is a fretless plucked instrument typically associated with having Arab roots going back 3000 years. Indeed, some of the best Iraqi oud players over the past century were Jewish. The violin, on the other hand, has been adopted by Jewish communities all over the world for centuries. Dalal’s playing of both these instruments is a further example of his “duel” identity as both an Arab and a Jew.
After many years of study, Dalal became a master of Babylonian music, which is a musical tradition that is equally enjoyed by both Jews and Arabs. This music goes back thousands of years and creates this common “desert culture.” Here is Dalal playing a piece called, Samai Wachi Al’ Naharein on the oud.
Yair Dalal also composes original pieces that piece together both Jewish and Arab music. The lyrics are sung in both Jewish and Arabic. To the non-speaking listener, one here’s one style, one language; a compositional style that Dalal is using to create a sense of unity. Here is his piece, Through the Mist of Your Eyes.