Brothers Niv, left, and Or Oliel, rear, play with another musician in a performance in Israel. They and their brother, Muti, will perform as the band Mishpachat Oliel at the Union Y and the Central JCC.
If you go
What: Mishpachat Oliel performing as part of the Yom Ha’atzmaut — Israeli Independence Day — celebrations
Where: YM-YWHA of Union County, Union
When: Wednesday, April 29, 5:30 p.m.
Featuring: Israeli videos, food, children’s crafts, dance, and merchandise
Admission: Free
Contact: 908-289-8112
Where: JCC of Central New Jersey, Scotch Plains
When: Thursday, April 30, 6 p.m.
Featuring: Israeli flag-making, face painting, and a special Israel program for teens; pizza dinner will be served.
Admission: Concert only: $5 per adult, $3 per child (under 2 free); pizza dinner: additional $10 per family. Advance registration is requested by Friday, April 24.
Contact: Michael Goldstein, mgoldstein@jccnj.org or 908-889-8800, ext. 218.
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April 23, 2009
When the Mishpachat Oliel band performs at two community Yom Ha’atzmaut celebrations next week, they will deliver an important message along with their songs: the band members’ hometown of Sderot is not just a victim of rocket attacks; it is also a community whose strength is expressed through its music.
Niv, Or, and Muti Oliel — the singing brothers of Mishpachat Oliel — will perform at the YM-YWHA of Union County on Wednesday, April 29, and at the JCC of Central New Jersey on Thursday, April 30.
Their appearance will also be the fulfillment of a dream of Sael Abecassis. Almost as soon as the Central federation’s shaliah knew he had been selected to come to New Jersey as an emissary for Israel, he began dreaming about bringing over other people from his hometown of Sderot.
With the upcoming performances of Mishpachat Oliel, he said, that dream “will become a reality.”
The reason for Abecassis’ pursuit of this particular dream, he said, is to show another side of that Sderot. Known as a victim of Hamas rocket attacks, Sderot is the focus of much community organizing, both to help the people there deal with the incessant danger and to convey to others the impact of Palestinian aggression. But there is another aspect of the town that speaks to its strength — its flourishing music scene.
Even in the face of eight years of bombardment, the 25,000-strong population has developed a national reputation for its residents’ musical achievements. Much of the credit for that, according to Abecassis, goes to Haim Oliel, the father of the three Oliel brothers.
The Oliel family’s story is much like Abecassis’. Haim’s parents came to Sderot from Morocco in the 1950s and stayed to raise their family there. Haim loved his parents’ music, but he was just as enthusiastic about modern Western music, like that of Pink Floyd and other rock groups.
He helped establish a cafe where he and others could perform, and he became known for doing Moroccan music with a rock beat, generating a uniquely Israeli sound. In recent years, he and some colleagues invited in local teens, providing them with a place to rehearse in what was actually a bomb shelter, now known as Sderock. It has become a haven where the kids can blast out all their anxiety and frustration and fuse it into something they love. A number of top Israeli performers have emerged from Sderock, attracting media attention in Europe and in the United States.
Along the way, Haim’s three sons absorbed his passion for music and became adept with a variety of instruments. They play together and with other musicians.
Abecassis said, “When people see a band this good from an area like Sderot, which has suffered so much, it shows that young people are staying there. It shows we can make it, and we will win.”
Speaking from Israel before the band’s departure, Niv Oliel said, “We want to show that life goes on in Sderot no matter what we have to face. People are making good music here.”
Comment: comments@njjewishnews.com
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