On Oct. 6, 2023, the six members of the newly formed first ever Israeli-Palestinian boy band As1one (stylized as as1one) arrived in Los Angeles as so many groups had done before: wide-eyed, eager and committed to launching a career in music.
Within hours of landing, reality set in — their homeland had been invaded.
The morning of Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists penetrated the southern border between Israel and Gaza and launched a surprise attack on nearby villages and attendees of the Nova Music Festival, resulting in the death of 1,195 Israelis and foreign nationals, and the kidnapping of 251 people. An immediate declaration of war led to an escalation by Israel’s military and a counterattack. There remains no resolution to the conflict today, and there are still nearly 100 hostages.
Barely settling into their Hollywood Hills rental, and about to hit the studio to work on material with the likes of hit songwriters Justin Tranter (Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club”), Stephen Kirk and Jenna Andrews (BTS’ “Butter”) — having already stopped over at London’s famed Abbey Road to record debut song “All Eyes on Us” with Nile Rodgers — the guys were flooded with calls and text messages from back home.
“How is it possible for us to be able to create music with all that noise? There’s so much turmoil, so much inner conflict”, says Neta Rozenblat, who also grew up in California and New Jersey. “We landed with stars in our eyes, thinking how this is the most important thing that has happened to us. And then the next day October 7 happens. We’re losing friends, we’re seeing what’s going on in Gaza and Israel and it’s breaking our hearts.”
Rozenblat, like nearly every Israeli, knows someone who knows someone who was directly impacted by the attack. “When we were recording our song, “Stop the World,” I’m scrolling through my [phone] and I see that one of my friends was killed at the Nova festival. And then I have to go in and record a take. So, you transfer that emotion directly into the song. That’s our outlet and that’s what it’s supposed to be, to express yourself.”
“Neta and I lost very close friends two days after we moved here, everything was so overwhelming,” adds Niv Lin. “The music is what healed us, singing and being together.”
Offers Sadik Dogosh: “If we lose our hope and our faith, what else do we have? This is the only thing we have to live for. Even during the hardest time, we have to continue living, there’s no other way. And music is something we can give other people, even if they don’t fully understand what we’re trying to do with our music. They’re going to feel the lyrics, the melody, the different tones and cultures. And that’s what can change people’s minds for the better. This is our hope.”
As1one is the culmination of a two-year search for Israeli and Palestinian young male talent, spearheaded by veteran music executives James Diener and Ken Levitan, who developed Maroon 5 and Kings Of Leon, respectively, and a vision of defying politics with music in the form of a united crossover pop group.
The ambitious project was filmed as the four-part docuseries As1one: The Israeli-Palestinian Pop Music Journey, released today on Paramount+. The first episode follows the audition process and the bootcamp that took place in cooperate bi-national village Neve Shalom (Oasis of Peace, in Hebrew), located in central Israel and priding itself as a community in which Israelis and Arabs live together since 1969. One of the creative consultants during that early stage is Palestinian-Israeli musician and activist Mira Awad, who represented Israel in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, alongside Israeli singer Achinoam Nini, performing the duet “There Must Be Another Way” in Hebrew, Arabic and English.
“I was one of the people who was a little worried, asking the team, ‘What are we going to do here? What is the plan? What are we representing? Are we an Israeli band or a Palestinian band?’ And Mira Awad was one of the people who answered me that, ‘At the end, you guys choose what you want to say, to represent and to do,” explains Aseel Farah. “This is where I felt that what matters is actually what happens when the six of us sit together and look each other in the eyes, say what we’re feeling and what we want to represent. And here we are. Representing music first. And even though we come from different places, we are humans and we want to communicate and coexist. We want to have a better future, and make music”.
Farah, the rapper of the group, also confesses to living in the comment section. “I’m always that guy”, he laughs, “Things are happening in the world, we’ve received supportive messages but also very outrageous ones, like, ‘What are you guys doing? You’re tone-deaf’. We know the truth of As1one and what we want to show. As a Palestinian, I know what I want to ignore and what I don’t want to be whitewashed for us the Palestinians. But how I communicate that to the world is kind of tough. And this is where I’m relying on myself and the people who comment and how they receive that. I don’t look at statistics and how many people comment on what. I look at the good points. Some comments can give a new way to communicate with people who didn’t get it before. And I think, how can I do better next time? Most of them are untrue, opinionated people that don’t care what the band stands for. But others will be more about how to represent who we are and those help and I want that guidance in some way.”
Online backlash is not unfamiliar for music acts upon announcing a tour stop in Israel. Yet despite calls for boycott, the lively concert scene remained resilient before the war, with such artists as Imagine Dragons, One Republic and Jennifer Lopez performing in Tel Aviv at the top of the decade. In fact, on Oct. 7, 2023, Bruno Mars was scheduled to play in Israel.
“For me, it’s difficult to watch because we do see a lot of people abandon Israel or Palestine and won’t go there, we see the effect, and it makes me sad”, says Nadav Philips. “When we will get the chance to perform, everywhere will be welcomed. We’re performing for people, not governments. Music is our truth, the one language we can all relate to. We really hope that everyone, regardless of what they believe in, they can still love our music. And this is something we really want to promote.”
The band members cite diverse influences, including R&B, folk-pop, reggae and Bedouin Sheilat music.
“What’s special about us is that you’ll hear six completely different answers to that question, and that makes our music unique, everyone has a different color and tone”, said Ohad Attia. “People think Israelis living with Palestinians is impossible. But we’re here together and we are not different. We have different opinions which we talk about. But it’s fine as long as you accept and listen. We don’t think it will solve the wars around the world, but we just hope that this will change even a few people’s minds.”
And, what’s the dream?
“The dream is to be the biggest pop group in the world”, proclaims Rozenblat, “Of course, we are Israelis and Palestinians who represent something that is bigger than just us as individuals, and our altruistic wish is for that to somehow represent the future within reach. People watch the news and make their assumptions about where we’re from and choose their side. And they’ll forget that there are people behind these headlines and videos. They’ll go out and protest. For us, it’s our families and friends, what we experience on our flesh. It’s important for us to bring humanity back.”
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