Jerusalem Youth Chorus planned ‘Got Talent’ audition after Oct. 7
Israeli-Palestinian acappella group has been meeting throughout months of war, wanted reality show performance to have big impact
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
It’s been an absolute whirlwind for the Jerusalem Youth Chorus, the acappella choir that wowed the audience and judges of reality show “America’s Got Talent” in their audition earlier this week.
“We are excited to see what happens as a result of this performance and how our message and program can impact more people,” Micah Hendler, the choir’s founder and artistic director, told The Times of Israel.
The group of 20 teens and young adults are currently on their second US tour since the Hamas terror attack of October 7, having previously visited in April in a trip that had been scheduled for fall 2023, but was postponed due to the outbreak of the war in Gaza.
The chorus already knew about their acceptance to the show’s auditions before April, said Hendler, who wasn’t allowed to share many details about the audition process while in the midst of it.
International groups have long been allowed to participate in auditions for the musical reality show.
During that spring trip, the choir’s stops included performances in Virginia and Washington, DC, where they shared a traditional Ramadan iftar meal in Northern Virginia, enjoyed a performance by a Muslim American youth choir, and performed at a Washington, DC synagogue, according to a PBS news report.
“Our singers have been meeting throughout the war and worked super-hard to prepare for the show, both musically and for our message,” Hendler said.
Hendler, who founded the chorus in 2012, and Amer Abu Arqub, the choir’s executive director who joined the choir as a teen, later studying and practicing law, were still determined to carry off the tour after the October 7 attacks.
“We decided to go for AGT in this time because we wanted our singers’ voices to have as big an impact as we could imagine — to have a chance to help shift the global conversation about what is possible,” Hendler wrote in a Facebook post after the successful audition.
“It has meant the world to our singers that they could lean on each other during this war,” he wrote. “We have met every week for singing and dialogue even in these hardest of times. Even as our singers have vastly different experiences and opinions, they hold space for one another too.”
Hendler added that he and “America’s Got Talent” judge Simon Cowell — who cast the first of four votes for the group — had “a beautiful conversation about the importance of our work in this moment,” wrote Hendler. “We are tapping into a collective thirst for an alternative to the world we are seeing. Look to our kids—they are leading the way.”
The Jerusalem Youth Chorus performed Phillip Phillips’s “Home” at their Tuesday night audition for “America’s Got Talent,” some wearing “Bring Them Home” earrings, necklaces and pins, referring to the ongoing effort to release the 120 remaining hostages in Gaza.
At the front of the stage, Hendler, beaming with pride, conducted his choral group during the Tuesday night audition.
