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Peace Bell Proceeds to Village
Singer, visual artist and activist Michael Patrick Kelly brought his Peace Bell to the Sylt art fair in Germany. Wahat al Salam Neve Shalom members Evi and Eyas Guggenheim Shbeta were onstage to receive the donation from bell sales and a special surprise
Monday 4 October 2021, by
Singer, visual artist and activist Michael Patrick Kelly brought his Peace Bell to the Sylt art fair in Germany. Wahat al Salam Neve Shalom members Evi and Eyas Guggenheim Shbeta were onstage to receive the donation from bell sales and a special surprise/
As part of the project, Kelly has been raising funds since 2018, through the sale of "mini-Peace Bells," to benefit Wahat al Salam Neve Shalom. A highlight of the event was the presentation of the proceeds from this campaign to WASNS members Evi and Eyas Guggenheim Shbeta, who represented the village at the event. They were invited to speak about the outreach educational peace work for which all the funds will be applied.
What is a Peace Bell? Since 2018, singer and artist Michael Patrick Kelly has been casting full-sized and mini–Peace Bells from scrap metal left from WWI ordinance. Inspired by the Jewish-Palestinian love story of Evi and Eyas Gugenheim Shbeta – which encapsulates, in a way, the story of Arab-Jewish life in Wahat al Salam Neve Shalom – Kelly has been selling the mini–Peace Bells to raise funds for the peace-directed binational educational work carried out in the village. A large version of the bell accompanies Kelly on tour, and he strikes it onstage before observing a minute of silence in his concerts. The Peace Bell project, as described by Kelly, becomes a meeting point for everyone who has recognized the importance of cohesion in our world full of turmoil, division and war. The project promotes tolerance and international understanding at the cultural and educational level. As such it has gained wide support as well as sponsorship by the Deutsche Postcode Lotterie.
Kelly, Evi and Eyas met onstage at this year’s Sylt Art Fair, a prestigious, month-long event in Germany. Dr. Michael Jarzembowski, of the Board of Directors of the German Association of Friends of Neve Shalom Wahat al Salam, made the long trip to Sylt to be there for the occasion.
A surprise awaited Evi and Eyas as they stood onstage to accept the check in the name of the What al-Salam Neve Shalom and to say a few words about the peace outreach projects the money will fund. They were presented with a second check – a large colorful one in a gold cardboard envelope. This one was from the Deutsche Postcode Lotterie, which donates a portion of its revenue to charities across Germany and beyond.
They also returned with a small Peace Bell – like the ones sold in the initiative – that will be hung in the school grounds.
For a video of the presentation
All photos by Charlotte Ebers.
