To understand the evolution of the Sderot-based band Shufuni, now touring the North American diaspora, you need to look at the larger picture.
In the 1980s, before the southern city became the target of rockets, it was a town of music. Israeli bands like Sfatayim, Teapacks, and Knesiyat Hasechel burst from the local music scene to nationwide success.
“In those years, music insiders referred to Sderot as the Liverpool of Israel, and in the nineties, as Israel’s Seattle,” says Ohad Peretz, an indie musician and producer, and Shufuni’s founder and manager.
A burgeoning arts scene was growing in the city. By the 2010s, a cultural phenomenon was taking place, known as Ha-Tarbush.
A group of singers, musicians, and other artists, Peretz included, formed a cooperative that gathered to make art, music, and theatre, reflecting life along the Gaza border.
By 2016, the cooperative had grown and put out a book, theatrical performance, and album called Ir Chama (The Hot City), based on the writings of local residents, collected by musicians, and adapted into songs.
With time, Peretz realized the music community needed a place to showcase its talents in a more focused format, giving young artists the opportunity to perform in the spotlight, in front of an audience, in a professional-level production.
“I saw a lot of musicians who were really good in their creative process,” explains Peretz, a Sderot native. “But everything that happened afterwards – how they could turn it into a performance – was difficult for them.”
About the band
Shufuni was officially established in 2022 and held jams and shows with a rotation of local performers, growing a following and becoming a close-knit community in its own right.
“There was a real connection between people [and] between artists. And there were collaborations,” says Peretz.
“What I didn’t expect was that the audience would become part of the community.”
Then came October 7. The Shufuni community lost members, and those who survived – both performers and audience – found themselves scattered throughout the country.
About a month after the attacks, Shufuni held an emotional musical reunion for their community in Tel Aviv at Acum’s Creative House.
In September 2023, Uria Roth came into the picture. He was working for the JCC Association of North America and the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs on a project called Mithabrim (Connecting).“I started out thinking this was going to be about bringing Israel to the JCCs and the JCCs to Israel,” Roth says. But after October 7, the concept changed.
“The priority was to bring artists and musicians from the border, the Gaza Envelope, and the North, people who lost family, survivors, and Nova survivors.”
One of the events was an online “jam session” filmed in Tel Aviv with artists from the Shufuni community for a JCC event.
“The CEO of the JCCA saw it and thought it would be a good idea to take four of them (on tour)... We hit the road about a month later,” says Roth.
Shufuni the band was created, consisting of Rotem Meir Levi, 35, and Mira Semenduev, 24, both from Sderot; Daniel Wais, 27, from Be’eri; and Linor Ein Gedy, 30, from Kibbutz Mefalsim. All members lost friends or loved ones on October 7, with Wais losing both parents.
A growing tour
What began as a two-week tour in December 2023 with shows in Colorado and Washington, D.C., was followed by two more tours, and a fourth scheduled for November 14 in Toronto.
What is unique about Shufuni is that every person involved is a standalone performer in their own right. “Each of us is our own artist, musician, [and] singer-songwriter. I think that’s sort of what makes our band special,” says Ein Gedy.
Each member plays instruments and sings backup vocals, while also taking center stage with their own compositions.
“There’s a divine connection – something from the creator of the universe, that everything came together in this perfect way,” says Meir Levi.
“From the first performances, everything clicked. And the feedback was crazy. We got a huge hug from the audience.”
Roth says it is not just the music but also the stories of the band members, who are not celebrity artists but unknown performers sharing experiences of survival, loss, and rebuilding – that pull the audience in. And while the show only lasts about an hour, he says it is what happens after the show that is so noteworthy.
“It’s overwhelming, the support. The best way to describe it is that the line of hugging and kissing after the show usually takes an hour.”
Their music is a healing instrument, says Ein Gedy, and a tool to help people connect, especially within the Jewish community. “We’re trying to bring our own perspective. We want to make an impact, bring some hope, and spread the love.”
For tickets to Shufuni in Toronto: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/bringing-music-and-conversation-inspired-by-oct-7-tickets-1063555435939