DJ Raphi decided to help dispel some darkness by bringing some joy to evacuee children from Sderot, taking them around Jerusalem to hand out sufganiyot to passersby.
Raphi Nathan is a well-known DJ and dancer; not only does he run a successful events business, but he also has a very popular YouTube channel.
His YouTube channel features DJ Raphi dancing to songs, with choreographed dance moves that children can dance along to.
Dispelling the darkness
DJ Raphi told The Jerusalem Post how he came up with such an uplifting plan. "Almost every year for Hanukkah, I walk around Jerusalem with sufganiyot (round baked or deep-fried holiday pastries) and my team, offering the passersby a sufganiya if they’ll dance with me. Every video got hundreds of thousands of views. This year, unfortunately, there’s been a lot of darkness."
After having most of his events canceled, DJ Raphi had an idea: "Let's ignite the light of Hanukkah through what I do best: dance and music. Seemed a bit detached from reality, due to the current situation we are all in, but during dark times and tragedy in my life, it was the only thing that kept me going," he wrote in a Facebook post about one of his recent YouTube dance videos that reached over 250,000 views in under 24 hours on Instagram.
DJ Raphi contacted the Sderot municipality and got permission to organize this uplifting moment for the evacuee children from Southern Israel.
After the municipality gave him permission, he received access to the hotels and brought along the children who volunteered to help.
The children surprised DJ Raphi. "The kids and their families had the best time dancing, jumping, and laughing, and apparently, they knew almost all of the dances as they watched my videos after every siren to decrease their anxiety levels."
"I had a few parents come up to me and tell me that this was the most meaningful show their kids had taken part in since the war. Reactions like that are what make it all worth it."
"I came to repel the darkness, joined by the children of Sderot and the Gaza border communities of southern Israel," he wrote. "Each one of us is a small light, but combined we shine strong," he wrote. "Share the light."