Violins of Hope – An extraordinary concert in Jerusalem

In celebration of Israel’s 60th anniversary, on September 24th 2008, the famed orchestras of Istanbul, Turkey and Raanana, Israel, will reunite by the ancient walls of Jerusalem’s Old City for a once-in-a-lifetime concert featuring talented violinists from around the world and conducted by the incomparable Maestro Shlomo Mintz.

The concert will include violins that were found almost totally destroyed, in the silence of hell, in liberated camps and empty ghettos at the end of World War II. One by one, the violins have been brought back to life and, for the first time after more than 60 years of silence, they will be played under the starry Jerusalem skies. The majestic Old City walls will come alive with thousands of lights synchronized to the violin music, generating an unprecedented surrealistic image of hope and peace.

Celebrities from around the world, along with a privileged audience of 3,000, will bear witness to this celebration of music, history and survival. The proceeds from the Violins of Hope concert will be donated in full to Meir Panim’s social and humanitarian projects in Israel.

One of the rescued and restored violins is called Motele’s violin. Motele was the sole survivor of a German massacre in 1944. He escaped, clutching his cherished violin, to a forest on the Ukrainian-Byelorussian border. A group of partisans under the command of Moshe Gildenman found Moteleh, who joined their ranks.

Whilst on a mission to mingle with the Germans and scout out the situation in a nearby town on New Year’s Day, Moteleh begins playing his violin. A German officer hears him and commands him to play every evening for his army comrades in a large old building. Moteleh comes and goes with his violin case, but leaves his violin hidden in the building. He smuggles explosives in the case, arranging them in the walls, and eventually succeeding in blowing up the building full of German officers.

A few weeks later, en route to warn a Russian officer about German soldiers lying in ambush, Moteleh is killed in a forest clearing. Gildenman picks up the violin from the dust. After the war, he arrives in Israel with it. Later he gives it to his son, who passes it on to his own son in turn. For decades the worn-out violin remains half-forgotten, wrapped in old clothes in the back of a closet. A few years ago, seemingly by accident, master violin-maker Amnon Weinstein meets Gildenman’s grandson and discovers the hidden violin.

After several years of painstaking work, the refurbished violin is just about ready to come alive again, not unlike a whole people that seemed so fragile, yet has been reborn and is once more vibrating with life. For the first time after 60 years of silence, Moteleh’s violin is going to play Hatikva at the hands of a 12-year-old Israeli violinist – the same age as Moteleh when he last played his beloved instrument – the same age he will remain forever. The walls will resound with hope and be illuminated by thousands of flames and lights. Israel has now existed for 60 years, thanks in part to Moteleh.

For more information, visit Violinsofhope.org.