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The East Bay Jewish-Palestinian Dialogue Group will sponsor a musical dialogue on June 17 at 8 p.m. at the Berkeley Arts Magnet School Theater, located on Lincoln Street between Shattuck and Milvia. The concert, entitled “Arab and Jew: A Dialogue in Music,” will feature Ohad “Udi” Bar-David, an Israeli cellist, and Simon Shaheen, a Palestinian violinist and composer. 

Bar-David and Shaheen will play Middle Eastern music, including Jewish and Arab melodies. Bar-David began playing cello at age seven in Tel Aviv. Shaheen began studying the ‘ud as a child in the Palestinian village of Tarshiha in northern Israel. They both came to America to continue their musical pursuits. 

The event will benefit Open House in Ramle, Israel, which operates the Center for Jewish-Arab Co-Existence and a day care center for Arab Children. The East Bay Jewish-Palestinian Dialogue Group began meeting in 1998. Its members include American Jews, Palestinians, and others interested in working toward a just resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. 

For reservations and information, call Faye Straus at (925) 947-1543 or Hanan Rasheed at (925) 736-8026.