Ain’t no party like a hip-hop party

The Women’s Gathering dances in the face of violence.

By ARIEL HENDELMAN
Updated: OCTOBER 15, 2015 15:16
MC Ziffi (a.k.a. Sharon Casper) performs at the hip-hop celebration (photo credit: DAVID ABITBOL)
MC Ziffi (a.k.a. Sharon Casper) performs at the hip-hop celebration
(photo credit: DAVID ABITBOL)
Despite the national crisis and the violence going on in the streets, the show must and did go on when the Women’s Gathering hosted a hip-hop dance party at the Bessarabia bar in the center of the city on October 8. The event featured a female DJ, two female rappers and breakdancers.
Women’s Gathering founder Sarah Weil says, “It was really important for me to not cancel the event. There were radical protests going on outside, but I felt that I had a duty to the gay community in particular, and to Jerusalem in general, that even in times of crisis, we would come out and be together.”
There was a massive police presence and armed security guards outside. The streets were otherwise desolate. But Weil, who spent a month putting the event together, felt that the show must go on.
“We have this event so people feel that they’re not just stuck in their houses, afraid to go outside. We’re cautious, but we’re not afraid,” she explains.
It was also important for the city itself, as many Jerusalem businesses are suffering during this time. People are not going out to patronize the local businesses the way they usually do. It was important for Weil to bring people to Bessarabia, a local establishment that would have otherwise been empty. Approximately 150 people were confirmed on Facebook; but given all the violence, Weil thought that if she had 25 attendees it would be a great success. In the end, there were about 80 people.
“It was really remarkable!” Weil exclaims. “The temptation was very high to close ourselves in our houses in fear, but the people who came showed that they were not afraid. This strengthens the women’s gay community in Jerusalem and the Jerusalem community in general. The streets are empty, but it’s warm inside.”
Women’s Gathering hosts monthly events that support not only the female LGBTQ community of Jerusalem but also women in general, empowering them and bringing them together. The parties are held at different venues each time, thus each event requires a different approach to make it appropriate for the space.
Weil says, “Bessarabia is this underground den of a bar. They host hip hop and reggae parties and have a great sound system. It has a very funky, eclectic character. I thought it would be cool to have a hip-hop party there.”
Weil decided to bring in one of the best-known DJs in Tel Aviv, Michal Serr, who played a full, exclusively hip-hop set. Serr has played at Women’s Gathering events in the past but never at one quite like this.
“It was very special for me because I support the community,“ Serr explains. “And on that night, it was even more important because I believe we need to go on, and music is a really good way to do that. It makes you happy, and it lets you forget what’s going on outside the dance floor.”
Perhaps the most significant aspect of the Women’s Gathering is the diversity of its participants.
The women who attend span the spectrum politically and socioeconomically.
This point was embodied by the two female rappers who performed at the party, Oshra and MC Ziffi (a.k.a. Sharon Casper).
“It’s a very broad spectrum of people who come,” says Weil.
“We saw that represented in the rappers themselves. Sharon is a radical leftist activist, who belongs to a marching band that travels Israel protesting the occupation. Oshra is a religious Zionist who lives in Gush Etzion. We had both of them rapping together on stage in Jerusalem during a time when the city is incredibly polarized.”
Despite the differences in their political stances, Oshra and Ziffi wanted to spread goodness through music. Performing together on stage, they could well have been the poster girls for the Women’s Gathering itself.
“I’m not just producing parties here; we’re building a community and creating a space where people who would never normally come together come together, share a drink and have a conversation. It has always been my hope that LGBTQ identity could be used as a way to bring people from different parts of society together to discuss really difficult issues.
When I see that happening at the Women’s Gathering, it’s a big success for me,” says Weil.
Oshra adds, “It was super fun. Without men, there is less competitive energy, which anyways there is a lot of in hip hop, so it was nice without all the testosterone. I hate that; I never prop myself. I have a message, and I’m about conscious hip hop. It was an ego-free party.”
Oshra and Ziffi have known each other for years and performed together numerous times.
They took the Bessarabia stage and seamlessly passed the microphone back and forth, letting the freestyles flow over hypnotic beats. The crowd was visibly enraptured.
Says Oshra, “I have friends from all political perspectives; I don’t need them to share the same beliefs as me. It’s the same with rapping; I can keep politics out. I like to talk about hippy-dippy stuff like peace, love, light and oneness. If it’s all done with respect, then that’s what’s important.”
Ziffi echoes the sentiment: “It was a great experience. I usually go to Bessarabia because it’s very sweet and homey, but it’s always more manly, like all the bars and all the music scenes. So I had a great time performing at the Women’s Gathering. Oshra and I have really good chemistry, even though politically we’re very different.”
The message of the Women’s Gathering was this, if nothing else: Despite the violent climate, women can come together and create a space where music and positivity flow freely.
Says Serr, “I truly believe in free love. So anything that has the message of togetherness, I want to be a part of it, and hip hop just makes it more fun. The bottom line is that we were privileged that we could be there and the bar was packed, even though the streets were empty.”