Top Israeli pop singer Agam Buhbut, joined by singers from the IDF’s different musical groups, recorded a new song promoting connections between Israeli and Diaspora Jews in honor of “Israel Unity Day”. “My brother's keeper” was written by international political strategist Moshe Klughaft and composed by Chen Harari.
“It refers to the necessary connection between Jews around the world nowadays,” a press release explained. One of the verses talks about connecting all 15 million Jews together: "Fifteen million pieces complete a puzzle," The clip, which was released during the weekend, will be distributed to Jewish communities around the world. Buhbut is one of the top Israeli pop singers for teens and young adults. As a child, she won a talent reality tv show for children and has been performing ever since. She is now a soldier in one of the IDF army bands.
Unity Day has been celebrated since 2015, about a year after the murder of three boys who were on the way to their yeshiva high school: Eyal Ifrach, Gil-ad Shaer and Naftali Fraenkel. As part of the events, a ceremony is held at the President's residence where the Jerusalem Prize for Israel Unity will be awarded.
Bat Galim Shaar, one of the founders of Israel Unity Day and the mother of the late Gil-Ad Shaar, said: “After Holocaust Remembrance Day and Independence Day the Israel Unity Day is in my eyes, a day that brings everyone together and unites everyone under one united message: our inner strength as a people and as a country. No matter what happens in the past or what we face in the future - happily and sadly - it all begins in our unity."
![AMERICAN WRITER Joyce Carol Oates. In her upcoming acceptance of the Jerusalem Prize, she plans to note, ‘The Jerusalem Prize crystallizes these obligations [of a morally righteous society] for me even as it celebrates the enduring art of literature.’ (credit: NANCY CRAMPTON)](https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/t_JD_ArticleMainImageFaceDetect/439951 "AMERICAN WRITER Joyce Carol Oates. In her upcoming acceptance of the Jerusalem Prize, she plans to note, ‘The Jerusalem Prize crystallizes these obligations [of a morally righteous society] for me even as it celebrates the enduring art of literature.’ (credit: NANCY CRAMPTON)")
The Jerusalem Unity Prize in Memory of Eyal, Gil-ad and Naftali, and Israel Unity Day, is a joint initiative between the former Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat, the families of Eyal Ifrach, Gil-ad Shaer and Naftali Fraenkel z”l, and Gesher organization. As the week of mourning for the boys was coming to an end in the summer of 2014, Mayor Barkat and the families searched for the appropriate way to nurture the flames of unity that so engulfed the Jewish people during that time.
This year's events will take place according to the theme: "Words Create Reality". During the events that will take place in the next few weeks, there will be a call for unity among Jews across the world. The parents of the three abducted and then murdered boys met with Buhbut and the singers of the military bands and even participated in the recordings of the song in a chilling reading segment.
The Jerusalem Unity Prizes are substantial awards given to individuals, organizations, and initiatives in Israel and throughout the Jewish world whose actions are instrumental in advancing mutual respect for others amongst the Jewish people, both in times of crisis and in daily life.