Jazz with Palestine is a growing movement of jazz and swing dancers across Europe using music, dance, and political action to stand with the Palestinian people and raise awareness, solidarity, and funds in the face of ongoing injustice.
Some of us have longstanding connections to Palestine. We’ve been there, witnessed apartheid first-hand, and listened to the voices of Palestinian friends who continue to share the urgent needs and deep aspirations of their people.
We believe that Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and beyond need our support now, perhaps more than ever.
Jazz, born from the resistance and resilience of the African American community, is not just music or dance. It is a cultural form rooted in the fight against racial and colonial oppression. Today, Europe is home to some of the largest and most vibrant swing dance scenes in the world. But while our dance floors are full, our governments remain complicit in genocide.
It is precisely because of this contradiction that we must act.
The joy we find in jazz is the fruit of painful histories. As dancers, we cannot remain silent. We cannot normalize a genocide that is being broadcast live.
Those behind Jazz with Palestine—and the many who’ve already joined—are united by our love for jazz not just as music or dance, but as a living Black American art form and a historical force for resistance. We believe this community can and must extend its solidarity to Palestinians in their fight for a future of dignity, joy, and freedom, free from apartheid, displacement, and decades of suffering.
Our mission is to raise awareness in the jazz and swing communities, and to support Palestinians through direct action and moral commitment. We’re currently raising funds for the In’ash al-Usra association, a well-established Palestinian NGO in Al-Bireh, to provide essential on-the-ground support.
At the same time, we’re organizing talks, meetings, and educational events to help dismantle the racist and orientalist narratives that continue to distort European perceptions of Palestinians. We aim to raise Palestinian voices in our cultural spaces and make them heard.
The Berlin dance community will host a social dance fundraiser on Monday, July 28th. The evening begins with a samba-inspired Brazilian jazz dance class, followed by a night of social dancing to an eclectic mix of swing, rhythm & blues, Latin jazz, cumbia, disco, and house, there will also be performances from different dance groups. Everyone is welcome—whether you’re a regular on the dance floor or stepping into it for the first time.
👉 More info and event details here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DL9nKSesNY3/
👉 You can also donate directly: https://www.gofundme.com/f/Sponsoring-orphaned-children-Gaza-Strip
This is just the beginning.
Jazz with Palestine will continue to grow through dance, through dialogue, through resistance. We envision a future where joy and justice are not in contradiction and we invite you to dance with us in the direction of liberation.
