On Thursday, March 16, Yonatan Shapira, a graduate of the School for Peace and a facilitator at the School for Peace, launched his debut album Numu Numu in a special concert to a full house at the Peace Library in Wahat Al-Salam ~ Neve Shalom.

Yonatan Shapira is one of the writers of the 2003 pilots letter which was signed by 27 pilots who refused to carry out assassination attacks and targeted killings that could harm civilians.

The album deals with Shapira’s journey of going from a fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force to becoming a refuser of army service and a political activist against the occupation and for peace.

In the first single, “Ceremony Boy” (Yeled Tkasim) from his album, an almost autobiographical song, Yonatan sings about his upbringing as a child, “I was a ceremony boy from Ramat HaSharon, I wore a white shirt on memorial days, I recited ‘Remember’ and read names of the fallen”. In later lines he continues describing his journey and the reactions he faced as he went from the ceremony boy to an activist, and he sings, “I was a ceremony a boy, I still am, though the visuals have somewhat changed. The shows goes on, the wire is still wrapped around, it’s funny how I also wanted my memory to be blessed.”

Watch Yonatan Shapira perform “Ceremony Boy” at the Peace Library