Songs of healing and stories of strength as HaShayara returns to the US

This October marks two years since the horrific attacks of October 7, 2023, two years of war in Israel, of hostages still held, of grief and loss, but also of heroism, resilience, and the determination to rebuild. HaShayara (The Convoy), a troupe of Israeli musician-educators from Dror Israel, will embark on its third US tour, carrying a message of memory, resilience, and hope through music and story. On this painful anniversary, the story of Israel becomes inseparable from the story of American Jewry, joined together in music, remembrance, and the unshakable will to move forward.

Dror Israel musicians share songs of resilience across the US this October. Photo credit: The Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh

HaShayara was born in the days immediately following the attacks, when Dror Israel educators loaded their instruments into cars and traveled across the country to sing for evacuees, soldiers, and children who had lost everything. Music became a lifeline, a way to grieve, to reconnect, and to remind people that community could endure. Two years later, the convoy continues that work, partnering with municipalities, regional councils, and local leadership in Israel’s north and south to support families returning home after long evacuations. Through these collaborations, HaShayara creates programs that help communities share their stories after being scattered and begin to rebuild through the power of song.

Their journey now reaches far beyond Israel, with performances in Jewish communities across the United States and coverage in The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post, both capturing how HaShayara brings healing and strength through music.

The musicians of HaShayara are Dror Israel educators deeply rooted in their communities. Stav Simana, from Dror's Educators Kibbutz in Sderot, lives less than two miles from the Gaza border and helps neighborhood residents turn trauma into creation. In Karmiel, preschool teacher Shachar Romney has spent the past two years welcoming children many mornings after nights in bomb shelters. Each member of the convoy carries such a journey, and together they weave these experiences into music, offering audiences the same steady presence they provide to their students and neighbors back home.

Music becomes a prayer for those still held captive and for the hope of their return.

Each gathering with HaShayara is more than a concert. As organizer Gilad Perry explains: “It’s not a performance, it’s a convoy, a connective experience. We bring people with us.” Their program blends Hebrew and English songs, Israeli and American-Jewish culture, creating a shared space that is both accessible and deeply moving. Singing together becomes a kind of therapy, an opportunity to hold grief collectively, release pain, and transform sorrow into strength. Their repertoire includes Coming Home, the anthem for the hostages, as well as Country Roads in Hebrew, adapted by October 7 survivor Noa Hubara while she and her children were evacuated, turning a beloved song into an anthem of longing for home.

With every performance, HaShayara brings communities together through song, weaving bonds of memory, resilience, and hope.

This October, HaShayara’s third US tour will bring this spirit of solidarity to communities across the country:

• October 5 — Detroit, MI

• October 5 — Omaha, NE

• October 9 — Brooklyn, NY

• October 11 — South Orange, NJ

• October 12 — Westchester, NY

Before joining us in person, you can experience HaShayara’s music online: watch “Hallelujah” and their heartfelt rendition of “Country Roads” adapted by Noa Hubara for a glimpse of the power and spirit they bring to every gathering.

Each stop offers a chance to commemorate October 7, to stand together across continents, and to renew the commitment to build, repair, and hope for a better future.

We invite you to join HaShayara on this journey.