Born in Kuwait to a family of Iraqi Jews, Saleh and Daoud Al-Kuwaity were one of the most celebrated musical duos in Iraq from the late 1920s until 1950. In 1950, following growing nationalism and anti-semitism, they emigrated for Israel, where their career took a nosedive, while in Iraq, with the advent of the Ba'ath Party, Jewish musicians and composers became non-persons -- their names were not allowed to be mentioned. Now, with the demise of Saddam, the huge contribution of the al-Kuwaity brothers to Arab popular music is beginning to be recognised once again.
To mark the centenary of Saleh al-Kuwaity's birth, we will be telling the remarkable story of the Al-Kuwaity  brothers in pictures, words and music.

 With:
Yeheskel Kojaman, author
Sara Manasseh, ethnomusicolgist and performer of Music of the Babylonian Jews
Ehsan Aleman ('oud: Arab lute)
Sohaib al-Rajab (joza: spike fiddle)

Event organized in collaboration with Harif: www.harif.org