Micah Hendler on How Inclusion Reduces Extremism

Before I get to Micah Hendler’s bio, I want to acknowledge there are things in this conversation, there are themes in this conversation, there are ideas in this conversation, that I don’t agree with. And if you look back to our podcast guests in the past, we have tried to bring a variety of people to the podcast for dialogue and to learn other people’s perspectives. And just because you’re learning it doesn’t mean you have to agree with it. So, as you’re listening to today’s conversation, I would hope that there are elements that you disagree with me on or disagree with Micah on. And that’s okay. We need to continue to have dialogue with people that we may disagree with and we need to find where we do agree. Human beings are meant to find a sense of belonging and often we seek out people that are just like us and we create tribes that then may cause us to be ignorant toward another group. And so, if there are things that are said in this conversation that make you think, great. If there are things in this conversation that you disagree with, great. Listen. And I did my best to do the same. There are times where maybe I’ll push back or maybe I’ll ask questions, but I’ll tell you after this conversation that Micah and I agreed to go get a cup of coffee together and I think that’s the point. And that is really what Micah is all about.

 

Micah Hendler is someone that believes in the power of using our voices, and specifically around music, to change how we see other people. He’s a Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient for his work in the music industry. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Jerusalem Youth Chorus, which is and Israeli-Palestinian music and dialogue project that he started years ago. Obviously, October 7th of this past year of 2023 impacted their chorus in a variety of ways and he’s going to talk about that in today’s conversation. The chorus has been featured on programs such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and PBS, and they’ve also been featured in media outlets like The New York Times. Through the co-creation of music and the sharing of stories, the chorus empowers young singers from East and West Jerusalem to speak and sing their truths. And that is a big piece of what Micah is trying to create. He wants to create a space where people can authentically show up as themselves and share their perspective. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re always going to agree, but he wants to create spaces where people can share their perspective and create dialogue that hopefully will lead to peace, justice, inclusion, and ultimately equality. In addition to his ongoing bridge building work in Jerusalem, Micah has brought some of his Jerusalem Youth Chorus experience back home and serves as a co-director of music for Braver Angels, which is America’s largest grassroots movement working on political depolarization. And that’s a big piece of today’s conversation. Certainly Israel gets headlines for divides and war and fighting and hate that does exist in that region, but if we look inward and we hold a mirror up to our country, we certainly have our own challenges that we are dealing with on a daily basis. Micah’s work using music to help people see each other as people is essential for the entire world and not just for Israel. During the pandemic, Micah co-founded Raise Your Voice Labs which is a creative culture change company that helps organizations, companies, and communities realign and reengage around a shared vision and builds cultures of resilience, adaptability, inclusive leadership, and supportive accountability. In this time of profound change, Raise Your Voice Labs has helped dozens of groups rediscover themselves, reconnect to one another, and find their musical north star. Micah writes for Forbes, he talks about music, society, and social change, and he actually currently lives in my neck of the woods in Washington, DC, and I’m excited to get to know him better as we continue to learn from each other

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Micah had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:

“[It’s vital to make] sure that whatever we’re doing, people feel seen and heard and represented properly in the music that we sing” (14:55).

“Maybe there’s something beyond just fighting about who’s justified or who’s right or who’s suffered more… there’s this other plane of existence where actually all can be” (18:30).

“Maybe my music can do some good” (19:40).

“Balancing [curiosity and conviction] is the key challenge in all of the work that I do” (29:15).

“We do the movement a disservice by basically alienating anyone who hasn’t already arrived at our conclusions” (30:40).

“We’re trying to thread the needle on moving the needle” (32:00).

“One of the things we’ve done to try and navigate this paradigm is to really focus on values” (35:25).

“Everybody is looking for belonging and they find it in different ways” (36:20).

“What the chorus is trying to do, and is doing, is ultimately just creating a space where people can come and be fully themselves and come to really own the space” (37:15).

“Music naturally creates more trust” (38:55).

“Peace, justice, inclusion, and equality: when we sing, we sing for those values” (44:25).

“For me, extremism is not defined by a set of positions but by a way of approaching the world” (49:40).

“People have experienced so much trauma, or reactivated trauma… that it’s so easy for people to become weaponized against each other by these extremist leaders” (57:00).

“We are trying to show that there is an alternative [to extremism]” (1:05:35).

Additionally, you can find the website for the Jerusalem Youth Chorus here and Micah’s personal website here. You can also follow the Jerusalem Youth Chorus across social media platforms @JerusalemYouthChorus.

Thank you so much to Micah for coming on the podcast!

I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.

Thanks for listening.