Canadian Musicians Build Peace Through Jewish-Iranian Album

When students from Israel and Iran met at the University of Toronto, they discovered something their governments didn't want them to know: they had far more in common than conflict.

That revelation sparked a movement. Professor Noam Lemish joined the Israeli-Iranian Music Initiative, where musicians from politically hostile nations found shared cultural roots and created art together for five years.

Now Lemish is bringing that same spirit of reconciliation to a new project. On September 25, New Focus Recordings releases "Pursue Peace," an album featuring three Jewish Canadian composers exploring identity, conflict, and hope through music.

The recording opens with Sid Robinovitch's "Adieu Babylon," a moving piece that blends Middle Eastern sounds with contemporary composition. Toronto composer James Rolfe and Lemish round out the trio, each offering unique perspectives on building bridges through art.

Lemish's title composition was originally written for that Israeli-Iranian collective's debut concert in 2014. Its three movements map the literal distance between Tel Aviv and Tehran, reject violence as inevitable, and imagine what actively pursuing peace might sound like.

"We found a great common language, both musically and culturally," Lemish explained about working with Iranian musicians. "The people themselves, the folk, we don't believe that they are in conflict with one another."

The Ripple Effect

The album connects to Jewish Music at York, a performance series Lemish launched at York University with support from the Azrieli Foundation. What started as a one-year pilot in 2022 just earned its second three-year renewal, entering its fifth year of bringing diverse communities together through free public concerts and lectures.

The initiative sits within a larger international network including Hebrew University, SOAS University London, and UCLA. Together, they're documenting how music can cross borders that politics cannot.

While the Israeli-Iranian collective paused during COVID-19, Lemish believes its message matters more than ever. Political leaders may clash, but artists keep proving that ordinary people can find common ground.

The album captures contemporary Canadian Jewish music while honoring Middle Eastern musical traditions, creating space for dialogue where words often fail. Each composition asks listeners to imagine reconciliation not as naive hope, but as active choice.

Music has always had the power to express what words cannot, and these three composers are wielding that power for peace.