For young people in Israel and the territories, one of the clearest measures of just how divided Jews and Arabs are can be seen in the hip-hop scene.
Before the intifada, two of Israel's leading rappers were Kobi Shimoni, a Jew, and Tamer Nafar, an Arab who often performed with Shimoni, the Guardian said Friday.
But as the intifada progressed, their friendship degenerated into a feud, with violent clashes between each man's entourage that resembles the East Coast/West Coast battles in the United States.
Shimoni has evolved into a right-wing supporter of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.Meanwhile, Nafar penned lyrics like, "Who's the terrorist? You're the terrorist! You've taken everything I own while I'm living in my homeland."
A documentary about the two recently won an artistic award and the producer of "Channels of Rage" is postponing the DVD release of the film in hopes Shimoni and Nafar will agree to record a song together for the soundtrack.
After a year of trying, she is cautiously hopeful: "Listen, they are men, they are artists and they are rappers.What do you expect? Hopefully, some good will come out of it one day."
