Circus troupe takes Jerusalem's streets by storm
Three young Palestinians founded Street Circus to put on free, spontaneous shows for entertaining residents and bringing attention to the city's lack of support for the arts.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Three young men have been putting on shows in the neighborhoods of East Jerusalem using basic props and a guitar. As soon as their show starts, parents and children gather to watch Ahmad al-Joaba and Moataz Qawasmi perform circus shows to the sound of Mo’men Abu Sabih’s guitar.
Joaba, Qawasmi and Abu Sabih, three talented young men from the city of Jerusalem, founded the Street Circus team and started performing their free shows in December.
Bashar Mashni, the head of the Tourism and Arts Jerusalem Cluster, volunteered to organize and coordinate the shows to support the three young men and whoever might join them in the future. He told Al-Monitor, “The idea came as the young men were sick of the institutions’ neglect when it comes to supporting their talents. We wanted to build a popular supportive environment and a platform for the talented youth to spare them the agendas of funders and foreign supporters.”
Mashni said, “We are providing the people with new entertainment shows for free. The people of Jerusalem need to take their minds off things amid the worsening security and economic conditions plaguing them.”
