Paul Calvert spoke with Founder, Todd Mack, about their work in Israel.

Todd: There's certainly not a lot of hope, but I don't want to say hopelessness, because there is still a shred of hope within the hearts and minds of the people we worked with. They wouldn't have bothered with this programme if they didn't have a little hope left. The question is, what can you do to ignite that little flickering flame into something bigger and brighter? Hopefully programmes like this, empower them to hold on and nurture the little bit of hope they have left.

Paul: Do you bring Palestinians and Israelis together?

Todd: We have in the past, but we didn't on this trip. It's something that we are very interested in doing again, when the situation is right. That is about respecting both Israelis and Palestinians comfort level with engaging with one another and finding groups that want to engage with one another. We don't want it to be a forced thing, but I would love to do that. I see that it may happen at a university level, as we are starting to work with more universities both in Israel and in the West Bank. There could be some potential for collaboration there.

Paul: How do they respond when they come together? Are there certain things that you have got to avoid, or do they just respond together well?

Todd: When we are working in Israel with Jewish and Arab students, the students by and large go to separate schools in Israel. They live very close to one another, but live these parallel lives and don't have a lot of opportunity to interact with one another. Again, they are there because at a minimum, they have a curiosity. I don't really know how to articulate, or describe it, but there is definitely a methodology for bringing them together.

Also, a big part of what we do is very open and direct dialogue, otherwise you end up with a song that doesn't have a lot of substance. In order to get something of meaning in a song, or video project, you have to have some very frank conversations. It's amazing how willing they are to engage and how open they are.

We've been doing this for six years in the region and we have done dozens of them. We've never had one that failed, where they just wouldn't engage. They show up. One Jewish school is on the left and the Arab, or the Bedouin school, is on the right and it takes a little bit of ice breaking to get them comfortable with one another, but they get there.

Paul: Do you pick up a sense of hatred, or is it just frustration?

Todd: Definitely not hatred towards the other community, but a little bit of frustration towards the older generations. Even the frustration is overshadowed by a sense of hope and optimism, especially in Israel, where there is more hope and optimism between the two groups than maybe there is in the West Bank among Palestinians.

Paul: Has music been building a bridge of peace?

Todd: It has. If nothing else it has been a spring board to a conversation and dialogue. I think the first step to peace is acknowledgement of each other's narrative, each other's story, each other's view points and each other's feelings. Then you can have dialogue about that and respect.

Paul: What do you want to see for the future?

Todd: I would love to see people get along, as simple as that sounds. We have been working pretty extensively throughout the region for about seven years now. We come and live here for a few weeks at a time, then we go back to the United States and so it's easy to say this, but as an outsider looking in, sometimes what is frustrating, is it feels like it doesn't have to be as complicated, complex and challenging as it is, or as it is being made. It can be easier. My hope is that there is really co-existence in the truest sense of the word.

Paul: Can you break through where there is a very strong ideology?