My Active Debate

However, it is important to lay emphasis on the fact that the Allepian Waslah, which originally appeared in the Near East, is not a static component of Jewish or Arab culture. In stark contrast, it is a dynamic component of culture which progresses and accompanies cultural groups, for which the Allepian Waslah is an essential part of their cultural life, worldwide. In this respect, it is possible to refer to the book “Magic Carpet- Alleppo-in-Flatbush: The story of a unique ethnic Jewish community” by J.A.D. Sutton. In actuality, the book reveals the fact that the Allepian Waslah, being an integral part of the cultural life of Jewish community, was “exported” from Israel to the USA, including New York, where many Jews settled and formed their ethnic communities, while large cities, like New York, became cultural centers where Jewish community could maintain and develop its cultural traditions, customs and preserve its cultural identity . It is very important to stress the significance of the Allepian Waslah for Jewish culture because it is still one of the essential elements of the cultural life of Jewish community in the USA as well as in New York since it sounds practically during every Jewish wedding, which is simply unimaginable without the Allepian Waslah.

Moreover, the author argues that the Allepian Waslah comprises an essential part of the cultural identity of Jewish-Americans and it is due to the Allepian Waslah they distinguish themselves from the rest of the American society. At the same time, the author shows that different generations of Jews who have immigrated to the USA in different time maintain their cultural links due to the Allepian Waslah which served as a vehicle linking different generations of Jewish immigrants, some of which immigrated to the USA lately, while other have already spent a considerable part of their life in the USA, being remote from their motherland and its culture, but the Allepian Waslah helps maintain old traditions and unifies Jewish community in the USA as well as in 108 heroes slot. Also, it is worth mentioning the fact that the Allepian Waslah is a cultural element that is conveyed from one generation to another is inherited by the younger generation from older ones. For instance, the author shows that, even though younger generation of Jewish-Americans grew up in a multicultural environment, young people still remain devoted to the Jewish culture due to the Allepian Waslah. In such a way, the author extrapolates the significance of the Allepian Waslah from a purely musical, artistic phenomenon, onto the cultural level. In such a way, the Allepian Waslah becomes a cultural phenomenon above all uniting Jewish community.

At this point, it should be said that Kaufman Shelemey also lay emphasis on the significance of the Allepian Waslah for the Jewish culture and Jewish community in the USA. The author argues that the Allepian Waslah is an essential element of main Jewish ceremonies, such as wedding and it is widely used in Jewish communities worldwide.  In such a way, the author supports views of the aforementioned authors concerning the cultural power of the Allepian Waslah and its role as an essential element influencing the formation of the cultural identity of an individual.

In this respect, it is possible to trace the idea of a uniting power of the Allepian Waslah and the view on the Allepian Waslah as a complex cultural phenomenon in other books as well as in views of ordinary people (such as the interviewed Shadi Jameel). In such a way, other specialists as well as ordinary people observe the same trends and cultural power of the Allepian Waslah not only in Jewish community but also in Arab-Muslims and Arab-Christian communities, as well as in Syrian-American and Lebanese American communities. For instance, it is possible to refer again to the book written by Rasmussen in which the author actually agrees with Sutton because Rasmussen also noticed and emphasized the cultural implications of music which exceed traditional perception of music as just a kind of art. Instead, both Rasmussen and Sutton argue that the Allepian Waslah as well as music at large should be viewed from the broader point of view. Moreover, they have the uniting power which accelerates interaction of cultures and their mutual understanding along with preservation of their cultural identity.

In such a way, the Allepian Waslah proved to able to survive within the Jewish-American community, in spite of the impact of the traditional American culture and difference of traditional Jewish culture and American culture. At the same time, it is obvious that the Allepian Waslah is not the element of Jewish culture uniquely. In fact, other communities, including the Syrian and Lebanese communities in New York, have managed to preserve this element of their culture which helps them feel themselves being a part of Syrian and Lebanese culture respectively in global terms. In such a way, the Allepian Waslah links ethnic communities in different parts of the world, including New York, with their motherlands and their original cultures.

Moreover, the Allepian Waslah does not simply helps to preserve cultural identity but it also helps to popularize and spread Jewish and Arab cultures in such large cities as New York. For instance, the interview of Shadi Jameel proves the fact that the Allepian Waslah contributes to the popularization of Arab culture in New York and, what is more it stimulates cultural interaction between representatives of different communities, including Arab and Jewish communities.  At the same time, Shadi Jameel points out that the Allepian Waslah helps to maintain contact of the local Arab and Jewish communities with their motherlands . To put it more precisely, Shadi Jameel is a singer who sings the Allepian Waslah during weddings and parties in Jewish Syrian community, where it is more than just a song or a piece of entertainment but the Allepian Waslah has a huge spiritual power returning Jewish Syrians to their native places . In such a way, the Allepian Waslah did not simply survive in New York, but it keeps maintain cultural identity of local Jewish and Arab communities.