Never again is now

Sometimes music is the last language,
when words fail.
Never again is now.

My heart bleeds because Israeli friends of mine who helped organize the Nova Festival were murdered on that day. My heart bleeds because another acquaintance of mine was held hostage until 13 October. My heart bleeds because Palestinian friends of mine have lost countless relatives in Gaza – and because for over two years I have seen and lived through the images and videos of this terrible war and genocide almost daily.

The history of suffering, trauma, oppression and violence in this land goes back so unbelievably far and is passed on from generation to generation. The history of all these atrocities and this dehumanization did not begin only with 7 October 2023, but long before that.

It makes me incredibly sad that in the hearts of many people there seems to be room for only one side – that, as in a football match, one seems to be for or against a particular side, instead of simply feeling compassion for the civilians, for the innocent people on both sides.

Suffering can and should never be compared with one another.

My heart weeps because I feel unbelievably deeply connected to this land and the people in it. I have many friends from and in Palestine and Israel, many of them musicians themselves and active there in the peace movement. A few years ago I began to teach myself a little Hebrew. I feel a deep bond with this place, for it will forever hold a special place within me – there in Eilat, on the Red Sea, my healing began when I was 18 years old. It was the turning point in my history of abuse, the moment when for the first time I felt that healing might be possible at all.

Since 2014 I have been actively committed to human rights in Gaza and to peace between the Palestinian and the Israeli people. In 2016 I wrote my peace song „Weltfriedensutopie“.

At that time the idea first arose to write a trilingual peace song in German, Hebrew and Arabic. Back then, however, I had not yet found the right musicians for it – but I never entirely let go of the idea and vision for this song. I always carried it within me.

After 7 October 2023 I cried continuously for almost 2 weeks. I was full of pain and grief, sensing that this would only be the beginning of yet more endless suffering, and at the same time I knew deep within me that now the right moment had come – that precisely now it is so important to stand up for peace and humanism, louder and stronger than ever.

In the summer of 2024 I discovered the queer Palestinian singer and peace activist Meera Eilabouni, who grew up in the West Bank and now lives in Berlin. She was immediately taken with the idea and with the song – and said yes right away. We set out to find an Israeli singer – which turned out to be far more difficult than we had thought. After countless inquiries, rejections, even bans by agencies and long months of waiting, the Israeli Ayam finally got in touch with me.

In her too there was this great longing for peace, for connection and for compassion for all the people suffering under this so long-lasting „conflict“. I shared my vision for the song and the music video with them both – and over time everything took ever more shape. Its creation was a process, full of intense conversations, tears, but also full of love, joy and deep gratitude.

With our song „Nie Wieder ist Jetzt“ we want to show that there is another way. And because this sentence must always apply to everyone, regardless of origin, religion or other pigeonholes. It is our musical vision of a peaceful future in coexistence. Between concrete and hope. Between anger and compassion. We sing because silence feels wrong. Peace is not a dream. It is a decision. Made anew every day.

„Never again is now“ is not only a political statement – it is above all a human one. A song for all who have had enough of hatred, division and fear. A song for those who still believe in love in spite of everything.

This song was born out of pain, but it carries hope within it. It is loud and honest – like life itself. And it reminds us that music can heal, that connection remains possible, even when everything around us falls apart. A reminder that we must not look away when humanity is being lost.

We believe that we have more in common than what divides us. That it is possible to build bridges – even where everything lies in rubble and ashes. We did not write this song because we have answers. But because we ask questions: How much suffering does it still take before we finally understand that no human being is worth less than another?

Never again is now. Not someday – now. This song is not an escape into dreaming, but a rising up. A no to hatred, fear and indifference. A yes to humanity, courage and compassion.

Peace. Salam. Shalom.