Creating a Jaow: The Jerusalem Troupe’s Zaffeh Vibe

One might assume that to conduct an interview with a band, one would start with its founding member. But in the case of Jaw (named for the Arabic word jaow, or vibe), the Palestinian professional youth music and performance troupe in Jerusalem, after the meeting was set (by phone) with our contact Yazan Abu Eisheh, he did not show up alone. Eight other young men showed up with him. All looked polished, dressed in matching black outfits, adorned with red Palestinian embroidery, and had cheerful smiles on their faces.

“The nine guys here are not the only members of Jaw,” Yazan said. “There’s 35 of us. There is no founder of the group. We started the Jaw Troupe in 2018 with a spirit of togetherness and have remained so ever since.”1 The sense of sharing, transparency, togetherness, love of heritage, and contagious positive spirit speak volumes of the group.

“We like to think of ourselves as a collective. We’re not just a troupe, and we’re neither an institution nor a company. Essentially, we are a coop, a society,” Yazan explains, while his eight friends nodded in agreement. The way he describes it, Jaw draws inspiration not from so-called modern institutions seeking funds, but from the diligent and free-spirited collective work, such as that found in early Palestinian agricultural traditions rooted in land and heritage.

Having each other gives members a sense of shelter, Amer Abdo said. “Being part of Jaw makes us feel supported; when life gets hard, we have this family of brothers to count on.”2

Women are also very much involved with Jaw. Although they are “brothers” in the troupe itself (the reason being that traditionally at Palestinian weddings, the groom’s brothers, male cousins, and male friends are the ones who perform the zaffeh for the couple), Jaw’s women leaders have a prominent role in organizing activities, such as training workshops. It’s worth noting that there’s religious diversity in the group, with both Muslims and Christians leading and participating.

When the members started the troupe eight years ago, most of them were barely in their twenties; “It was a good age to begin, because we had a lot of passion to build something together,” Yazan explains. “Soon enough, we founded something that became a crucial part of Palestinian heritage and culture.” He adds that there were 14 members back then. “It was simple and transparent from the get-go. From the first day, there was no boss, no supervisor, no head of the group. We were always a team,” he said. They immediately assigned duties based on members’ personal skills and resources, checked the uniforms and instruments, and played at weddings.

Jaw typically performs at weddings. The band is distinctively Jerusalemite, with its members being from different areas of the city and backgrounds. Some are musicians by profession, but most are mainly passionate about bringing their individual skills (chanting, drumming, performing, or dabke to the group. Among them are doctors, photographers, engineers, and students (in secondary schools and universities). Some of them take long breaks from the troupe or even travel abroad to study, but they remain part of the group.

As the troupe gained popularity, it was invited to events other than weddings, such as festivals and openings. Having cultivated a credible name for themselves, they began to share their knowledge through key initiatives, namely their distinctive training workshops, high school activities, and youth camps.

Jaow, in Arabic, generally relates to the weather, but unlike the word “taqs,” which is more formal and precise, “jaow” relates not so much to the weather itself but to the feel and mood of the climate. Jaow has a more flexible meaning that relates to the atmosphere, ambiance, and vibe.

This Palestinian troupe in Jerusalem, which goes by the name of Jaw, is exactly that. Through their cheerful, energetic spirit, as well as their personal skills and passionate drive, the young members of Jaw have become known for the lively vibe they bring to Palestinian communities. They have been doing so through musical and choreographed performances, namely drumming, dabke, and zaffeh.

Zaffeh is a traditional festive procession with music, live drummers, and percussionists, along with chanting and dancing. A zaffeh is primarily performed at weddings, but it can also take place at other celebrations, such as those for high school or university graduates or at the homecoming of long-awaited individuals returning from travel, exile, or imprisonment. It can also happen during the celebration of religious rituals, such as for those returning from a pilgrimage, or events such as the zaffet Sabt al-Nur (the authentic joyous procession performed during Easter in the narrow alleys of the Old City of Jerusalem).

In Palestinian weddings, the zaffeh is the moment people await in anticipation for the joyful celebration; it is the festive entrance for the bride and groom. Technically, the zaffeh is not merely a noun, but also a verb; a collective act that individuals take part in performing through ululating, clapping, chanting, cheering, singing, drumming, and dancing.

The members of Jaw recall the numerous zaffehs they lead—always wholeheartedly—for couples across the country. They mention the kinship and happiness they feel for the couple when they celebrate with them, as if they are related to them. And there are times when they are indeed related, such as when Jaw performed the zaffeh for members’ siblings and even the members themselves.

“There are times when people come up to me and say, ‘you did the zaffeh for my wedding!’” Mohammad Bitar said.3 “It may take me a moment or two to remember, but it’s always a joy to know how we indeed brought so much joy on people’s important days.”

“Weddings are a big deal,” says Mohammad, “After all, it’s only once in a lifetime when a groom gets married . . .” He then pauses, looks at the band members, and adds: “Well there was that one time when we saw the same groom getting married a second time, and we had to do a whole new zaffeh for the same guy!” And they started to laugh.

“When a groom is pleased with the vibe you create, then the bride is happy, especially if he starts to move and dance . . .” I said. “Oh yes,” the band members agreed, and added, “Some of them get so excited by our zaffeh that their footwork starts flying in dabke moves and feel-good energy. We love to make people happy and get them moving.”

Mohammad shares that because Jaw is a troupe from Jerusalem and has access to almost the entire country, it has allowed members to develop an exceptional ability in understanding the nuances of the various Palestinian villages, towns, and cities. They have performed not only in different areas of Jerusalem, but also in various cities in the rest of the West Bank, such as Ramallah, Nablus, Qalqilya, Jenin, Hebron, Jericho, Bethlehem, and elsewhere, not to mention the Golan Heights and the Negev. There is responsibility in respecting the traditions, the band members stress, and it is a great privilege to witness so much appreciation from guests. “We see a lot of thirst among people; they don’t want us to stop performing . . . which is great,” Mohammad shares.

“There are times when we do two, or even three, weddings on the same day,” said Gabi Abu Rakabah,4 demonstrating how their days get quite busy. “It’s always a mix: from the Golan Heights to Nablus, from the Old City of Jerusalem to Beit Hanina, Silwan, and Jabal Mukabbir. We’ve become experienced in the various Palestinian norms and traditions, so we tailor our performances according to people’s local norms and preferences,” he adds. “But despite all the changes, we never feel like our job is a burden; it’s always a release from the stresses of life and work, and it’s full of joy.”

Nevertheless, the group describes how it’s beyond challenging to move between cities for their performances. The political and logistical reality for Palestinians traversing across Israeli military checkpoints and borders, often closed completely and abruptly, or jammed with vehicles, is undoubtedly difficult and risky, for the band.

“When we plan our events, we always have to study the situation on the ground on a case-by-case basis,” Mohammad explains, and adds how much time is wasted on the way to events. An additional frustration is not being able to guarantee arrival: “It’s not a matter of mere traffic; we have to take into account all things related to the news of the day, security measures, and closures,” he said. Yazan explains how, through their lived experiences, the troupe has developed a great amount of knowledge on how to navigate military checkpoints: how some routes tend to get completely shut down by the military on certain days of the week or times of the day, and how the risk of not making it to an event is always present. Yet, they still know how make it and keep on doing their thing. “It’s part of our lives,” Mohammad adds.

Sometimes life gets too heavy. The zaffeh performances of the Jaw Troupe stopped altogether at the onset of the war on Gaza. “The situation was just too horrid for us to genuinely feel the mood (jaow) of celebration, and we had to stop our work entirely for a period of time,” Yazan reflects.

The eyes of the eight Jaw members sitting at the table, in conversation with Jerusalem Story, lit up at the mere mention of the youth camps, which are now in their fourth year, with 450 children between the ages of 3 and 13 registered. The summer camps run for the entire month of July, taking place in different locations throughout East Jerusalem with various activities, such as dance, sports, and arts. The members are proud to share that they have not sought funding to carry out these projects; it’s all self-driven, mostly with the support of community businesses and individuals.

Jaw has winter camps, too, with 160 children having signed up during the winter break at the end of 2025. They also have some special high school days, “the day of Jaow,” where they organize leisure activities. Children and teenagers look forward to these days, when they put their phones away, de-stress, and find joy in the celebratory performances.

“Lots of parents must be relieved that you exist!” I said to the members, thinking of how children are kept busy and immersed with performative, artistic, and creative projects. The Jaw Troupe members agree, because giving back to the community is essential for them. They love the idea of giving space, as well as choices, for Palestinian children in Jerusalem to simply be—by getting up on stage to sing, dance, discover, and express themselves. The idea is not to lecture the youth nor mold them into becoming anything specific, but to give them the freedom to decide on how to live out their passions. Essentially, this freedom will help them find a place where they feel embraced and accepted as they are in their city.

While much joy is expressed at the youth camps, they aren’t held without the usual challenges Palestinians have been experiencing, especially since the war on Gaza began. Due to the political climate of the city, it has been generally unsafe for the youth to move around, but Jaw decided not to stop their activities. They may have stopped performances for a time at the beginning of the war, but Jaw continued to organize youth camps. It was quite sensitive, the members explain, but their experience and awareness as awlad al-Quds (children of Jerusalem) enabled them to wisely and cautiously create safe spaces for the youth, parents, and themselves.

Perhaps what is most special about the Jaw Troupe is witnessing the evolution of couples: “It’s like we marry off the couple with our zaffeh wedding procession, and then a few years later, they sign up their kids for our youth camps!” Yazan reflects, and the group members nodded with smiles on their faces. It is beyond inspiring to be active observers of the growth of families after wedding ceremonies. Members of Jaw also witness the transformation of the children themselves. “We had kids who were four years old when they first signed up for Jaw summer camps, and now we see them again at eight years of age,” one member shares.

The humor shared among the troupe members is heartwarming, especially amid the difficult circumstances of living in Jerusalem. I ask the members if there is one thing all 35 members agree on or a go-to that they are all aligned with when it comes to what makes their performance stand out. “Shawarma al-Wa‘ri,” one of them said, and they all agree: “Yes, that’s it,” they insist, “the shawarma sandwiches at al-Zahra Street! We all love that! It’s part of our program. We always crave a shawarma either before or after a performance.” I smile at that answer: “Yes, I see you all like those shawarma sandwiches.” But I insist and ask again, “Maybe I wasn’t clear, but on a deeper level, what do you all agree on?” Mohammad humorously replies: “Oh, your question was perfectly clear! The answer is still . . . Shawarma al-Wa‘ri!” The group members laugh, highlighting how a humorous spirit and not taking themselves too seriously is an essential element for the troupe and its vibe.

If one thing is clear about Jaw, it is that all its members have managed to use their individual skills and talents (simple as they may be) to bring forth positive contributions that uplift Palestinian society. It is delightful to imagine that in the future, couples will still remember how the Jaw Troupe performed at their weddings, adults will recall that they participated in Jaw’s youth camps as children, and Jaw members will see that they have had influential roles in these precious moments in people’s lives.