CELEBRATE

THE UNITED MENTSH

The MENTSH UNITED band consists of 13 musicians of different origins, nationalities and faiths. The artistic director of MENTSH UNITED is Shantel, known among others for the Bucovina Club Orkestar. With his creative approach to mixing cultures, Shantel has become the audible face of a different Germany worldwide. He was the first to inject German pop culture with a cosmopolitan sound. With him, migration is audible and danceable. Musical treasures from south-east Europe, the Middle East and the Mediterranean appear in a new, multi-layered context. The culture from which they originate can also be experienced intuitively. Shantel's method is cultural mixing and sampling: tearing things out of their context and transferring them into a new one. Club culture as a concept that is constantly evolving.

You can experience MENTSH UNITED feat. SHANTEL at our concerts. Four concerts will take place in 2025: Chianni (Italy, 23 Oct.), Vienna (Austria, 26 Oct.), Ingolstadt (Germany, 28 Oct.) and Tübingen (Germany, 30 Oct.). We are planning additional concerts throughout Europe and would be happy to come to your neighbourhood. You can find an overview of our events on the Event page.

In collaboration with the renowned filmmaker Nico Beyer we are launching 60sec.mentsh, a Europe-wide film competition for documentaries about Jewish life in all its facets. We show authentic stories of people who move, connect and challenge prejudices - in 60 seconds.

Nico Beyer is an internationally acclaimed director with a distinctive visual style who has realised a wide range of projects from Super Bowl commercials to music videos and social campaigns. He has already worked with brands such as BMW, Adidas, Nike and Coca-Cola and is currently realising a documentary about the mod subculture in England.

MENTSH UNITED is an initiative founded in 2024 by the association JEWLIF e.V. with the aim of using culture and positive energy to send a resolute signal in favour of our European democratic values and against growing anti-Semitism and persistent prejudice. MENTSH UNITED is funded by the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) on the basis of a decision by the German Bundestag. Since 2025, there has been a cooperation with the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance through regular exchanges between students and the ensemble.

MENTSH is a concept deeply rooted in Jewish culture. A MENTSH is more than a person - a likeable person who acts with integrity, honesty, decency and humanity, takes responsibility and goes through the rhythm of life in a friendly, respectful and understanding manner and with a sense of community. Simply human.

UNITED stands - as in sport - for unity and team spirit. Both within the Jewish community and in European society as a whole. Our ideal is a united, colourful, diverse community, driven by a longing for freedom and democracy, recognition, plurality and mutual respect. We want to convey these values with MENTSH UNITED.

The diverse projects of MENTSH UNITED bring this vision to life. With diverse European voices and perspectives in the ensemble, we want to take responsibility and strengthen the community - that's our tikkun olam, our beat for improving the world! Celebrating diversity, being Jewish, combining pride and tradition with pop culture - that's our thing.