Haaretz: Israeli Arabs Dance Their Way Into GBOWR

Israeli Arabs smash world record for largest ‘Debke’ folk dance

Israeli Arabs from across Israel danced their way hand in hand into the Guiness Book of World Records on Sunday after they held the largest and longest group performance of the “Debke” dance inside the walls of the Old City of Acre.

A record 2,743 people danced for seven minutes straight holding hands in a human chain that stretched down Hagana Street in Acre’s famed Old City, smashing the previous record of 1,700 set in Toronto a few years ago.

The Debke is a six-step dance that is performed while holding hands in a line. For years it has been a mainstay of weddings and communal celebrations in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and even Turkey and Iraq.

The record-setting event, broadcast live for two hours on the cultural events channel of the Arabic-language network Al-Jazeera, was the first time in history that any Israeli Arab has entered the Guinness Book.