Israeli Druse singer banned from Ramallah

From JPost:

The Palestinian Authority banned a well-know Israeli Druse singer from appearing at a New Year’s Eve party in Ramallah.

The decision to ban Mike Sharif, known as “The Druse Boy,” was taken following strong protests and threats by many Palestinians who oppose “normalization” with Israelis.

Sharif was raised in a village in the North and is one of the popular singers not only among Israeli Arabs but throughout the Arab world. He started his career as a singer at the age of seven.

The Palestinians were angered by the fact that Sharif was presented as an Israeli and that some of his songs were in Hebrew. Some said it was unacceptable that Israeli songs would be sung in Ramallah on the third anniversary of Operation Cast Lead. Others said they didn’t like the fact that a member of the Druse community, whose sons serve in the IDF, would appear at a party in Ramallah.

PA policemen raided the hall where the party was supposed to take place and ordered the owners to cancel Sharif’s appearance, eyewitnesses said.

The organizers of the event were forced to replace the Druse singer with another performer.

This is not a private institution that decides not to hire the singer - this is the Palestinian Authority stepping in to ban a singer, after he has already been hired, because he is Israeli!

Ramallah is looking a lot more like Gaza City lately, isn't it?

Here is Sharif singing an Arabic/Mizrahi-style song, in Hebrew, when he was younger:



(h/t DF, OnionTearsNews, Eliahou)