Since then he has released music videos and sent out messages on social media that extolled Palestinian terror and violence.
UNRWA, which claims that it is dedicated to neutrality and peace, responded to Assaf's support of violence and widespread criticism of Assaf with a strong statement: it extended his contract as Youth Ambassador so he can continue to spout his hate.
Assaf is doing exactly that:
Mohammed Assaf, the Palestinian winner of Arab Idol was answering questions from fans in a skype phone-in when he received comment from an Israeli caller.
"You should come to Israel...you have Israeli blood," the fan said.
Assaf did not hold back in his response.Here's video of the incident:
"I spit on you and Israel," the singer replied, before returning to answer other fans' questions.
"I don't want to talk about this issue too much. The person who said that wanted to provoke me and it's known that the issue of Palestine and the Palestinian people is one of my top priorities," Assaf told The New Arab.
"At the end of the day, any artist could be subject to a similar incident, however what happened with me is a isolated incident that will no affect my relationship with my fans."
Well, asking Assaf to visit Israel and saying that he has Israeli blood is obviously a huge insult to any self-respecting UN representative. How can anyone fault him for responding to such a provocation?
Certainly UNRWA doesn't.
Assaf also recently addressed the incitement in his videos, saying "Israeli journalists write about me in the media and accuse me of inciting, they tried to ban my song on YouTube, but I consider this the price we pay because we sing for the homeland and believe the Palestinian National mission."
By the way, before Assaf became famous, he was harassed and arrested by Hamas over 20 times in Gaza in order to discourage his singing career. Apparently, Assaf and Hamas have reached a tacit agreement that what he is doing now is quite acceptable to the terror group.
It certainly is to UNRWA.
(h/t Bob Knot)
