Right-wing NGO wants singer banned for criticising Israeli soldiers

A petition has been set up calling for British artist Dua Lipa to be dropped from local radio playlists in Israel following her sharing of a post on Instagram slamming the “ill-treatment of Palestinian children by the Israeli military.” The petition is the brainchild of Zionist NGO Im Tirtzu.

The NGO has urged Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz and Culture Minister Yehiel Tropper to instruct Army Radio to stop playing songs by Lipa who, last Sunday, shared a post with her 46.3 million followers on Instagram comparing Israeli soldiers to the racially-charged police violence that has sparked days of rioting across the United States.

“While everybody’s in the mood to talk about human rights, this is what happens EVERYDAY in Palestine, paid for by our taxpayer dollars,” said the now-deleted post. “The big bad tough guys of the #IDF thoroughly enjoy beating and shooting children. They even have shirts that depict a pregnant Palestinian woman with a sniper scope on her stomach that reads ‘1 shot two kills’. But don’t worry. They’re all terrorists so it’s all good. We totally understand. When people say #freepalestine, it doesn’t mean that scary Muslims will run into Tel Aviv and ruin the fun dance parties on the beach. Rather, it’s a simple request for sovereignty and freedom.”

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The friend of the singer and the author of the post she shared, Vin Arfuso, added several pictures depicting IDF soldiers next to Palestinian teens. He added that he is working on a documentary that will be even more shocking.

The British singer is currently dating model and musician Anwar Hadid, the son of Palestinian Mohammad Hadid who was born in Nazareth. The family have never shied away from highlighting their roots and have expressed solidarity with Palestinians time and again, while also regularly posting about Palestine.

“In light of the incitement against IDF soldiers, anti-Semitism, blood libels, conspiracy theories and the blatant lies in the post that the singer shared, it is not fitting for a radio station affiliated with the IDF to continue to broadcast her songs,” wrote Im Tirtzu in the petition.

However, Army Radio said in response that, “Galgalatz does not boycott any artist. The songs are chosen at the discretion of the editors of each segment.”