Posted on 08/17/2004 8:39:38 PM PDT by Nachum
The Palestinian Authority has declared a week of solidarity with a young singer from the West Bank who is participating in this year's Superstar television show, the Arabic version of the popular British show Pop Idol and the American Star Search.
The move has enraged some Palestinians who say there is no room for entertainment when Israel is continuing its military operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Huge screens will be placed in the main squares in Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Gaza City to encourage the people to support Ammar Hassan, a singer from the West Bank who is representing the Palestinians at the show.
Millions of people across the Arab world have been glued to their television sets for the past 20 weeks as thousands of contestants were winnowed down to a small number of finalists, among them Hassan, 28, from the town of Salfit in the Nablus area. If elected, Hassan would earn the title of the Arab world's best singer for 2004.
The show, aired by the Lebanese satellite Future TV for the second year in a row, has been a big hit among Arabs worldwide. It has been rated the most successful entertainment show that has ever been made and produced both in Lebanon and the Arab world, and the Arab media have described Superstar as a "high-quality hit." When Jordan's Diana Karazon won last year's contest, thousands of fans took to the streets of Amman to celebrate.
The Palestinians are planning huge celebrations if their representative wins next week.
In the show, singers from most of the Arab countries are narrowed down to 12 finalists, with each contestant performing live. Three judges provide critiques of each singer's performance. Viewers have several hours following the broadcast to phone in their votes.
Contestants performed songs including the classics of Lebanese diva Fayrouz and Egypt's Umm Kulthum, one of the most popular singers in the Arab world.
Earlier this week, PA Chairman Yasser Arafat phoned Hassan. "You are a Palestinian struggler of a different type and we are proud of you," he told the singer.
The Palestinian mobile company Jawwal, in an unprecedented move, announced that it was reducing the prices of calls and SMS messages to allow voters to participate in the contest.
And the PA Ministry of Culture has called on Palestinians to attend a rally later this week in Gaza City's main square in support of Hassan.
"People are very bored with the political and security situation," a ministry official told The Jerusalem Post. "For them, the show is an escape from the distress and frustration. We believe that creative art contributes to the people's struggle for freedom."
The euphoria gripping the West Bank and Gaza Strip over the show has diverted attention from the hunger strike declared earlier this week by Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
The show has also angered some Palestinians, including members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who argue that this is not the appropriate time for such entertainment.
According to a Hamas official in the Gaza Strip, "What is disturbing is that the show is taking place while our heroes in occupation jails are waging a fateful hunger strike and are asking the Palestinian people to support them."
The official criticized the PA leadership for endorsing the weeklong show of support for Hassan, pointing out that the campaigns "come at a time when the Palestinian cities, villages, and refugee camps are the targets of Zionist incursions, killings, destruction, and arrests with daily increase in the number of martyrs and wounded."
Hamas also attacked the PA Ministry of Culture and Jawwal, saying the two bodies should have allocated the funds "to support the prisoners and victims in Rafah, Jenin, and Beit Hanun instead of the Superstar program that contradicts Islamic values and moral ethics.
"Our people are in need of heroes, resistance fighters, and contributors to building [the] country and are not in need of singers, corruption-mongers, and advocates of immorality," he said.
OK.. that just sounds so stupid.
Imagine: 'US government declares solidarity with American competing in Japanese Game show'.
Homicide bombers are so passé.
Life has no value to them, there is no concept of right an wrong. It is wrong to celebrate music if the Jews are still reacting to our last attack. When all the world is dead, then we can dance on their graves...
These people are truly insane. Perhaps they can hang a few "colaborators" on the ends of the TV screen to please the rest of the crowd. The same parades to celebrate blowing up a school bus they use to worship a rock star for political gain.
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