BERLIN (JTA) — Israel’s embassy here tweeted that it was “proud to be among the targets” of the German rapper Bushido, who changed his Twitter profile to a map of the Middle East sans Israel.
“First women, then gays, now Israel: We are proud to be among the targets of integration prizewinner Bushido,” the embassy reportedly tweeted.
Bushido, who reportedly has more than 285,000 followers on Twitter, stirred controversy over the weekend after tweeting the map with a Palestinian flag over the state of Israel with the words “Free Palestine.”
German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich responded that the map “doesn’t serve the interest of peace, but instead sows hate.”
The rapper, who is of German and Tunisian descent, won a 2011 Bambi Prize, a German media award, for successful integration — a decision that had shocked many in the media who are familiar with his controversial lyrics, which have been widely criticized as anti-gay and misogynistic.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
Bushido now reportedly is tweeting “Bambi for sale.”
Ruprecht Polenz, who heads the German Parliament’s foreign relations committee, told the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that it was “a scandal that a German musician who reaches so many people should question Israel’s right to exist in this manner.”
It's not (only) about you.
Supporting The Times of Israel isn’t a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.
Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll unlock access to some excellent Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this