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ISRAEL Palestine: Singer kidnapped and beaten by gunmen Palestinian singer Khalid Faraj was kidnapped, beaten up, and thrown in a field in Gaza by unidentified gunmen 28 October 2009 UK / Israel: Cancellation of show causes censorship row A London-performance of a group of 19-year-old Israeli soldiers turned singers was cancelled because the owners of the theatre hall claimed it was 'political' 04 May 2009 Palestine: Palestinian youth orchestra disbanded Palestinian authorities has disbanded a youth orchestra and barred its Arab conductor, Wafa Younes, from a West Bank refugee camp 15 April 2009 Israel: British musician defied death threats by militants Paul McCartney defied death threats by religious militants in the Middle East before his concert in Israel where he performed for 40,000 fans on 25 September 2008 25 September 2008 Israel: Conference about 'music on troubled soils' Musicians, politicians and experts gather in Jerusalem, Israel, on 23-26 October 2008 to discuss the role of music in troubled regions such as Israel, Cyprus and South Africa. 22 September 2008 The Middle East: New restrictions on satellite tv Freedom of expression in the Middle East suffered a major setback on 12 February 2008 when 21 information ministers of the Arab League agreed on a new satellite tv charter 20 February 2008 Israel / Palestine: Orchestra prevented from entering Gaza An international orchestra was refused to perform in Gaza after its sole Palestinian member was prevented from entering the Gaza Strip 17 December 2007 Jonas Otterbeck: Islamic reactions to the music of today A working paper, 22 pages in PDF-format, to be published as a chapter in the book 'Religion, Media, and Modern Thought in the Arab World', Cambridge Scholars Press Ltd. 13 November 2007 Palestine: Islamist reactionary groups threaten American pop stars Pop stars Madonna and Britney Spears will have their "heads cut off" if they continue "spreading Satanic American culture", threaten militant groups in Palestine 13 November 2007 Israel: Censorship controversy over Israeli Eurovision song A Finnish official tried to ban the Israelis' song from the Eurovision song competition because of its "offending lyrics". The song, however, was approved. 27 March 2007 Kamilya Jubran Video interview with the Palestinian artist Kamilya Jubran who lives in Israel. She talks about music making and distribution in the shadow of regional conflict 30 October 2006 Freemuse.org: Focus on artists from the Middle East Watch the new video interviews on www.freemuse.org recorded during the 'Images of the Middle East' festival which took place in Denmark in August-September 2006 30 October 2006 Israel: Police confiscates CDs with “inflammatory song” The song ‘Hawk of Lebanon’ by the Palestinian Northern Band has been banned by Israeli authorities. Tapes and CDs containing the song are being confiscated 05 September 2006 Israel: American piano tuner arrested Paul Larudee, an American who came to tune pianos in Ramallah and Jenin, refused to board a plane against his will and is now waiting for a court decision regarding him 15 June 2006 UK/Israel: Rock star changed his mind about concert venue Pink Floyd bass player Roger Waters Roger Waters has called off his summer concert in Tel Aviv and will instead perform in a chickpea field near a joint Jewish-Arab village 20 April 2006 UK/Israel: Pink Floyd star rejects cultural boycott Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters has been asked by Palestinians to cancel his show in Tel Aviv or to put on a separate performance for Palestinians 13 March 2006 Palestine: Angry Islamists break up hip-hop concert with Kalashnikovs Stone-hurling and stick-swinging teenage Hamas supporters chased the rap group P. R., Palestinian Rappers, off the stage 06 October 2005 Palestine: Death threats to popular musician in West Bank On the one hand, thousands of Palestinian fans want to hear Amar Hassan sing, and on the other he receives death threats and his concerts are harrassed and closed by armed militants for religious reasons 17 August 2005 Palestine: Taliban-like attempts to censor music in West Bank As a Hamas-led town council in the West Bank bans outdoor music and dance performances, musicians fear Palestine is liable to be turned into an Islamic-law state 17 August 2005 Freemuse statement on cultural boycott The Executive Committee of Freemuse met in Copenhagen on 30 January 2005. One of the issues it discussed was cultural boycotts 07 February 2005 Middle East: Hip-Hop on the frontline The rap form allows a powerful voice for political invective, and is being used on both sides of the Israel-Palestine conflict. But for Arab countries and the Middle East, the influence and performance of hip-hop lights a few fuses 02 November 2004 Threatening borders Visa problems: Fortresses that Western authorities build around their riches dissuadés more and more musicians from risking discomfort and humiliation at the borders 09 June 2004 Shoot the Singer! Book 'Shoot the Singer! Music Censorship Today' is the first worldwide presentation of contemporary cases of music censorship 25 May 2004 Cultural Boycott - of any use? Freemuse Conference The recent initiative to boycott Israel is controversial, so is the Arab initiative to boycott cultural events which include Israeli artists. Yet the cultural boycott on apartheid South Africa did have an effect. And what about Cuba? Listen to the panel discussion from WOMEX 2003. 30 November 2003 Rania Elias: Cultural boycott on Israel? Video Interview with Rania Elias from Palestine - recorded at the WOMEX trade fair in 2002 13 November 2002 Amal Murkus Video Interview with Amal Murkus. Music and censorship in Israel/Palestine 09 October 2002 Israel: Chava Alberstein banned Filled with sly humor or sharp criticism of the country’s policies, Alberstein has taken a stand, criticizing Israel’s handling of the Palestinean uprisings. As a result, her music has been banned in the Israeli radio 02 July 2002 Barenboim plays wagner in Jerusalem Famous conductor causes great turmoil by playing Wagner encore at national festival 09 July 2001 Israel: The Current Wave of the Wagner Debate The “pro and contra Wagner” debate in Israel is multifaceted and charged with much emotion. Article 20 May 2001 Israel: On the road to McCarthyism? With sponsors canceling events as a result of the artist's political views, artistic freedom could be under threat 24 April 2001 The Market and Media Censors - panel debate Panel discussion at the 1st Freemuse World Conference on Music and Censorship in Copenhagen in 1998 with Noam Ben-Zeev, Gerald Seligman, and Martin Cloonan. 01 January 2001