Young Gazan rapper criticized for expressing reconciliation with Israel

Al-Shantti said in an interview with a Russian news outlet that “I would like to spread love between us and Israel.”

AUGUST 23, 2020 19:57

Abdel-Rahman Al-Shantti, an 11-year-old Gaza rapper, is surrounded by students as he performs in his school in Gaza City August 16, 2020. (photo credit: MOHAMMED SALEM/REUTERS) — Abdel-Rahman Al-Shantti, an 11-year-old Gaza rapper, is surrounded by students as he performs in his school in Gaza City August 16, 2020.

(photo credit: MOHAMMED SALEM/REUTERS)

Abdel Rahman al-Shantti, an 11-year-old Palestinian rapper from Gaza who went viral for his music, has come under fire from locals for expressing “love between us and Israel,” according to a New York Times report on Saturday.

A video of Shantti rapping outside his school in Gaza City, surrounded by classmates wearing matching uniforms, has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on social media and was even shared by the popular British rapper Lowkey.

11 year old rapper from Gaza MCA expresses his solidarity with George Floyd pic.twitter.com/NurEsULKnO
— Lowkey (@Lowkey0nline) August 13, 2020

Shantti said in an interview with a Russian news outlet that “I would like to spread love between us and Israel.”

“There’s no reason for fighting and wars. We need to let this relationship become better and better,” the young boy added.

Shantti faced intense backlash from Palestinians over social media, who claimed that his father failed to teach his son about the Palestinian cause.

One comment from Saad Yaghi, 23, a resident of Gaza City, said that the boy "doesn’t study his homeland’s history enough. It’s very easy to plant these ideas in his head.”

At the request of Abdel Rahman’s father, Saleh al-Shantti, the Russian news outlet Russia Today removed the video of the boy's comments, while adding that his son did not refer to Israel specifically but rather the "entire world."