Palestinian rapper Tamer Nafar was removed from a campaign by the Welfare Ministry to prevent sexual violence after Otzma Yehudit head Itamar Ben Gvir petitioned the ministry to remove the rapper from the campaign on Friday, according to Army Radio.
The Shurat HaDin organization had warned Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services Minister Meir Cohen on Thursday that they would petition the Supreme Court to remove Nafar from the campaign.
In the last few weeks, the Welfare Ministry launched a new campaign for the prevention of sexual violence in the Arab sector. Nafar, who identifies as "a Palestinian with an Israeli citizenship," was chosen as the main presenter of the campaign.
Following this appointment, Shurat HaDin sent a letter to Cohen, demanding that Nafar be removed from the campaign and that the Welfare Ministry issue a public apology because of Nafar's anti-Israel stances and involvement with BDS.
The letter added that if Cohen fails to comply with their demands, Shurat HaDin will petition the Supreme Court to get involved, citing the Boycott Law that says that public calls for boycotting Israel will be considered a civil injustice.
In response to a demand by Ben Gvir to have Nafar removed from the campaign, Cohen clarified that the campaign had been made and funded by a separate organization and that the ministry had just been a partner to the campaign. However, the ministry stopped sharing the video and Cohen instructed workers to be more sensitive when considering partnerships with people whose participation could harm the Israeli public.
In the songs performed by Nafar's band, they accuse Israel of ethnic genocide ("You killed me, you killed my forefathers"), compare Israel to the Nazi regime ("Democracy? Why? It reminds me of the Nazis"), justify acts of terror ("you raped the Arab soul, and she got pregnant and gave birth to children called terror acts"), encourage acts of terror against Jews ("No! My blood is not cheap, and I will protect myself even if you call me a terrorist") and many more anti-Israel examples.
"The Boycott Law forbids the government from giving benefits to a person who publicly calls for the boycott of Israel," said President of Shurat HaDin Nitsana Darshan-Leitner. "How can it be that this 'artist' degradingly defames IDF soldiers, compares us to Nazis and at the same time gets paid by the Israeli government? I have no doubt that in the Arab sector, you can find plenty of artists who do not promote messages of support for BDS, racism and encouragement of terror."
"This is a spit in the face of the Israeli public in general and specifically, the Arab community. [Meir] Cohen needs to immediately remove Nafar's involvement from the campaign."