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Amid Gaza War, Israeli Singer Teams Up With Lebanese Artist to Release New Hit ‘God of Israel’
Israeli singer Yair Levi in ‘God of Israel’ music video. Photo: Screenshot
Israeli Yair Levi did not write his first song until the age of 28, but that has not stopped him from quickly becoming a recognizable figure in the international Jewish music scene.
Now almost 35, Levi has seen his most recent song — a collaboration with Christian singers Sean Feucht from the United States and Carine Bassili from Lebanon — become a hit. The song, called God of Israel, was recorded shortly after the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and praises God in Hebrew, Arabic, and English.
Levi told The Algemeiner that it was a dream of his while serving in the Israeli army to become a singer. A captain in Shayetet 13, Israel’s version of the US Navy SEALs, he spoke while he is currently on reserve duty. More than 350,000 reservists have jointed the military for duty since Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel.
The father of three explained his journey of growth through music, with the COVID-19 pandemic being a huge catalyst. Levi said all his concerts were canceled due to the pandemic, so he prayed asking for guidance. Just then he received a call from his father telling him that his beloved grandmother was sick. That was his inspiration to write Refa Na, which means “please heal her” in Hebrew and garnered millions of views. The hit was translated into multiple languages.
That experience began his near monthly trips around the world performing for mainly Christian audiences of Israel supporters.
God of Israel was something discussed in brief before the war, Levi explained, but upon embarking on a campaign in the US to raise money for soldiers immediately after the outbreak of war, he gathered with Feucht and Bassili to create the new hit.
The song quickly reached the top of the charts, reaching number one in the global Christian music genre, which Levi says is the biggest in the world.
Something unique about the collaboration is the feature of the Lebanese-born Bassili. Lebanon does not recognize Israel and is home to the Iranian backed terror organization Hezbollah, which has been striking targets in northern Israel amid the current war, forcing tens of thousands of Israelis to flee their homes.
Levi said that Bassili had to evacuate her family from Lebanon and that she is unable to enter other Arab states. Hezbollah, which openly seeks Israel’s destruction, has also publicly threatened her life.
The latest musical collaboration, Levi said, showed the possibilities of peace that exist in the world despite the chaos facing the Middle East today.
The post Amid Gaza War, Israeli Singer Teams Up With Lebanese Artist to Release New Hit ‘God of Israel’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Trump Is Lying When He Speaks of Peace
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with government officials in Tehran, Iran, April 15, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Donald Trump on Saturday of lying when the US president said during his Gulf tour this week that he wanted peace in the region.
On the contrary, said Khamenei, the United States uses its power to give “10-ton bombs to the Zionist (Israeli) regime to drop on the heads of Gaza’s children.”
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after departing the United Arab Emirates on Friday that Iran had to move quickly on a US proposal for its nuclear program or “something bad’s going to happen.”
His remarks, said Khamenei, “aren’t even worth responding to.” They are an “embarrassment to the speaker and the American people,” Khamenei added.
“Undoubtedly, the source of corruption, war, and conflict in this region is the Zionist regime — a dangerous, deadly cancerous tumor that must be uprooted; it will be uprooted,” he said at an event at a religious center in Tehran, according to state media.
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Trump speaks about peace while simultaneously making threats.
“Which should we believe?” Pezeshkian said at a naval event in Tehran. “On the one hand, he speaks of peace and on the other, he threatens with the most advanced tools of mass killing.”
Tehran would continue Iran-US nuclear talks but is not afraid of threats. “We are not seeking war,” Pezeshkian said.
While Trump said on Friday that Iran had a US proposal about its nuclear program, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in a post on X said Tehran had not received any such proposal. “There is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to (uranium) enrichment for peaceful purposes…” he said.
Araqchi warned on Saturday that Washington’s constant change of stance prolongs nuclear talks, state TV reported.
“It is absolutely unacceptable that America repeatedly defines a new framework for negotiations that prolongs the process,” the broadcast quoted Araqchi as saying.
Pezeshkian said Iran would not “back down from our legitimate rights”.
“Because we refuse to bow to bullying, they say we are source of instability in the region,” he said.
A fourth round of Iran-U.S. talks ended in Oman last Sunday. A new round has not been scheduled yet.
The post Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Trump Is Lying When He Speaks of Peace first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Confirms New Gaza Ceasefire Talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday
Doha, Qatar. Photo: StellarD via Wikimedia Commons.
A new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel is underway in Qatar’s Doha, Hamas official Taher al-Nono told Reuters on Saturday.
He said the two sides were discussing all issues without “pre-conditions.”
Nono said Hamas was “keen to exert all the effort needed” to help mediators make the negotiations a success, adding there was “no certain offer on the table.”
The negotiations come despite Israel preparing to expand operations in the Gaza Strip as they seek “operational control” in some areas of the war-torn enclave.
The return to negotiations also comes after US President Donald Trump ended a Middle East tour on Friday with no apparent progress towards a new ceasefire, although he acknowledged Gaza’s growing hunger crisis and the need for aid deliveries.
The post Hamas Confirms New Gaza Ceasefire Talks with Israel in Qatar on Saturday first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Report: ICC’s Khan Goes on Administrative Leave Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters in The Hague, Netherlands, Feb. 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
i24 News – Chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan has stepped down temporarily as an investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct by United Nations investigators is nearing its final phase, Reuters reported on Friday citing sources from the international court.
Khan allegedly forced sexual intercourse upon a member of staff on multiple occasions, the Wall Street Journal reported last week, linking the allegations to Khan’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-defense minister Yoav Gallant.
A statement is expected later today announcing that Khan is going on administrative leave, according to a source in the prosecutor’s office.
The post Report: ICC’s Khan Goes on Administrative Leave Amid Sexual Misconduct Probe first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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