Kanye West walking on the red carpet during the 67th Grammy Awards held at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA on February 2, 2025. Photo: Elyse Jankowski/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

JNS.org – The most successful musicians are those who understand that their art is about spectacle as well as sound. When it comes to popular music, the more controversy there is, the greater the spectacle becomes.

Some of the most well-known artists in modern times have embraced this tactic wholeheartedly. In 1967, the year that The Doors released their magnificent debut album, lead singer Jim Morrison attracted national headlines when police officers dragged him off the stage at a concert in New Haven, Conn., accusing him of inciting a riot. A decade later, as punk emerged, The Sex Pistols achieved international notoriety when they appeared on a primetime show in the United Kingdom and proceeded to swear their way through an interview with the inebriated host, a fellow named Bill Grundy. Much more recently, Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance at the Super Bowl in New Orleans this past February attracted a record number of viewers for his foray into America’s cultural and racial cauldron, set against the background of his personal quarrels with fellow rappers Lil Wayne and Drake.

The key is to use spectacle as a means of enhancing the appreciation levels of your audience, not something that is easy to do. Kanye West is a good example of an artist who has alienated many fans and admirers with his antisemitic, misogynistic, conspiracy-laden posts on social media, because he manages to be both offensive and yawn-inducing at the same time. In that regard, Kneecap—the Irish rap trio from Belfast whose show at the latest Coachella festival featured a visual display declaring “F*** Israel, Free Palestine”—are more Kanye than Kendrick.

In musical terms, Kneecap do what rappers are supposed to do—sharing stories that shine a light on their lives, their environment, their clothes, their tastes and their attitudes through words that mix Gaelic phrases with English ones. I wouldn’t call them terrible, but neither would I call them exceptional. Anyway, with Kneecap, it’s clear that their sound is less important to them than the spectacle that accompanies it.

To begin with, there’s their name. At the height of the conflict in Northern Ireland from the 1960s to the 1990s, the terrorists of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) turned a noun into a verb. “Kneecapping” was a primitive, nasty form of punishment meted out by the IRA, who sought to exclude the British from any role in the policing of Catholic areas in the six counties, to offenders. If the IRA caught you dealing drugs, engaging in petty theft or any other kind of “anti-social” behavior, they would punish you by firing a bullet into the area around your knee, leaving you alive but disabled.

This method was a component of their broader brutality that manifestly failed to dislodge the Brits, but was used to deadly effect against innocents they deemed as enemies—like the 10 Protestant laborers murdered in cold blood by an IRA squad in January 1976; or the horrible fate of Jean McConville, who in 1972 was kidnapped in the full view of her 10 children and summarily executed on trumped-up accusations of spying for the British.

Kneecap have turned this sordid history into a celebration, directing their bile at other enemies of the IRA as well. They have referred to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who passed away 12 years ago, with the obscenity “c***”, even leading their audience in a chant of “Maggie’s in a box” to the tune of KC and the Sunshine Band’s “Baby Give it Up.” They have declared that the only good supporter of the British Conservative Party is a dead one, urging the killing of Conservative members of parliament. They have taken to the stage bellowing “Up Hamas, Up Hezbollah” because in the dunderheaded imaginations of Ireland’s ultranationalists, it’s all one struggle from the Irish Sea to the Mediterranean coast.

Those antics are now biting them in the rear, if not the knees. British police have now opened an investigation into Kneecap’s statements, which violate anti-terror laws, with copious video evidence available to make their case. At least two venues in the United Kingdom, where they continue to play, despite rejoicing in the murder of British citizens, have canceled forthcoming performances by the group.

You have to wonder whether all this is worth it for the group themselves. They may think that their rhetoric is defiant, and they may genuinely believe that the balaclava decked in the colors of the Irish flag worn by band member DJ Provai makes him look edgy (and not like a rapist). But to anyone with some historical perspective, it’s clear that Kneecap are a band living in the past, still fighting a war that ended with the IRA’s disarmament a quarter of a century ago. A bit like Debbie, the frustrated middle-aged woman who is the subject of the song “1985,” Kneecap are buried in references and imagery far older than the band are. When they are not attacking Israel, they attack ghosts. It’s all rather sad.

And yet, this is the game Kneecap decided to play. If they didn’t know that spectacle can be your undoing, as well as your ticket to a golden future, they do now.

Since the birth of popular music in the last century, artists have understood that breaking America is a necessary condition of success. After the disgraceful scenes at Coachella, we should all be echoing music impresario Sharon Osbourne’s call for Kneecap’s US visas to be revoked; otherwise, we risk further glorification of the rapists and murderers of Hamas on our stages and screens.

As of now, Kneecap have two shows scheduled: one for Oct. 1 and the other for Oct. 10 at New York City’s Pier 17. Assuming that their visas are not canceled first, the managers of that venue need to be made aware of the group’s history, along with the fact that U.K. theaters are increasingly reluctant to host them. If an appeal to reason fails, then there is every reason to stage demonstrations outside that are more angry and more raucous than anything Kneecap can exhibit.

Doubtless, they will offer up the same disingenuous, craven apologies as they have done over the past week on the other side of the Atlantic, clearly terrified that no stage will be available to them anymore. We should turn a deaf ear to those. Just as Kneecap’s songs belong in the past, so do they.

The post Kneecap Get Kneecapped first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

China and Egypt have launched their first-ever joint air force drill, “Eagles of Civilization 2025,” at an Egyptian airbase. Photo: Screenshot

JNS.org – A recent joint Egyptian-Chinese first-ever joint air force exercise held in Egypt likely contains messages to the United States and should be closely monitored by Israel, Israeli observers have told JNS.

Egypt announced on April 19, 2025, the commencement of the “Eagles of Civilization 2025,” which brought together multirole fighter jets and other types of aircraft from both countries in Egyptian airspace.

While official Egyptian sources did not detail the specific aircraft involved, Chinese state media outlet CCTV confirmed China’s participation with J-10C multirole fighters and aired footage on April 19 showing a J-10C flying alongside an Egyptian MiG-29 over the Wadi Abu Rish air base, located southeast of Cairo.

According to a report by Israel Defense, the Chinese contingent, including aircraft and personnel, received a formal welcome from senior Egyptian commanders upon arrival. The exercise spanned multiple Egyptian air bases and emphasized operational cooperation between the two air forces.

This collaboration was widely interpreted as signaling Egypt’s intention to broaden its security partnerships, potentially looking beyond its traditional, decades-long military alliance with the United States.

At the same time, Brig. Gen. (res.) Professor Jacob Nagel, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, former acting national security adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former head of Israel’s National Security Council, advised against overstating the drill’s immediate implications while also cautioning against dismissing it entirely.

“I would not attach excessive importance to the drill. On the other hand, I would not completely disregard it,” Nagel told JNS on Wednesday. “I think that the one who perhaps needs to say something to the Egyptians is indeed the USA, which transfers considerable aid to them.”

Nagel stressed the enduring nature of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, due to its importance for both nations, particularly for Egypt’s economy.

“Egypt preserves the peace agreement and it is important to it at least as much as it is important to Israel, certainly economically, so that even in the days of [former Muslim Brotherhood President Muhammad] Morsi, who did not agree to mention the word Israel, did not dare touch the agreement,” he said.

Asked to address recent Israeli concerns about Egyptian military build-up in the Sinai Peninsula, Nagel said the situation should be handled discreetly but firmly.

“Israel does not want to add the Egyptian front to the fronts in which it is currently engaged, but Egypt is a force that must not be underestimated and one must keep a wide-open eye to identify dangers from there, certainly after Oct. 7,” he stated.

Despite these concerns, Nagel said that “this still does not make Egypt a current enemy of Israel. There is a peace agreement between the countries, and even if it is cold, it is very important to both sides.”

The drill occurred against a backdrop of increasing Chinese engagement across the Middle East. Although Beijing has avoided direct military deployments, it has expanded its influence through significant arms sales, diplomatic interventions like the 2023 Saudi-Iran rapprochement it mediated, and extensive infrastructure investments under initiatives such as the Belt and Road.

Dr. Ori Sela, Professor at the Department of East Asian Studies at Tel Aviv University and Senior Visiting Researcher at the INSS, placed the air exercise in the context of a longer history of Sino-Egyptian military relations.

“While the joint exercise is a milestone of sorts for China-Egypt military collaboration, it should be understood through a more general perspective,” Sela explained. “First, China and Egypt have had military relations for a long time. This also includes joint military exercises, albeit the naval dimension was usually the focal point.”

He noted that China conducts similar drills with other states in the Middle East, such as Turkey and the UAE.

Sela also linked the exercise to Egypt’s broader strategy of diversifying its military procurement and partnerships, an effort underway for some time.

“China has also been exporting arms to Egypt, and rumors about sales of more advanced platforms (both aerial—the J10C fighter, and naval— the Type 039A submarine, for example) have been around for some time now,” he noted, adding, “These, however, are part of a longer and more robust diversification effort by the Egyptians.”

At the same time, Sela said, the appearance of the Chinese KJ-500 [Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft] in Egypt now “does hint at a Chinese attempt to project more advanced capabilities to the region, and Israel should monitor this situation closely.”

The exercise does not necessarily mean that Egypt is pivoting away from Washington, but rather is a strategic signal towards its long-time ally, he argued, “that Egypt does have options, and that while the U.S. is sometimes quick to threaten countries and make demands, Egypt is hoping to have the ability to hedge against possible negative moves by the US.”

Sela suggested a path forward for Jerusalem regarding these dynamics, stating, “Israel would be wise to encourage the strengthening of the US-Egypt relationship rather than add fuel to the fire, and, at the same time, its own relationship with Egypt. Driving wedges between Egypt and the US would be a mistake.”

The post Egypt Signals to US It Has Options After First Air Drill with China first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Omer Adam standing in front of the Western Wall in a scene from his music video for “Jerusalem.” Photo: Screenshot.

JNS.org – As a rabbi, I’ve often had to juggle conflicting life-cycle events in a single day. I’ve gone from a funeral to a wedding, from a brit milah to an unveiling, and over the years, from happy occasions to cemeteries and back. This is precisely what is happening this week in Israel.

It is the annual season of emotional roller coasters in Israel and for Jews around the world. First, we had the festive celebrations of Passover, tempered by the Yizkor memorial service on the final day of the chag. Then it was Yom Hashoah, as we remembered the Holocaust and our 6 million martyrs. And now we have Yom Hazikaron, where we recall and pay tribute to Israel’s fallen heroes, a day which, in recent years, has included all the innocent victims of terror.

And this leads immediately to celebrations of Israel’s statehood and sovereignty, or, as some have cynically labeled it, Israel’s annual barbecue day.

Juggling contrary emotions and such powerful opposing feelings is never easy. If we Jews sometimes seem to be schizophrenic, well, now you know why.

But how do we manage? With all the wars, intifadas, never-ending terror attacks, and, most recently, the horrific Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, how have the people of Israel managed to retain their sanity and emotional equilibrium? Where does the now-renowned resilience of Israelis come from?

Of course, there is a sense of nationalism. Others talk of powerful feelings of peoplehood and shared destiny. I would suggest that for most Israelis, there is something much deeper: faith.

Since Oct. 7, in particular, we have witnessed completely secular soldiers and citizens shouting Shema Yisrael, “Hear, O Israel,” in moments of danger. We’ve seen nonreligious Israel Defense Forces heroes begging for tzitzit, tefillin, siddurim and tehillim, Psalms. Released hostages are sharing how, though they hardly went to synagogue, their faith kept them sane and hopeful, even in those dreadful underground circumstances. One recounted how she would repeat a single prayer—the only prayer she knew—day after day in those months of captivity, and how it never failed to strengthen her. Another shared how a little Torah booklet left behind by a chayal, an Israeli soldier, sustained her throughout his hundreds of days in captivity.

The phrase Am Yisrael Chai has become a cliché now, but its foundation is not only a sense of patriotism. It not only refers to the nation of Israel, the State of Israel, but the people of Israel, and it goes way beyond mere nationalism. It resonates with peoplehood, history and destiny—a higher calling that will never end.

We are not only the people of Israel. We are God’s people, and we have a mission to fulfill.

It never ceases to amaze me how Israel, with all its existential threats, surrounded by mortal enemies on every side that plot its destruction (and would repeat Oct. 7 again and again, if they only could), is ranked at No. 8 on the top 10 list of happiest countries in the world, according to the World Happiness Report 2025. Somehow, Finland always wins, but Israel is the happiest country in the Middle East and also ahead of the United States of America. And this is even after Oct. 7!

It’s quite unbelievable, but it tells a compelling story. Clearly, the people of Israel enjoy a sense of purpose and fulfillment that lifts them beyond the regular routines of running to bomb shelters. Happiness in life is not just measured by creature comforts or in living a sequestered life far from the madding crowd, like the people in the Nordic region. Israel possesses a higher calling, and a higher and deeper purpose in life. There is something eternal about our existence that brings both meaning and happiness.

This same faith is reflected in the story of the Haftarah we read this week in synagogues around the world. It comes from ll Kings (7:3-20) and tells the tale of a great miracle promised by the prophet Elisha. Samaria was under siege by Aram, a formidable enemy with a large army. The siege led to a terrible famine, and people were dying of starvation. The price of food had skyrocketed beyond affordability.

Elisha prophesized to the corrupt Jewish King Jehoram that a miracle would occur the very next day, and that food would be available in such abundance that the prices would drop to rock bottom. One of the king’s courtiers responded skeptically that God Himself could not perform such a miracle. It was impossible. Elisha said that the courtier would see it happen with his own eyes but would be unable to partake of it.

The Haftarah tells the story of how the miracle unfolded. Indeed, true to Elisha’s word, the Aramean army was suddenly seized by inexplicable fear and fled in terror. The siege was lifted, and food became plentiful. In the mad dash by the people to find the provisions left behind, the cynical courtier was trampled to death. He did, indeed, see the prophet’s word fulfilled, but sadly, he didn’t live to benefit from it.

The word of God mandating our people more than 3,000 years ago with a national mission and destiny in our promised land and beyond, continues to nurture and sustain us through all our traumas and tsuris. We have experienced shock and loss, with thousands of us bereaved, injured and traumatized. But we have also experienced many remarkable miracles. Slowly but surely, our enemies are being defeated.

We continue to believe in our mission and our mandate. We are still happy people. Please, God, we will remain happy, strong and faithful, and live to celebrate our complete victory very soon.

The post A Nation Like No Other first appeared on Algemeiner.com.