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Organizers of Local Music Awards in Australia Vow to Back Anti-Israel Musician Despite City Funding Being Pulled
A protester holds a sign that reads, ”From the river to the sea Palestine will be free” during a pro-Palestinian emergency demonstration outside the Consulate General of Israel in Houston, Texas, on March 19, 2025. Photo: Reginald Mathalone via Reuters Connect
Organizers of a music awards ceremony that celebrates artists in northeastern Australia said it is their “priority” to support an avid anti-Israel jazz musician, who won a top honor at the recent show for her anti-Israel composition and then repeatedly criticized the Jewish state in her acceptance speech.
QMusic, which is the Australian state of Queensland’s music industry development association and the organizer of the Queensland Music Awards (QMAs), sent a letter to its members on Sunday in support of “River to Sea” composer and pianist Kellee Green. The letter was sent after the Brisbane City Council (BCC) in Australia revoked funding worth $25,000 (US $15,755) for the QMAs effective immediately because Green’s seven-minute instrumental compassion won the jazz award at the annual ceremony on March 25.
A further $450,000 (USD $283,590) in annual funding to QMusic is also under review, according to The Guardian. Queensland’s Arts Minister John-Paul Langbroek said in a recent statement that the awards show “should have never been the place for this divisive commentary to occur.”
“There are consequences for words and actions,” he added. “I have sought an explanation from QMusic. I will be questioning the awards process, current eligibility criteria, and comments made at the awards ceremony.”
In the letter to QMusic members, CEO Kris Stewart wrote: “One of our QMAs winners and members, Kellee Green, who, along with the QMAs, has received a lot of media attention in the days since the awards. Supporting Kellee is a priority, and I apologize for the delay in sharing this update with our members.”
“We have remained in regular contact with Kellee following the QMAs to ensure she is supported and has access to professional support services,” Stewart added in part. “The safety and wellbeing of our members and the wider music community is our shared responsibility … This moment serves as a reminder of the importance of a strong, united music community.”
Green, who is also a teacher at a private Catholic girls’ school, attended the QMAs on March 25 wearing an ensemble that prominently featured the colors of the Palestinian flag. The title of her composition “River to Sea” is a nod to the anti-Israel slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” The phrase is largely recognized as a call for the destruction of the Jewish state — located between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea — and for it to be replaced with “Palestine.”
In her acceptance speech after “River to Sea” won the jazz award, the Brisbane-based artist accused Israel of “76 years of genocide against the people of Palestine.” She claimed Israel “kill[s] innocent Palestinian men, women, and children,” and called for a boycott of the Jewish state. She also criticized the Australian government for supporting Israel. She alleged that Australia is “complicit in war crimes,” and “supports the mass slaughter and ethnic cleansing of an entire race of people.” Green ended the speech by proclaiming, “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
Her comments were condemned by Jewish groups as well as Brisbane’s Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner, who called Green’s “promotion of antisemitism” at the QMAs “utterly shameful and divisive.” He criticized QMusic for giving an award “to an offensively titled anti-Jewish song” and allowing “vile hate speech” at the QMAs. Stewart responded to the backlash about Green’s song winning an award by saying that while QMA judges “recognize that this phrase [‘River to Sea’] carries political connotations, the title did not stand out as divisive within the volume of songs received.”
Brendan Cahill, the principal of the school Brigidine College in Indooroopilly where Green teaches, issued a statement to parents of students last week announcing that Green had agreed to take a leave of absence from the school, The Guardian reported. Green assured him that she had not made any political statements to students, and the school is further investigating Green’s “personal musical recordings,” Cahill added. The school has also been in contact with the Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies, which has called for QMusic to revoke Green’s award. Green’s website has since gone private, and she deactivated her social media accounts.
More than 2,000 members of the music industry have signed a statement in solidarity with Green that was launched by Taiwanese-Australian composer Matt Hsu, the founder of Brisbane’s Obscure Orchestra. A number of pro-Palestinian groups — such as the Facebook group called Teachers and School Staff for Palestine NSW — have also come out in support of Green and her song amid the controversy.
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Terrorist Murderer of Pregnant Woman Believed to Have Been Eliminated
Nael Sami Samara, a 36-year-old from Bruqin, the West Bank, who is believed to be connected to the murder of Tze’ela Gez while she was on her way to hospital to give birth. Photo: 27A according to Israeli copyright law
i24 News – The Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security agency believe that the murderer of Tze’ela Gez last week, who was slaughtered in cold blood while on her way to give birth in the hospital, was killed on Saturday by security forces in the West Bank.
Nael Sami Samara, a 36-year-old Palestinian, is suspected of being connected with the terror attack, although it is unclear if he was the shooter.
Samara was killed in Bruqin, near the Jewish community of Bruchin in the northern West Bank and close to where the attack occurred.
Samara’s brother was also captured by the forces for interrogation, as well as several members of his extended family. The Shin Bet detained several more suspects for investigation. In parallel, the siege on the two villages, Bruqin and a-Dik, continues as the terrorist has not been definitively identified.
“As part of the manhunt for the terrorist who carried out the shooting attack in which Tze’ela Gez was killed, targeted sweeps were performed by IDF soldiers directed by the Shin Bet in the village of Bruqin, close to the scene of the attack,” the IDF and Shin Bet spokespersons said in a joint statement. “This morning, several suspects were arrested for involvement in the attack. During the arrest of one of the suspects, a terrorist was identified running towards the forces while holding a bag carrying suspected explosives and shouting ‘Allahu Akbar.’ In face of the immediate threat, the soldiers engaged and neutralized the terrorist. None of our forces were injured.”
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Report: Mohammed Sinwar’s Body Found In Tunnel Near Rafah Crossing
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz looks on, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem, Nov. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that, “according to all indications, Mohammed Sinwar was killed.” The Saudi channel Al-Hadath also reported that the body of the acting Hamas leader was found in a tunnel near the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, the southern Gaza Strip. Alongside Sinwar, the bodies of 10 of his aides and the commander of the Rafah Brigade in Hamas, Mohammed Shabana, were found. Later it was reported that his brother, Zakaria Sinwar, was killed in an Israeli attack, but doctors reported him alive but in critical condition.
Last Tuesday, the Israeli Air Force carried out a rare attack against tunnel infrastructure near the European Hospital. i24NEWS learned that there are a number of names being floated to replace him, among them the commander of the Gaza City Division, Ezzedine al-Haddad; a leading Hamas political bureau member, Nizar Awadallah; and Khalil al-Haya, a senior member of the political arm of the terrorist organization.
On Sunday morning, Israel’s security apparatus said there has been no change in the status of Sinwar, but as time goes by optimism is growing that he was successfully eliminated in the targeted killing.
The post Report: Mohammed Sinwar’s Body Found In Tunnel Near Rafah Crossing first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Mossad Retrieves Trove of Documents, Belongings of Executed Spy Eli Cohen
Venerated Israeli spy Eli Cohen. Photo: JNS.org.
i24 News – Some 2,500 documents, photos, and belongings of executed spy Eli Cohen were retrieved from Syria in a special Mossad operation, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Sunday.
The trove was recovered due to a secret, complex operation in cooperation with the official Syrian archive, which held thousands of classified items ever since his capture and subsequent execution in Damascus’s al-Marjeh Square in 1965.
The items included the keys to his Damascus apartment, forged passports, and photos he took during his espionage, particularly of senior Syrian officials. He also left behind notebooks and diaries that were seized by Syria’s intelligence service.
The announcement came 60 years to the day after his execution, with the items presented in the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mossad Director David Barnea, and the widow of the late Eli Cohen, Mrs. Nadia Cohen. Included was Cohen’s will, which he wrote hours before his execution, and of which only a copy has been publicly revealed so far.
“Eli Cohen is a legend. In the test of time, he is revealed as the greatest intelligence agent in the history of the state, whose heroism and activity contributed to the historic victory in the Six-Day War,” Netanyahu said. “The Eli Cohen archive, which was brought with special effort, will educate generations, and expresses our tireless commitment to returning all of our missing persons, prisoners of war and abductees to our country.”
“Bringing the archive is a significant achievement of the highest ethical and moral value, and another step in advancing the investigation to locate the burial place of our man in Damascus,” said Barnea. “This important mission is before our eyes, and we are committed to continuing to do everything we can to realize it. “We will continue to work to locate and return all the missing, the fallen, and the kidnapped – the living for rehabilitation and the fallen for eternal rest in the tomb of Israel.”
This comes after Israel worked for decades to locate every piece of evidence relating to Cohen, aimed at discovering his fate after his execution and his grave. Included in the archive is the orginal sentencing for his execution, which stated that the court allowed the Damascus Jewish community religious leader, Rabbi Nissim Andabu, to accompany Cohen in accordance with Jewish tradition ahead of his execution.
Syrian intelligence also compiled a large file labeled “Nadia Cohen,” which collected his widow’s efforts to secure his release from prison, including letters to world leaders and the Syrian president.
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