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U2’s Bono changes lyrics in tribute to Israeli music festival victims of Hamas attack
(JTA) — The original lyrics of U2’s hit song “Pride (In the Name of Love)” were about Martin Luther King, Jr. But on Sunday night, the band’s singer Bono changed some of the song’s lyrics to pay tribute to Israeli victims of Hamas’ attacks.
In a break in their performance of the song at the newly-opened Sphere venue outside of Las Vegas, Bono mentioned the Supernova music festival by name. Over 250 festival-goers at the event held in the desert in southern Israel were killed on Saturday as Hamas militants opened fire and looked to take many hostage.
“We sing for those, our people, our kind of people — music people, playful, experimental people,” said the 22-time Grammy-winner, who has for decades been an antiwar activist who has commented on conflict around the world.
He then sang an altered verse dedicated to the victims: “Early morning, Oct. 7/Sun is rising in the desert sky/Stars of David, they took your life/They could not take your pride.”
The original verse references King’s assassination in Memphis on April 4, 1968.
U2 & Bono changed the lyrics to their legendary song Pride (In the Name of Love) during their show at The Sphere in Las Vegas to show their support for Israel. Original lyrics: Early morning, April four Shot rings out in the Memphis sky. Free at last, they took your life They could not take your pride. Changed to: Early morning, October 7th Sun is rising in the desert sky Stars of David, they took your life They could not take your pride. #u2 #bono #israelunderfire
♬ original sound – Jewish News
Bono was not the only celebrity to comment on the weekend’s violence. Madonna, who is known to be a student of Kabbalah, posted a graphic video to Instagram showing footage of Hamas violence. She wrote a long caption, including “My heart goes out to Israel. To Families and Homes that have been destroyed. To children who are lost. To Innocent Victims who have Been Killed.”
Other celebrities to post messages of support for Israel include Israeli “Wonder Woman” star Gal Gadot, Zoey Deutch, Jamie Lee Curtis, Amy Schumer, Kylie Jenner, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mandy Moore and Sofia Richie — the daughter of Lionel Richie who converted to Judaism before marrying her Jewish husband.
On Instagram, Jewish comedian Sarah Silverman reposted a note aimed at activists and others who have celebrated Hamas’ violence. Broadway star and Grammy-winner Josh Groban re-posted a note from Israeli-American composer Or Matias, who was music director for the hit show “Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812,” which starred Groban. Matias said that he has been “vocally critical of Israel’s government” but added that those who are silent in the wake of the attacks are “not purely pro-peace. You are anti-Israel.”
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The post U2’s Bono changes lyrics in tribute to Israeli music festival victims of Hamas attack appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Saudi Arabia Rejects Israel PM Netanyahu’s Remarks on Displacing Palestinians
US President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talk in the midst of a joint news conference in the White House in Washington, US, Jan. 28, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Saudi Arabia affirmed its categorical rejection of remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about displacing Palestinians from their land, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
Israeli officials have suggested the establishment of a Palestinian state on Saudi territory. Netanyahu appeared to be joking on Thursday when he responded to an interviewer on pro-Netanyahu Channel 14 who mistakenly said “Saudi state” instead of “Palestinian state,” before correcting himself.
While the Saudi statement mentioned Netanyahu’s name, it did not directly refer to the comments about establishing a Palestinian state in Saudi territory.
Egypt and Jordan also condemned the Israeli suggestions, with Cairo deeming the idea as a “direct infringement of Saudi sovereignty.”
The kingdom said it valued “brotherly” states’ rejection of Netanyahu’s remarks.
“This occupying extremist mindset does not comprehend what the Palestinian territory means for the brotherly people of Palestine and its conscientious, historical and legal association with that land,” it said.
Discussions of the fate of Palestinians in Gaza has been upended by Tuesday’s shock proposal from President Donald Trump that the U.S. would “take over the Gaza Strip” from Israel and create a “Riviera of the Middle East” after resettling Palestinians elsewhere.
Arab states have roundly condemned Trump’s comments, which came during a fragile ceasefire in the Gaza war that Israel has been waging against the terrorist group Hamas, which controls the narrow strip.
Trump has said Saudi Arabia was not demanding a Palestinian state as a condition for normalizing ties with Israel. But Riyadh rebuffed his statements, saying it would not establish ties with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state.
The post Saudi Arabia Rejects Israel PM Netanyahu’s Remarks on Displacing Palestinians first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Egypt to Host Emergency Arab Summit on 27 February to Discuss ‘Serious’ Palestinian Developments
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Feb. 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
Egypt will host an emergency Arab summit on 27 February to discuss what it described as “serious” developments for Palestinians, according to a statement from the Egyptian foreign ministry on Sunday.
The summit comes amid regional and global condemnation of US President Donald Trump’s suggestion to “take over the Gaza Strip” from Israel and create a “Riviera of the Middle East” after resettling Palestinians elsewhere.
The post Egypt to Host Emergency Arab Summit on 27 February to Discuss ‘Serious’ Palestinian Developments first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Thai Nationals Held Captive by Hamas in Gaza Return Home
Relatives hug a released Thai hostage, who was kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas and held in Gaza, as the hostages arrive in Thailand following their release, at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, in Samut Prakan, Thailand, February 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
When Surasak Rumnao, 31, left his home in Thailand’s rural Udon Thani province three years ago to go across the world to the southern Israeli town of Yesha for agriculture work, his family never imagined they would lose touch with him for over a year when he was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in October 2023.
He and four others were reunited with their families this weekend after their release from captivity in Gaza.
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists abducted more than 250 people, including Israelis and foreign nationals, in their October 2023 attack on Israel.
During the attack, Hamas terrorists killed more than 40 Thais and kidnapped 31 Thai laborers, some of whom died in captivity, according to the Thai government. Later that year, the first group of Thai hostages was returned.
Surasak’s mother, Khammee Rumnao, was relieved that her son was not mistreated and has returned to his home, about 620 km(385 miles) northeast of the capital, Bangkok.
“He mainly got to eat bread, he was looked after well and was fed all three meals (each day). He got to shower, he was looked after well,” Khammee said, and that he ate whatever his captors had.
Her son does not plan to go back and wants to use the knowledge he gained in his agricultural work in Israel at their home, she said.
His grandparents and other relatives came to their home to welcome him home.
His stepfather, Janda Prachanan, was elated.
“I couldn’t find the words to describe how happy I am, that my son is safe and finally home,” he said.
Earlier on Sunday, the other returnees, dressed in winter jackets, were met with tears of joy from their families who were waiting for their arrival at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
“We are all deeply touched to come back to our birthplace … to be standing here,” said Pongsak Thaenna, one of the returnees said. “I don’t know what else to say, we are all truly thankful.”
Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa, who met the hostages in Israel after their release last week, expressed relief.
“This is emotional … to come back to the embrace of their families,” he said. “We never gave up and this was the fruit of that.”
Before the conflict, approximately 30,000 Thai laborers worked in Israel’s agriculture sector, making them one of the largest migrant worker groups in the country. Nearly 9,000 Thais were repatriated following the October 7 attacks.
The workers primarily come from Thailand’s northeastern region, an area comprising villages and farming communities that is among the poorest in the country.
Thailand’s foreign ministry said a Thai national is still believed to be held captive by Hamas.
“We still have hope and continue to work to bring them back,” Maris said, adding that this includes the bodies of two deceased Thai nationals.
The post Thai Nationals Held Captive by Hamas in Gaza Return Home first appeared on Algemeiner.com.