Washington Post: Palestinians find an unlikely hero in ‘Arab Idol’ contest show winner

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/06/24/palestinians-find-an-unlikely-hero-in-arab-idol-contest-show-winner/

"Assaf, with his good looks and easy smile, represents a publicity coup for the Palestinian cause and makes ordinary Palestinians happy to show the world, corny as it is, that Gaza is not just about rockets and strife, but singing and dreaming."

Palestinian singer Mohammad Assaf holds a Palestinian flag after he won the title of the television talent show “Arab Idol,” in Beirut, Lebanon. (EPA/MBC PRESS OFFICE)

JERUSALEM — It was a most improbable story of a moonlighting wedding singer from a Palestinian refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, who barged his way into an audition and went on to win hearts across the Middle East — and on Saturday night was declared the winner of the “Arab Idol” singing contest.

Fireworks exploded over the West Bank city of Ramallah and people poured into the streets there and in the Gaza Strip to celebrate what fans called a dream come true for Mohammad Assaf, the fresh-faced 22-year-old college student from Khan Younis.

He closed down his competitors by singing, in English, the Backstreet Boys hit “I Want It That Way.” Here’s the video:

http://youtu.be/zSgbAWnA4mw

Al Jazeera reported that after Assaf won the Idol title he was named Youth Ambassador for United Nation’s agency for Palestinian refugees, a goodwill ambassador by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and handed a diplomatic passport — READ MORE

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/06/24/palestinians-find-an-unlikely-hero-in-arab-idol-contest-show-winner/
 [AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]