The court ruled that Ahmadi and the others offended “public decency through the production and publication of obscene and immoral content on cyberspace platforms.”

By Shiryn Ghermezian, The Algemeiner

Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi and members of her production team have been reportedly sentenced to 74 lashes by the regime in Iran over her performing without a hijab in a concert that was broadcast live on YouTube.

In 2024, the 29-year-old singer and eight members of her production team performed a livestream concert on Ahmadi’s YouTube channel.

Ahmadi defied Iran’s mandatory dress code for women and did not wear a hijab while performing the patriotic song “Az Khoon-e Javanan-e Vatan” (“From the Blood of the Youth of the Homeland”).

Shortly after she posted the video of the “Caravanserai Concert” online, she and two members of her band were arrested and briefly detained, according to the US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran.

According to activists and media reports, the criminal court of Iran’s Qom province has now sentenced Ahmadi, musicians Ehsan Beiraqdar and Soheil Faqih Nasiri, and six members of her production team to flogging, a two-year ban on leaving Iran, and a two-year ban on participating in artistic activities because of the YouTube performance.

The ruling has not been published by the official judiciary news agency, but lawyers, human rights groups, and the UK news publication The Guardian saw court documents confirming the sentencing.

The court ruled that Ahmadi and the others offended “public decency through the production and publication of obscene and immoral content on cyberspace platforms.”

“Ahmadi’s punishment of 74 lashes for merely singing and appearing without a hijab is yet another reminder that human rights conditions in Iran have not changed, despite the Iranian authorities’ wartime propaganda campaign aimed at improving their image,” said Bahar Ghandehari, the director of advocacy at the Center for Human Rights in Iran.

Iranian-American journalist and activist Masih Alinejad criticized the sentencing in a post on X.

“One day after the US signed a deal with the Islamic Republic، the regime in Iran, handed Parastoo Ahmadi 74 lashes for singing on YouTube,” she wrote, referring to the US memorandum of understanding with Iran.

“They call America the Great Satan. And then they flew to the table and signed a deal with the ‘Devil.’ But a woman’s voice scared them more than any superpower ever could,” Alinejad added.

“A regime that whips women for showing their hair and singing – there’s not a normal government. This is called apartheid against women.”

Human rights lawyer Moein Khazaeli defended Ahmadi and condemned her sentencing while speaking to The Guardian.

“Singing, performing music, and producing or disseminating musical works by women are not criminalized under Iranian criminal law. Consequently, such activities cannot reasonably be construed as the ‘production, distribution, or publication of obscene content,’” he said.

“The imposition of a flogging sentence against artists, civil society activists, or other citizens is not merely a matter of domestic criminal law. It also raises serious concerns regarding states’ international obligations to prohibit torture and safeguard human dignity. For this reason, numerous human rights organizations consider flogging not a legitimate form of punishment, but rather a form of torture and inhuman treatment.”

The post Iranian singer sentenced to 74 lashes for not wearing hijab during livestream concert appeared first on World Israel News.

Noam Bettan, Israel’s contestant for the Eurovision Song Contest, which will be held in Austria, has revealed his new song titled “Michelle,” which will be sung in Hebrew, English, and French.

I love our song for Eurovision 2026 – ‘Michelle”

Holding hands for Noam pic.twitter.com/23Q0LDMZgy

— Iris (@streetwize) March 5, 2026

The post WATCH: Israel’s Eurovision representative debuts contest song appeared first on World Israel News.

The singer has condemned Israel’s war in Gaza but still refuses to acknowledge jihadism as the motivation behind the 2017 suicide bombing at her concert, which killed 22 of her fans.

By World Israel News Staff

Pop star Ariana Grande shared an anti-Israel post on Instagram Sunday, accusing the Israeli government of using hunger as a weapon of war against civilians in Gaza.

Grande, a Grammy-winning artist with more than 375 million Instagram followers, reposted content from a group calling itself Red Line for Gaza.

“Starving people to death is a red line,” the post read. “The government of Israel is crossing this red line before your eyes.”

The post added that “history will ask each of us what we did while we watched them starve to death. Demand aid be allowed in. Do it now, before it’s too late.”

This is not the first time that Grande has leveraged her platform to promote posts accusing Israel of war crimes.

Several months ago, she shared content from the far-left group Jewish Voice for Peace, which failed to differentiate between Hamas terrorists and civilian casualties.

“Trust Palestinians. The Israeli government is committing genocide,” the post read. The content also alleged that the IDF seeks to displace Palestinians in order to seize their land.

Grande’s critics have noted the clear double standard in her activism.

In 2017, an Islamic terrorist carried out a suicide bombing at Grande’s concert in Manchester, England, killing 22 people — many of them children and teens — and injuring over 1,000.

The attack was the deadliest suicide bombing on British soil since 2005.

Despite the attack on her concertgoers, Grande has never publicly condemned Islamic extremism.

While she referred to the bombing as “the absolute worst of humanity,” she has avoided any mention of the jihadist motivation behind the massacre of her fans.

Grande, who said she developed PTSD as a result of the attack, has yet to name Islamic terrorism the cause of the bombing, even eight years later.

The post Pop star Ariana Grande accuses Israel of ‘starving’ Gazans appeared first on World Israel News.

Israeli singer Hanan Ben Ari lit up Independence Day celebrations with a powerful performance for 6,000 IDF soldiers, uniting the crowd in song and patriotism.

The post WATCH: Israeli singer performs for 6,000 IDF soldiers during Independence Day concert appeared first on World Israel News.

Pop star Lina Makhoul, who previously asked Allah to protect Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, reignites controversy by erasing Israel in her latest tour announcement.

By World Israel News Staff

A popular Israeli singer of Arab descent promoted her upcoming concert tour by inviting fans to attend her concert in Haifa, which she falsely claimed is in “Palestine.”

Lina Makhoul, who was born in the US but grew up in Israel, identifies herself on social media as “100 percent Palestinian,” despite holding Israeli citizenship.

She rose to fame in 2013 after winning the Israeli talent TV competition The Voice.

On her Instagram account on Saturday, Makhoul posted tour dates, including one said to be taking place in Haifa, Palestine.

Haifa is the third-largest city in Israel, and has been part of Israel since the country declared independence in 1948.

In a recent interview with Arab affairs podcast Yalla, Makhoul referred to herself as being a “subject” of the Israeli “occupation,” although she grew up in Israel.

During that conversation, Makhoul also claimed that she feared speaking Arabic in the streets of Akko, her hometown.

That claim is highly questionable, as Akko’s population is nearly one-third Arab and Arabic is commonly heard spoken throughout the city.

In recent years, Makhoul has used her platform to amplify pro-terror narratives, which has increasingly distanced her from the mainstream Israeli pop scene.

She sparked backlash with her social media posts in September 2024, following reports of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s assassination.

When Nasrallah’s fate was unclear in the first few hours after an Israeli airstrike, Makhoul posted “May Allah protect him” on her Instagram account.

After a series of posts demonizing Israel during the 2021 Guardian of the Walls Israel-Hamas clash, Makhoul’s Israeli manager, Irit Tenhengel, publicly parted ways with her.

While “terrorists are bombing Israel with thousands of missiles, you choose to spread false posts and statements against Israel. Shame on you!” Tenhengel wrote in the post, addressed to Makhoul.

“You choose to turn your back on the country and the people who embraced you, who voted for you to win The Voice. The people and the country that gave you the stage and the opportunities to fulfill your dreams,” Tenhengel added.

“Instead of showing support for the people in Israel, you are fueling hatred and lies through your social media. I am ashamed and mostly sad for you.”

The post Arab-Israeli singer: ‘Come to my concert in Haifa, Palestine!’ appeared first on World Israel News.

Comedian Bill Maher takes aim at Gen Z musical icon Chappell Roan after she accused Democrats of ‘failing’ Palestine with ‘genocidal views.’

By World Israel News Staff

Comedian Bill Maher chided a pop singer Friday over her recent TikTok rant in which she accused the Democratic Party of holding “genocidal” views which have “failed” Palestine.

On September 25th, Kayleigh Rose Amstutz – a 26-year-old synth-pop singer better known by her stage name, Chappel Roan – posted a video statement to TikTok, defending her decision not to endorse a candidate for the upcoming presidential election.

Castigating Donald Trump and pledging to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, Roan nevertheless declined to endorse the Democratic candidate, noting her disappointment with the party and the policies of the Biden-Harris administration.

“Like, obviously, f*** the policies of the Right, but also, f*** some of the policies on the Left,” said Roan. “That’s why I can’t endorse.”

“There is no way I can stand behind some of the Left completely transphobic and completely genocidal views.”

“F*** Trump for real, but f*** some of the sh** that has gone down in the Democratic Party that has failed people like me and you and more so Palestine and more so every marginalized community in the world.”

On Friday, Maher responded to Roan’s comments, dedicating his “New Rule” segment on his “Real Time With Bill Maher” show to rebutting them.

The 68-year-old liberal comedian and political satirist mocked Roan’s understanding of Middle East politics, saying queer-themed lyrics would not play well in the Gaza Strip.

“New rule to mark the Oct. 7 anniversary: We must launch a campaign to educate young Americans about the Middle East,” Maher said.

“Chappell, if you think it was repressive growing up queer in the Midwest, try the Mideast. You’re a female drag queen and you sing ‘I f***ed you in the bathroom when we went to dinner at your parents.’ That wouldn’t fly in Gaza, although you would, straight off a roof.”

“You’re not wrong that oppression is bad or that Palestinian and many other Muslim populations are oppressed and deserve to be freed,” Maher continued.

“You just have it completely ass-backwards as to who is doing the oppressing. Hamas is a terrorist mafia that took over Gaza… Are you sure this is who you want to throw down with?”

Maher ripped Roan for ignoring the Hamas atrocities against Israelis which sparked the current conflict.

“When we get to Israel — and Chappell, this is where we must put to the test your pledge to use critical thinking and to question whether what you’re reading on social media is true because it isn’t. There’s a whole history of the Middle East that you and your fans weren’t hearing about.”

“I know you’re moved when what you see are the dead Palestinian bodies, but it’s odd that your generation didn’t seem nearly as moved by the Jewish bodies on October 7.”

“You killed at Coachella this year, but when Hamas kills at a music festival it’s a whole other thing. Doesn’t the sight of so many young women raped at a music festival make it a little personal?”

“You’re advocating for a place and a culture you would never want to live under. Gender may not be binary but right and wrong kind of is.”

The post Bill Maher schools pop singer over anti-Israel rant appeared first on World Israel News.

In true Jewish spirit, Ishay Ribo sold out Madison Square Garden in New York for the second year in a row, singing prayers for the return of the hostages and inspiring thousands of American Jews with his voice.

THE JEWISH PEOPLE ARE ALIVE!!

A sold out crowd at Madison Square Garden last night, for Israeli superstar Ishay Ribo's concert, chanting:

"Am Yisroel Chai."

Video by @NYCStein. pic.twitter.com/3nWmMcVSJu

— Frum TikTok (@FrumTikTok) September 16, 2024

The post WATCH: Religious Israeli singing sensation sells out Madison Square Garden again appeared first on World Israel News.