Haifa Mayor Bans Palestinian Singer Lina Makhoul For Calling Haifa 'Palestine'

Things got heated in Haifa this week when Mayor Yona Yahav banned Palestinian-Israeli singer Lina Makhoul from performing at city-run events. The decision came after Makhoul posted on Instagram about a concert at Fattoush Bar, calling the location "Haifa, Palestine."

That didn’t sit well with a lot of people on Hebrew social media. Yahav jumped in on Facebook, writing, "Lina Makoul, you need to understand: Haifa is a city in the Jewish democratic state of Israel, and it’s staying that way." He shouldn't need to point out the obvious.

He said Makhoul was hurting the city’s efforts to bring people together, adding, "Music should unite, not divide. As long as I’m mayor, you’re not playing at our events." The ban covers city-sponsored gigs like Independence Day parties but doesn’t stop her from performing at Haifa’s public venues. It’s kicked off a big argument about free speech and what it means to be Palestinian in Israel.

The trouble started when Makhoul, a 31-year-old singer, shared her gig details on Instagram, tagging it "Haifa, Palestine." That set off a storm online, with Hebrew-speaking users calling it a direct challenge to Haifa’s place in Israel. Yoseph Haddad, a right-wing influencer, didn’t hold back, labeling Makhoul a "terror-supporting singer" and demanding her Israeli citizenship be taken away.

Over on X, people were split. Some backed Haddad, while others thought Yahav went too far. One post, racking up 17,453 views by April 28, put it bluntly: "A mayor silencing an artist for her identity? That’s not unity, that’s control."

Yahav’s move isn’t out of nowhere. He recently pulled the plug on a performance by right-wing rappers Subliminal and Yoav Eliasi, known as The Shadow, for Independence Day, saying their views stirred up too much trouble.

It looks like he’s trying to keep city events free of anyone who might rock the boat, hoping to protect Haifa’s reputation as a place where Arabs and Jews get along. But a lot of people say banning Makhoul does the opposite, showing just how shaky that reputation can be when identity issues bubble up.

Makhoul’s no stranger to pushing buttons. Born in Ohio to Arab-Christian parents and raised in Acre, Israel, she shot to fame in 2013 as the first Palestinian to win The Voice Israel, nabbing 62% of the public vote with a heartfelt take on Leonard Cohen’s "Hallelujah."

Her music, a mix of indie-pop Arabic with pop, hip-hop, and Palestinian dabke beats, has fans all over the world. She’s opened for big names like Little Mix, Queen + Adam Lambert, and Will Smith, and she’s got shows lined up in Utrecht, Los Angeles, New York, Berlin, and Paris.

On Instagram, she calls herself "100% Palestinian," and her songs, like the 2024 track "On Mute," dive into her life as a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship.

She’s been vocal about her beliefs for years. Since 2018, Makhoul has skipped Israel’s Independence Day events. She’s also backed pro-Palestinian causes, including some linked to the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement.

Haifa’s a complicated place for this kind of fight. In 2022, the city had 290,306 residents, with about 11.5% Arabs, a big drop from the large Palestinian population before 1948, when most fled during Israel’s War of Independence.

Now, with 60,000 Palestinian residents and 20,000 students, Haifa’s a hotspot for Palestinian culture and politics. Sitting on Mount Carmel with its busy port, the city’s often held up as a success story for Jews and Arabs living together. But moments like this show how fast things can get tense when someone like Makhoul calls Haifa "Palestine."

Yahav’s ban has people talking. Some say Yahav’s just protecting Haifa’s place in Israel, especially after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that killed over 1,200 people and ramped up anti-Palestinian feelings. Others think he’s setting a bad example, punishing Makhoul for who she is instead of anything she’s done to break the law. "This is about control, not unity," an X user wrote.

As Makhoul gears up for her world tour, her music, all about the Palestinian experience, will keep stirring things up. Meanwhile, Haifa’s got to figure out how to live up to its big talk about bringing people together.