Sotheby's to host talks and workshops at Jeddah's Islamic Arts Biennale
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
15 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
'Word soup': U2 statement on Gaza dismissed as ‘billionaire pacifism'
The massively popular Irish band U2's lengthy statement on Israel's war on Gaza on Sunday has triggered widespread backlash on social media and has been dubbed 'billionaire pacifism'. In the statement, all four members of the band shared their individual views on Gaza, touching upon an array of issues such as Israel's starvation of Gaza, the blocking of humanitarian aid and the potential military takeover of the enclave by Israel. The band's statement starts with the phrase, 'We are not experts in the politics of the region, but we want our audience to know where we each stand.' Lead singer Bono's (Paul David Hewson) own statement spans from 'The rape, murder, and abduction of Israelis at the Nova music festival was evil' to 'I also understood that Hamas are not the Palestinian people.' Bono's statement repeats Israel's often-repeated "right to self-defence justification and echoes the same debunked claims Israel makes about Hamas using civilians as human shields. He also added that 'Benjamin Netanyahu today deserves our categorical and unequivocal condemnation', which many on social media have criticised as 'word soup'. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters U2's Gaza statement is billionaire pacifism, weeping into your champagne as you cash cheques from a genocide. Your 'moral clarity' stops where your wallet begins. Bono et al…until you ditch Live Nation and denounce your donors, you're just laundering blood money through a… — Mark Jones (@markjonescp) August 11, 2025 Others criticised U2's statement for their opening claim that they are not 'experts in the politics in the region', though they made public statements about Ukraine and the Ukrainian people 'for all of us who love freedom', two months into Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Two years after a genocide in Gaza: 'We are not experts in the politics of the region' But two months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine 👇🏽 — Osita Mba (@DrOsitaMba) August 11, 2025 U2's statement came on the same day Israel killed prominent Al Jazeera correspondents Anas al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh in a drone strike on a press tent near al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. The strike also took the lives of Al Jazeera staff Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa, as well as freelance journalist Mohammed al-Khalidi. After Bono's statement, perhaps the one that received the most backlash was the statement by Larry Mullen Jr, the drummer of the band. He said that after the 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel, Israel's response was expected. "After those attacks, the total obliteration of Hamas was called for by Israel and its allies and was expected." Many on social media expressed outrage at these words, hinting that Israel's war on Gaza started well before 7 October 2023. Larry you say what did Hamas expect? Well what did Isreal expect to happen after a blockade on Gaza since 2007? Where Isreal controls all land borders, the sky and the sea. Has bombed Gaza multiple times and murdered thousands since 2007 and Suffocates the life in Gaza! — lu (@slammesh) August 10, 2025 Some on social media, uninterested in Mullen's statement on Gaza in general, expressed their confusion as to why he felt he had to share his thoughts on this issue. This was a general sentiment towards the entirety of the statement by many social media users, saying that the band, specifically Bono, was a "fraud" and has no issue staying 'out of politics when it suits him'. I could not give an absolute fuck what U2 have to say about Gaza. Those shills have been dripping in Israeli blood money since day dot. Bono can "stay out of politics" when it suits him, while he's filling his pockets. He's a gutless poser and a fraud. — Carlito's Way stan account 🇵🇸 (@Oh_Deer_Diner) August 11, 2025 This is not the first time Bono has come under scrutiny for what critics say is selective humanitarianism, with satirical comedy show South Park taking aim at him in More Crap, the 9th episode of season 11. The Edge (David Howell Evans), lead guitarist of the band, criticised Netanyahu's Likud party for its plan to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza and the occupied West Bank to make way for a 'Greater Israel.' If the end game is this, 'that is not peace-it is dispossession, ethnic cleansing, and, according to many legal scholars, colonial genocide,' he said. Some on social media said that Mullen's statement was the only one openly and directly addressing Israel's assaults on Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, which several countries, as well as many international rights groups and experts, now qualify as an act of genocide. Over 61,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war started in October 2023, most of them women and children. Many also said that even though they grew up listening to the band, they would not follow or listen to their songs anymore, simply because they root for 'war criminals and imperialism'.
Middle East Eye
a day ago
- Middle East Eye
Madonna to Pope Leo: ‘Please say you will go to Gaza'
Madonna has called on Pope Leo to go to Gaza and 'bring your light to the children'. 'Most Holy Father, Please go to Gaza and bring your light to the children before it's too late,' the American singer wrote in an Instagram post on Monday evening. She added that as a mother, she could not bear to watch their suffering. 'The children of the world belong to everyone,' the pop superstar said. 'You are the only one of us who cannot be denied entry.' New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Last month, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the highest-ranking Catholic official in Jerusalem, made a rare visit to Gaza alongside Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem. The visit was made days after an Israeli strike on the Holy Family Church in Gaza City - the last Catholic church in the enclave - killed three Palestinians and wounded several others. Pope Leo's initial response to the attack, which acknowledged the loss of life but did not name Israel as the attacker, drew backlash and comparisons to his predecessor Pope Francis, who was outspoken in his condemnation of Israel's war. He later attributed the attack to the Israeli army. Madonna's plea adds to a chorus of voices urging the pontiff to break the siege on Gaza and lead an urgent mission to the enclave. 'Break the siege': Calls mount for Pope Leo to visit Gaza Read More » The singer called on the 'humanitarian gates to be fully opened' to save children in the Palestinian territory. Israel has imposed a near-total blockade on the entry of food and humanitarian assistance into Gaza since March, leading to widespread starvation and malnutrition. Since late May, the controversial US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has taken control of aid distribution in the enclave. However, it has handed out a small fraction of the aid needed, and at least 1,800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid - most of them near GHF sites, which are heavily militarised. At least 222 Palestinians have died of starvation since the war began, of whom 101 are children, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza. Madonna's run-in with popes Madonna's statement fell well short of criticising Israeli actions in Gaza. 'I am not pointing fingers, placing blame or taking sides. Everyone is suffering. Including the mothers of the hostages. I pray that they are released as well,' she said. 'I am merely trying to do what I can to keep these children from dying of starvation.' She said that politics 'cannot affect change', and that only 'consciousness can', which was why she was reaching out 'to a Man of God'. Madonna was raised as a Roman Catholic, and has often used Catholic imagery in her songs and music videos. Her provocative representations of religious themes - including burning crosses and pole-dancing nuns - have resulted in run-ins with the Catholic church and popes spanning decades. In 1990, Pope John Paul II described The Blond Ambition Tour as 'one of the most satanic shows in the history of humanity'. Her Confessions tour in 2006 was described as a 'blasphemous challenge to the faith and a profanation of the cross' by Cardinal Ersilio Tonini, who was speaking with the approval of Pope Benedict XVI. 'She should be excommunicated,' Tonini said. She sparked controversy last year after posting an AI-generated image of Pope Francis with his hand around her waist. In June, an investigation carried out by the New York Times concluded that Madonna and Pope Leo shared an ancestor six generations ago, making them ninth cousins.
What's On
a day ago
- What's On
Roxie Nafousi live in Dubai this October
A live experience for anyone ready to go deeper. Roxie Nafousi returns to Dubai this October with Confidence: The Live Show, a new event shaped by the ideas in her bestselling book, Confidence: 8 Steps to Knowing Your Worth. Happening on Tuesday October 14 at Zabeel Theatre, the event marks the Middle Eastern debut of this powerful new format, part talk, part transformation, and fully in Roxie's signature style: honest, warm, and grounded. What's the vibe? This isn't your typical self-help talk. Roxie will take centre stage for a genuine, in-depth dive into self-worth, guiding guests through her eight-step method shaped by personal growth, lived experience, and practical tools that truly resonate. Expect heartfelt storytelling, honest conversation, and that signature Roxie energy, focused, authentic, and quietly powerful. The book, but alive Image: Supplied Inspired by her most personal book to date, the show brings Confidence: 8 Steps to Knowing Your Worth off the page and onto the stage. Through a candid live interview, Roxie will walk the audience through the emotional shifts, tools, and insights that form the backbone of her eight-step method, offering a real-time experience of the transformation her readers have only seen in print. This is confidence work, live and in motion. The evening is designed to help you reconnect with your inner strength, quiet the inner critic, and understand confidence not as a quick fix, but as something you can build, slowly, intentionally, and for good. With her signature mix of warmth, clarity and honesty, Roxie makes the complex feel doable, and the personal feel universal. About Roxie Nafousi Roxie Nafousi is a self-development coach, bestselling author, and speaker whose work focuses on real, accessible personal growth. Her books have sold over a million copies worldwide, with Forbes calling her a 'global and cultural phenomenon.' Her latest title, Confidence, became a UK bestseller in 2025. She also hosts the RISE with Roxie podcast, which debuted at number one in the Health & Fitness charts. Special guests, real talk Joining Roxie on stage is a panel of voices diving into topics like body image, beauty standards and the messy, very real process of learning to feel good in your own skin. Think shared experiences, not filtered quotes. The details Location: Zabeel Theatre, Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Hotel, West Crescent, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Date: Tuesday, October 14 at 7.30pm Tickets: Starting at Dhs300 and are on sale at Contact: (056) 611 2719 | > Sign up for FREE to get exclusive updates that you are interested in
