Minister Miri Regev makes farce of her right-wing credentials by inviting transsexual singer to attend Independence Day ceremony

Miri Regev, the government minister who already made a farce of herself by wearing a modest dress in the UAE a number of years ago, has now additionally embarrassed her right-wing standings by inviting Dana International, the transsexual Israeli singer, to attend the Israeli Independence Day ceremony:

Minister Miri Regev, who is overseeing the official state Israeli Independence Day events, has notified the singer Dana International that she has been selected to light a torch at the official opening ceremony of the holiday on Mount Herzl.

Regev's office stated, "Dana International, an international singer and cultural icon, was a trailblazer and brought Israel to victory in the 1998 Eurovision with the song 'Diva.' Beyond her musical achievements, Dana became a symbol of acceptance, equality, and pride, and led a change in perceptions regarding the LGBT community and gender in Israel and around the world."

Minister Regev stated: "Dana International is a groundbreaking figure, one of the most beloved singers in Israel, and one of the most successful in the world, who contributed a lot to promoting values of tolerance and acceptance in Israeli society. Choosing Dana to light a torch is a recognition of her special contribution and her ability to unite hearts around the values of equality and mutual respect."

The decision was met with opposition by those in conservative circles due to International (whose real name is Sharon Cohen) being transgender.

Note though, that Israel National News isn't helping by using female pronouns, when here, they could be sending a much clearer message and showing some courage by referring to this pretentious singer according to his biological sex. For now, this is an utter humiliation, right down to how Regev uses left-wing style talking points, and Dana did not change any perceptions, in Israel or anywhere else. What is clear is that Dana is an embarrassment with what he's taken up, and even the feminine name becomes an embarrassment as a result.

In a Hebrew opinion column in Arutz Sheva, Itamar Segal attacked the decision, saying he could not watch the ceremony since partakeing in the ceremony is "something no less than an idol in the Temple - a man, a singer who decided he's a woman, an Israel 'trailblazer' to one of the biggest crazinesses known to mankind since it appeared on earth. Anyone who is familiar with this phenomenon from up-close and knows what it means and its the consequences, even before the halachic prohibition and the Torah's outlook, knows how crazy and bad it is, and how it is chametz that must be destroyed from this earth so it is not seen or found."

He added: "What will we do with the shame if a minister in a right-wing government is the one to decide on such a disgrace?"

This is another ill-advised attempt by an Israeli delegate to "prove" to the non-Jewish world they're not against specific ideologies, not even Islam, even though the Religion of Peace is hostile to LGBT ideology. It's a very sad example of how some on the right have tripped all over themselves in attempts to convince antisemites to change their opinion, which is not going to be the case. And Regev even hurt women's dignity almost a decade ago, by supporting "modest dress" at government-sponsored concerts, which beggars the query: women dressing skimpily is bad, but LGBT practices are completely okay? That's what has since come to be known as wokeness, and now Regev has really shown some true colors.

At the same time, many of those on the left voiced criticism of the singer's decision to agree to attend the event organized by the government, which they despise, and in light of the fact that International herself called on fellow LGBT singer Ivri Lider not to participate in last year's event to protest the fact that the hostages were not released.

The singer responded to the criticism, writing on social media: "Regarding the hostages -there is no bigger pain than this. Since the war began, I've been screaming this at every possible place. During the first year of the war, I could bring myself to get up on stage. I canceled my Purim concert because I felt I couldn't. We live many long months in this tragedy, and we try to function, live, and scream.

"Last year, I published a post calling on Ivri Lider not to go to the ceremony while there are still hostages. That's how I felt then. I admit that now, it doesn't sound good. Should I tell you what excites me the most now? That I'm going to hug Eli Sharabi and Emily Damari, who during last year's ceremony were in captivity and this year will stand on the stage to light a torch. How we've waited for this moment, for them to be here. Together with them, we will make heard the voice that calls for them all to be released - until the last hostage."

Among the others invited to light a torch at the ceremony is Jewish-American political commentator Ben Shapiro, who is known to often criticize the transgender community. In this regard, Dana International quipped: "I want to see from up close who this Shapiro guy is."

I hope he's not going to go easy on Dana International just because he's Israeli. And while the singer may support efforts to free hostages, that doesn't make his lifestyle practice any more legitimate. I myself would rather not watch this year's Independence Day ceremony as a result of this wokefest that does hurt Israel's common sense image, and what Regev did does not need to be done just to send a message to Islam's monsters, who happen to have double-standards on LGBT practice as it is.