Lebanese and Israeli Artists Unite in Concert

Many people recently raised doubts about a controversial gathering broadcast on YouTube featuring Lebanese dancer Joanna Fakhri and Israeli heavy metal band Orphaned Land at a music festival held last Tuesday in Clisson in southern France.

The video clip showed the band performing in Hebrew while Ms. Fakhri danced holding the Lebanese flag and then asking her co-performers to hold the Israeli one as they performed together.

The image of her holding the Lebanese flag alongside a Israeli flag has sparked outrage in the comments section below the video. Some have reprimanded her saying she cannot be Lebanese or that perhaps she is a member of the Mossad, while called her dishonorable for placing her flag next to an Israeli one. However, one person called her action brave, saying she stands for peace.

The singer Kobi Fahri, a member of the band, told Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper that "Joanna Fakhri insisted on joining both flags on stage despite her fears of being severely criticized in her homeland."

Israel and Lebanon are technically still at war and under Lebanese law; it is illegal for a Lebanese citizen to have any form of public dealing with Israelis, which makes Ms. Fakhry in violation of the law.