Amir, a crooner caught in the anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic storm

Amir is the story of a 41-year-old French-Israeli crooner who wants to sing ditties, but finds himself caught in the crossfire of the Israeli-Palestinian war. For the past six days, his appearance at two festivals— Gardanne, France, and the Francofolies de Spa, Belgium—has provoked outraged reactions from artists, relayed on social media, including from elected officials of the LFI (Luxembourg Federation of French Films).

In France, both the CGT (General Confederation of Trade Unions) and opposition politicians in the town of Gardanne, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, have railed against what they call "a provocation." In Spa, a dozen emerging artists, much less prominent than Amir, have said they are "uncomfortable" at the idea of sharing the bill with the singer.

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Three of them - the Franco-Swiss singer Yoa and two musicians from the Belgian street art collective Who's That Girl - have even decided to throw in the towel. " I prefer to remain aligned with my values and my commitment to Palestine," says the former. In Paris, this boycott did not escape the notice of Thomas Portes, an LFI representative who immediately posted on social media , "Bravo to these artists!"

Also read: Amir, finalist of The Voice, could represent France at Eurovision

Behind the scenes, the reality is darker. Amir's record company, Parlophone (Warner Music), denounces an "outpouring of anti-Semitic hatred." Organizers of the Belgian Francofolies festival acknowledge having received numerous messages calling for Amir's cancellation. However, they decided to ignore them. They explain that they "chose to program him for what he is," a popular song artist. "That's precisely what he is, a pop variety artist who is a hit with very young people and dreams of bringing his audience together," explains Jean-Pierre Pasqualini, program director of the television channel Melody TV.

Laurent Haddad, known as Amir, was born in Paris and lived in Sarcelles, in the Val-d'Oise region, before his parents moved to Israel when he was 8 years old. It was in this capacity that he completed his mandatory three-year military service as a staff sergeant. The Belgian pro-Palestinian movement Liège Occupation Free has transformed this term into "staff sergeant of the Israeli army," thus necessarily complicit in the "genocide" in the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

The singer is not, however, known to be a supporter of Benjamin Netanyahu. While social media has unearthed a concert he gave in Israel in 2014, "like all popular singers, he avoids getting political and maintains his neutrality," insists Jean-Pierre Pasqualini.

While studying dentistry in Jerusalem, Amir would cherish the hope of succeeding in singing. In Israel, he reached the final of the Israeli version of the talent show Nouvelle Star in 2006. A few years later, he released his first album, posted videos on the internet on the advice of a friend, and was spotted by TF1 to participate in The Voice. He, who had always considered himself an amateur singer, found himself swept into "an enchanted bubble" 4,000 km from his family, "between dream and reality." At 30, Amir's career took off, he sang about love, captivated a family audience, and wore a perpetual smile on his handsome face. So much so that in 2016, France chose him to represent them at Eurovision, where he finished sixth. The song "J'ai cherche " was co-written with Nazim, a close Muslim man, with whom he would sing " En face" in 2024, in favor of peace. Even then, the choice of a Franco-Israeli to represent France had been attacked on social media. He had stood up to it.

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Settled in Paris with his family, this jack-of-all-trades, described as curious and insatiable by his friends, even tried his hand at theater in 2023. "I offered him the role of Alfred Nakache, the swimming champion deported to Auschwitz," recalls producer Steve Suissa. "Amir wasn't an actor, and the beginnings were laborious. I told him: if you want to make it, you have to train to swim and work six hours a day on your lines. He did it because he's very determined, and the play, performed at the Édouard VII theater in Paris, was a triumph."

Today, in the face of attacks, the crooner remains silent and refrains from descending into the depths of social media. To Yonathan Arfi, president of the CRIF, who called him a few days ago, he reportedly said: "All this is causing more noise than harm." Yonathan Arfi, for his part, is saddened by the controversy. "There is something essentializing about these movements of rejection. They make every Franco-Israeli a culprit by definition. However, attacking Amir, who made his career in France and lives in France, is attacking French cultural life."