Egyptian singer Hani Shaker just sued Israel's police force for 'misusing his song'

An Egyptian singer has filed an official complaint against the Israeli Embassy in Cairo after his image and lyrics from his song was used in a video campaign to recruit Arab police officers, local Quds Press reported on Friday.

Hani Shaker, a prominent pop singer, said he was “surprised” to see his image used in the campaign, describing as “theft of Arab art an Israeli assault on it.”

“It is a despicable attempt to falsify the Arab consciousness.”

The 55-year-old said the move “damages the reputation of Egyptian artists who support the Palestinians and their rights, including the rejection of all forms of normalisation with Israel and which call for return rights to their owners.”

Last week, Israel’s police force launched a campaign aiming to increase Arab recruitment into the force, erecting some 1,000 billboards, broadcasting a radio message featuring its highest ranking Muslim police officer, and producing a video.

Palestinian-Israeli Knesset Member Haneen Zoabi had slammed the move, noting “the police force loses no opportunity to prove how little interest it has in lowering crime rates.”

“It’s interested in nurturing ‘relations’ with ‘loyal representatives,’ because it sees its responsibility as controlling Arab society. It wants to control its subjects, not provide them with security.”

The sentiment was echoed by other Arab Knesset members.

“This campaign is a mockery and destined to fail because the police force’s true face is known to the Arab community from up close, and 1,000 billboards won’t change its hostile image,” Yousef Jabareen said. “The police’s test will be in changing its policy of treating Arab citizens as enemies.”