French singer held up at border en route to Ramallah

Faudel, 'prince of rai'.

French-Algerian pop star Faudel delayed at Allenby border crossing on his way to Arab music festival in West Bank. Israeli source says delay stemmed from lack of coordination with authorities

12 July 2008
by Merav Yudilovitch

The French-Algerian singer Faudel, also known as the "prince of rai music," was delayed along with his entourage of ten people at the Allenby Bridge crossing on Wednesday evening. The singer was making his way to the West Bank city of Ramallah in order to perform at the Arab world's largest music festival, held annually in the ancient city of Jarash.

The French television network TF1 and the news agencies quoted Faudel's manager, Michel Levy, saying that the delegation to Ramallah was delayed by Israeli authorities. According to Levy the delay nearly caused irreparable damage to the show.

Faudel performed at the Palestinian Dance and Music Festival, sponsored by the French Consulate. In a press conference held by the event's organizer, Iman al-Khamouri, she told reporters that Faudel arrived late because of the Israeli authorities.

Pete Learner, spokesman for the Unit of Government Activities in the Territories, said that "the singer Faudel and his entourage's crossing was not coordinated with the unit beforehand, and therefore they were required to undergo the normal examination procedure conducted at border crossings, without special treatment.

"Following the incident, we have clarified to the French Consulate that in future cases they must coordinate with us ahead of time, so that we can facilitate the process for delegations such as this one."

30-year old Faudel Belloua was born in France to an Algerian family and grew up in the suburbs of Paris. His first album was released in 1997, and since then he has been considered one of the most successful pop stars in his home country. His fourth and latest album combines French and Arabic songs, and also leans heavily on Algerian culture in France.

Commentary

Faudel, I do apologize for the delay at the Allenby Bridge, but please understand we do have a terrorist problem yet in the country and security is tight until this problem is subdued.

So please in the future until the current situation is resolved just bare with us and contact everyone ahead of time to make everything easier for everyone, especially yourself and your entourage.

I also deeply apologize, to the French government.