Dana International sends J.K. Rowling ‘love and kisses’ after backlash
Israeli transgender pop-star Dana International defended J.K Rowling in an Instagram post after the Harry Potter author sparked a row over comments about the transgender community
Israeli pop-star Dana International has defended J.K. Rowling after the Harry Potter author sparked a row with her comments about the transgender community.
The transgender singer sent Rowling “love and kisses from Israel” in an Instagram post, the newswire Reuters reported. “Sometimes the community goes to unnecessary wars with people who are totally with us,” the artist wrote.
Rowling, 54, recently drew criticism from some in the LGBT community as well as several Harry Potter cast members, including the Jewish actor Daniel Radcliffe.
The 30 year-old Hollywood star, who rose to fame after being cast in the leading role at the age of 11, expressed solidarity with the transgender community last week.
“Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I,” Radcliffe wrote.
The row began after Rowling took issue with a headline on an online article discussing “people who menstruate”, and said: “I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?”
In December last year she had voiced her support for a researcher who was sacked after tweeting that transgender people cannot change their biological sex.
Critics accused her of being transphobic, an allegation Rowling strongly denies.
Then last week, Rowling shared a lengthy blog post on her website, in which she revealed that she was partly motivated to speak out because of her experience of domestic abuse and sexual assault.
“I’m mentioning these things now not in an attempt to garner sympathy, but out of solidarity with the huge numbers of women who have histories like mine, who’ve been slurred as bigots for having concerns around single-sex spaces,” she wrote.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
