Israeli pop star Noa Kirel said on Tuesday that she was not disappointed or upset about remarks made the previous day by Knesset member Moshe Gafni.
Speaking during a parliamentary debate on the budget, the United Torah Judaism party leader and finance committee chairman said that he would “donate some clothes” to the 22-year-old performer.
He was apparently referring to the skimpy outfits Kirel wears during her performances, which included a third-place finish for her song “Unicorn” at the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool on May 13.
“I really think that each person has a right to express his opinion, and this is his opinion, and I respect it. Everyone can think what he wants and this is his, it’s totally fine,” she told Channel 12 News.
“Most opinions are ones of pride and love, and there are also these opinions, and it’s totally fine, he has a right to express his opinion,” she continued.
Following the best finish at Eurovision for an Israeli since Netta won the contest in 2018 with “Toy,” Kirel caused a backlash in Poland for her remarks about the Holocaust.
Polish officials took issue with comments Kirel made calling it a “victory” that she had received the maximum 12 points from the Polish jurors after many members of her family were murdered in the country during the Shoah.
Deputy Foreign Minister Paweł Jabłoński said that Kirel would be invited for an official visit “to understand why she thinks about our homeland in this way and to explain why [her comments] are painful to us.”
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