(JTA) On a warm summer day in Oslo last year, Kaveh Kholardi heartily greeted spectators at a city-organized concert celebrating diversity.
Kholardi, a popular Norwegian rapper of Iranian descent, wished his fellow Muslims “Eid Mubarak,” a greeting in Arabic for the Eid al-Fitr holiday that marked the end of Ramadan.
He asked whether there were any Christians present, smiling upon hearing cheers. Then he asked if there were any Jews.
“F***ing Jews,” he said after a short silence, adding “Just kidding.”
In Norway, the incident generated an uproar at the time and again last month, when the Scandinavian country’s attorney general cleared the 24-year-old musician of hate speech charges, opining that his slur may have been directed at Israel.
