Problem: Harel Skaat was born on 8 August 1981, in Kfar Saba, Israel, to a family of Yemenite-Jewish and Iraqi-Jewish descent. When he was six years old, he won a national children's festival competition entitled "A Star for the Evening - Singing Big" in his hometown and while still a child he appeared in an episode of a popular Israeli television show called Parpar Nehmad (prpr nkhmd, Nice Butterfly). Throughout his youth, he continued to appear at festivals and television shows, and at the age of 15 he was the lead singer of both the Kfar Saba city band and his high school band. At 18, he sang with the Israel Defense Forces' Communications Corps.

In 2006, Skaat began a concert tour to promote his debut album, performing throughout Israel, including a concert at the Frederic R. Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv (home to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra). The tour eventually passed the 200 concert mark, an achievement which has been widely noted in the Israeli media. In 2009 Skaat began a second concert tour to promote the Dmuyot album. Reuters' music writer and critic, Assaf Nevo began his review of the launch of that tour by noting that if a computer were to create the ultimate Israeli pop singer it would resemble Skaat, who he wrote combined the charisma of Shlomo Artzi, the star quality of Ivri Lider, the vocal clarity of Izhar Cohen, the cuteness of Evitar Banai, and the sensitivity of Rami Kleinstein. While Nevo viewed Skaat as a good pop singer, he believed that Skaat's music did not extend beyond this genre.  Skaat has also frequently appeared at the Zappa night clubs in Tel Aviv and Herzliya, which regularly features live music from both Israeli and international musicians.  One of Skaat's first major appearances after Eurovision was on 28 July 2010 in Tel Aviv at a tribute to the French singer, Serge Gainsbourg. Skaat had been scheduled to perform at the opening ceremony of the XIX International Festival of Arts, "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" in Belarus on 9 July 2010, but his appearance was canceled by the organizers two days before the event. The organizers cited a need to downsize the number of concerts as a reason for the cancellation, but Israeli diplomatic sources alleged that the cancellation was due to political reasons and the Israeli ambassador to Belarus refused to attend the opening ceremony in protest. In March 2011, Skaat took part in a unique collaboration: singing three of his songs live in the Sharon Levi's Barcelona Dance Company's tap dance show, "Fragments", which debuted in Paris.

Did he perform outside of Israel?

Answer with quotes: singing three of his songs live in the Sharon Levi's Barcelona Dance Company's tap dance show, "Fragments", which debuted in Paris.


Problem: Ahmed Yassin was born in al-Jura, a small village near the city of Ashkelon, in the British Mandate of Palestine. His date of birth is not known for certain: according to his Palestinian passport, he was born on 1 January 1929, but he claimed to have actually been born in 1937. His father, Abdullah Yassin, died when he was three years old. Afterward, he became known in his neighborhood as Ahmad Sa'ada after his mother Sa'ada al-Habeel.

Yassin was a founder and prominent leader of Hamas, which is regarded as a terrorist organization by a number of national governments. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon characterized Yassin as the "mastermind of Palestinian terror" and a "mass murderer." The Israeli government repeatedly asserted that Yassin was responsible for a number of terrorist attacks, which targeted and killed a number of civilians. They accused him of being behind all the attacks perpetrated by Hamas against Israel. Israel said the targeted killing was in response to dozens of suicide attacks by Hamas against Israeli civilians. According to an Israeli government website:  Yassin was the dominant authority of the Hamas leadership, which was directly involved in planning, orchestrating and launching terror attacks carried out by the organization. In this capacity, Yassin personally gave his approval for the launching of Qassam rockets against Israeli cities, as well as for the numerous Hamas terrorist bombings and suicide operations. In his public appearances and interviews, Yassin called repeatedly for a continuation of the 'armed struggle' against Israel, and for an intensification of the terrorist campaign against its citizens. The successful operation against Yassin constitutes a significant blow to a central pillar of the Hamas terrorist organization, and a major setback to its terrorist infrastructure.  In his statement Yassin declared that Hamas did target Israeli civilians, but only in direct retaliation for the death of Palestinian civilians. In his thinking this was a necessary tactic to "show the Israelis they could not get away without a price for killing our people."

Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?

Answer with quotes: was a necessary tactic to "show the Israelis they could not get away without a price for killing our people."


Problem: Gwen Renee Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer, and actress. She is a co-founder and the lead vocalist of the band No Doubt that experienced major success after their breakthrough studio album Tragic Kingdom (1995) along with various successful singles, including "Just a Girl"

Stefani made most of the clothing that she wore on stage with No Doubt, resulting in increasingly eclectic combinations. Stylist Andrea Lieberman introduced her to haute couture clothing, which led to Stefani launching a fashion line named L.A.M.B. in 2004. The line takes influence from a variety of fashions, including Guatemalan, Japanese, and Jamaican styles. The line achieved popularity among celebrities and is worn by stars such as Teri Hatcher, Nicole Kidman, and Stefani herself. In June 2005, she expanded her collection with the less expensive Harajuku Lovers line, which she referred to as "a glorified merchandise line", with varied products including a camera, mobile phone charms, and undergarments. In late 2006, Stefani released a limited edition line of dolls called "Love. Angel. Music. Baby. Fashion dolls". The dolls are inspired by the various fashion that Stefani and the Harajuku Girls wore while touring for the album.  In late summer 2007, Stefani launched a perfume, L, as a part of her L.A.M.B. collection of clothing and accessories. The perfume has high notes of sweet pea and rose. In September 2008, Stefani released a fragrance line as a part of her Harajuku Lovers product line. There are five different fragrances based on the four Harajuku Girls and Stefani herself called Love, Lil' Angel, Music, Baby and G (Gwen). As of January 2011, Stefani has become the spokesperson for L'Oreal Paris. In 2016, Urban Decay released a limited edition cosmetic collection in collaboration with Stefani.  In 2014, Stefani announced the production of an animated series about her and the Harajuku Girls. Along with Vision Animation and Moody Street Kids, Stefani has helped create the show which features her, Love, Angel, Music, and Baby as the band, HJ5, who fight evil whilst trying to pursue their music career. Mattel have signed on as the global toy licensee and the series itself, Kuu Kuu Harajuku will be distributed worldwide by DHX Media.

What other ventures did Gwen Stefani have?

Answer with quotes:
Stefani launched a perfume, L, as a part of her L.A.M.B. collection of clothing and accessories.