BADU PROMPTS CONTROVERSY ON MIDDLE EAST TRIP

ERYKAH BADU is spreading a message of peace during a trip to Israel and Palestine.

The rapper appeared at a press conference in Tel Aviv on Thursday (31Jan08), ahead of a performance in the city on Saturday (02Feb08), and showed off a poster with her face and the words for peace in Hebrew and Arabic at the bottom.

She told reporters, "I come from across the water bringing light and hope."

But Badu prompted outrage by praising controversial Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan and expressing her love of Palestinian hip-hop while failing to name any Israeli rappers.

She said, "They (Palestinians) use (hip-hop) as a form of liberation, as a form of pre-resistance, as a form of therapy."

And speaking of Nation of Islam leader Farrakhan - who has been accused of anti-Semitism in the past - she added, "(Farrakhan is) not an anti-Semite. He loves all people."

Badu's next album Nu AmErykah is due to be released on 26 February (08) - a Nation of Islam holiday.