Dana rejects Spice Girls offer

JERUSALEM, June 9 (JTA) — Israel’s most famous transsexual has turned down an offer to become a member of one of the world’s most popular musical groups, according to an Israeli news report. Ma’ariv reported that Dana International, the Israeli singer who won this year’s Eurovision song contest, has turned down an offer to replace the recently departed Ginger Spice as part of the British pop group Spice Girls. The newspaper quoted the singer’s manager, Ofer Nissim, as saying that while his client was flattered by the proposition, “Dana has other plans.” Dana International, whose winning performance at Eurovision prompted celebrations from many secular Israelis and jeers from fervently Orthodox politicians, appeared in court this week to deny that she pushed one waitress and threw a bottle of water at another during a November 1995 cafe performance.