Following the United Nations Human Rights Council’s announcement that it would launch an international investigation into the recent 11-day Israel-Palestine crisis to determine whether Israel and Hamas were guilty of war crimes, a vast amount of artists within the music industry have decided to boycott Israel and refrain from performing in the Middle Eastern country in support of Palestine.
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As official authorities dedicated resources to the Israel-Palestine crisis, Nicolas Jaar and Iraqi-Canadian rapper Narcy have organized #MusiciansForPalestine, and they have already gathered support from some of the biggest acts in the music industry.
According to Complex, the list of over 600 musicians who signed the letter includes musicians such as Run the Jewels, Talib Kweli, Noname, Rage Against the Machine, Questlove, Black Thought, Bun B, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, Majid Jordan, A-Trak, Cypress Hill, Digable Planets, Belly, and Julian Casablancas of the Strokes, among countless others.
In addition the Israel boycott, #MusiciansForPalestine have also issued the following statement:
In solidarity and empathy, as musicians, we cannot be silent. We are calling on our peers to publicly assert their solidarity with the Palestinian people. Complicity with Israeli war crimes is found in silence, and today silence is not an option. Silence is not an option as the brutal Israeli bombardment of besieged Gaza claimed more than 245 lives in the last weeks.
Today, we speak together and demand justice, dignity, and the right to self-determination for the Palestinian people and all who are fighting colonial dispossession and violence across the planet. We call for you to join us with your name in refusing to perform at Israel’s complicit cultural institutions, and by standing firm in your support of the Palestinian people and their human right to soverignty and freedom. We believe this is crucial to one day live in a world without segregation and apartheid. Free Palestine.”
Watch #MusiciansForPalestine’s video about their boycott below.
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