<\/p>\n
\n\tMassive Attack announced the formation of an alliance for musicians they say are facing \u201cintimidations\u201d within the music industry for their support of Palestine and the people of Gaza in the midst of the ongoing Israeli war against militant group Hamas.<\/p>\n
\n\tIn a statement posted on Thursday (July 17), the British trip hop group wrote, \u201cThe scenes in Gaza have moved beyond description. We write as artists who\u2019ve chose to use our public platforms to speak out agains the genocide occurring there & the role of the UK Government in facilitating it. Because of our expressions of conscience, we\u2019ve been subject to various intimidations from within our industry (live & recorded) & legally via organized bodies such as UK Lawyers For\u00a0Israel (UKLFI); whose range of activities has now finally been exposed in a new documentary film projected last night by the Led By Donkeys collective.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe group added that they were aware of what they described as the \u201caggressive, vexatious campaigns\u201d by UKLFI, as well as \u201cmultiple individual incidences of intimidation within the music industry itself; designed solely to censor & silence artists from speaking their hearts and minds,\u201d adding, \u201chaving withstood these campaigns of attempted censorship, we won\u2019t standby & allow other artists \u2014 particularly those at earlier stages of their careers or in other positions of professional vulnerability \u2014\u00a0to be threatened into silence or career cancellation.\u201d <\/p>\n
\n\tWhile the statement did not name any specific bands, it got re-shared by two acts that have come under fire recently for their pro-Palestinian comments, Northern Irish rap group Kneecap and Irish rock band Fontaines D.C., as well as Brian Eno and Garbage. <\/p>\n
\n\tBritish punk duo Bob Vylan recently courted controversy by shouting \u201cFree Palestine\u201d and \u201cDeath to the IDF\u201d during their Glastonbury Festival set \u2014 the latter in reference to the Israel Defense Forces \u2014 an action that led to their being dropped by their booking agent<\/a>, as well as a police investigation into the incident and the cancellation of festival appearances and European tour dates<\/a> with Gogol Bordello. <\/p>\n \n\tThose actions followed a campaign calling for Kneecap\u2019s set at the fest to be cancelled over a terror offense<\/a> charged to MC Mo Chara (born Liam \u00d3g \u00d3 hAnnaidh) by the London police in May for allegedly showing support for the militant organizations Hamas and Hezbollah \u2014 both of which are defined as terror groups by U.K. law \u2014\u00a0by displaying a Hezbollah flag onstage during a show in London last year.<\/p>\n \n\tIn an accompanying statement, Kneecap wrote<\/a>, \u201cEND threats and censorship against artists who speak out against the genocide in Palestine. Speak out. Stand up. We are the majority.\u201d As a result of their advocacy, Kneecap were removed<\/a> from the Scottish TRNSMT festival over safety concerns and their Glastonbury set was not aired as part of the BBC\u2019s life broadcast of the show.<\/p>\n \n\tFontaines D.C. posted the phrases \u201cFree Palestine\u201d and \u201cIsrael is committing genocide\u201d on screens during a pair of recent sold-out London gigs and then invited a member of a pro-Palestinian group<\/a> on stage at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark in June, where he led the crowd in chants of \u201cFree Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMassive Attack have long supported Palestinian causes, boycotting performances in Israel since 1999 and issuing a statement in April supporting Kneecap that read, \u201cKneecap are not the story. Gaza is the story. Genocide is the story.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIsrael\u2019s nearly two-year war against Hamas following the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the militant group on the Jewish state in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage has led to the deaths of nearly 59,000 Palestinians in the conflict so far, according to Palestinian authorities. Over the course of the military assault, Israeli forces have serially displaced the citizens of Gaza and destroyed much of the area\u2019s infrastructure as the administration of Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to eradicate Hamas from the territory. <\/p>\n \n\tThe massive devastation has also led to severe food shortages and claims that Israel is conducting a genocidal operation in Gaza, charges that Netanyahu has repeatedly denied. On July 3, Amnesty International issued a statement<\/a> claiming that evidence the group gathered in the month since Israel introduced a controversial \u201cmilitarized aid distribution system,\u201d points to the Netanyahu administration\u2019s continued use of \u201cstarvation of civilians as a weapon of war against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip and to deliberately impose conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction as part of its ongoing genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMassive Attack\u2019s statement ended with a call to artists who feel they\u2019ve been censored for their views about Palestine to contact them, in addition to a list of demands including an end of UK arms sales to Israel, an immediate cease fire and \u201cimmediate, unfettered access to Gaza for recognized international aid agencies without military threat.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\tSee Massive Attack\u2019s statement below.<\/p>\n