Music artists are notably silent on the political cause of Palestine & Lebanon
High levels of courage are required to protest oppression by the Israeli state. Many western musicians and artists have not "stepped up to the plate".
Original writing: November 30, 2024
Many western musicians and artists (in contrast to their vocal support of previous causes) have been found wanting in their support for the oppression of the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples. Some previous causes:
Argentina & Chile Dictatorships 1978, Mothers of the Disappeared (U2)
Ethiopia conflict & famine 1984, Do They Know It’s Xmas (Band-Aid)
Balkan civil war 1994, Miss Sarajevo (U2 & Luciano Pavarotti)
Current Palestinian / Israel conflict (2023-Date), ..... (???)
Perhaps some of this reticence by artists can be explained by the power (across the globe) of the Israel lobby as epitomised by organisations such as American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the Anti Defamation League (ADL). The climate of fear created by the Israel lobby is demonstrated very clearly by the fear that this German reporter exhibits while interviewing John Mearsheimer. This climate of fear results not only in the implicit curtailment of free speech, but may also engender a fear within artists of personal attacks by these organisations for “daring” to speak in support of the Palestinian / Lebanese cause. But do such fears excuse silence in the face of a continuing genocide?
[ Mike Benz presents an interesting (but not necessarily true) take on the altruistic nature? of Bono and other “concerned” artists ]
Juliet Stevenson is one of the few artists who have vociferously called artists to rase their voices against the genocide as this video demonstrates.
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