The Macklemore situation

I’m nuanced on this whole conflict for Gaza, so my views will stay nuanced on this situation.

So for context, Ed Sheeran invited Macklemore to perform in his concert. He sang his Pro Palestine song, Hind’s Hall. Whilst I understand his intention is to stand up for peace (and not for Hamas, because I don’t think celebrities who are as performative activists as anyone else, would even care about Hamas in the slightest), it seems very odd in some way to show your views to a concert of people. You can speak to a podcast about it or actually express it on social media, but saying out to dozens of people, seems very uncomfortable on my issue.

Yet for me, I really don’t like how people on the Pro Israeli side are dramatic over the Macklemore situation and how a word such as “Free Palestine“ can be seen as antisemitic. Because logically, if you put the Hamas propaganda aside, this statement seems like a callout for peace and to stop the violence that’s happening in Gaza. Same with “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”. If we ignore the Arab translation (which logically, let me judge on the translation- how could Palestine “will be” Arab when it’s already conquered by Arabs in the first place? That just makes NO sense.), the phrase is quite catchy and good rhyming sense, which would help people notice protestors‘ attention.

Macklemore did say that his way of saying “Free Palestine” isn’t to show Jewish hate, and he’s not wrong. There should be a time and place to call this out, and his intention isn’t that time. I would say, for me, it would be more antisemitic to actually say Free Palestine up close to an Israeli person who did nothing but exist (because that’s harassment and also you’re denying the fact that someone was born in an existing country, despite it ‘existing’ for almost 80 years at this point), than in a concert full of thousands. I do have a say that whoever was that guy that said “death to the IDF” at Glastonbury, really screwed his career. Terrorist or not, wishing death to anyone is vile.

At the end of the day, we should ignore those who want to speak up for peace, if it offends you. But what do you all think?