Over 600 musicians have banded together in an effort to support the people of Palestine.
Rappers like Talib Kweli, Black Thought, Questlove, Belly, Pharoahe Monch, Bun B., Run The Jewels and Cypress Hill put their John Hancock’s on a letter titled Musicians for Palestine.
Almost 2,000 Palestinians were wounded, and 243 were killed after two weeks of intense fighting broke out between the militant group Hamas, and the Israeli army.
The 11-day war broke out after Israeli Police and Palestinians clashed at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on the final day of Ramadan. As a result of the tension, thousands of rockets were fired into Israel by Hamas, which lead to the Israeli army’s Operation Guardian of the Walls, which bombarded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes and tank shelling.
“In solidarity and empathy, as musicians, we cannot be silent. Today it is essential that we stand with Palestine,” the letter reads. “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.”
The letter goes on to blast the Israeli government for what the musicians labeled and apartheid like system against the Palestinian people, whom the Israelis are targeting for ethnic cleansing.
Although an informal ceasefire was implemented on May 22, the musicians believe the Palestinians are still being oppressed in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli government.
According to reports, the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate is already preparing for another war with the militant groups in the Gaza Strip. And Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar said his group was ready for another battle with Israel as well.
“We are ready for the great battle if the enemy commits a great folly in Jerusalem and the holy sites,” Sinwar said. “We wanted to deliver a message to the occupation and the world that we do not make threats haphazardly – so that the world knows that al-Aqsa has men who protect it.”
Check out the letter in full below:
“In solidarity and empathy, as musicians, we cannot be silent. Today it is essential that we stand with Palestine. 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. Silence is not an option as residents of Sheikh Jarrah in occupied Jerusalem are continuously forced out of their homes. Silence is not an option as millions of Palestinian refugees are denied their collective right of return. The Israeli government operates a settler-colonial project committe to the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population. The legacies of systemic violence, racism and dispossession shaped by colonialism must stop. We call on all governments to stop funding all resources and technologies that back the Israeli state and their war crimes. 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 sovereignty and freedom. We believe this is crucial to one day live ina world without segregation and apartheid.