WTFN: Israel, Palestine and the Division in the Music Community

b.liebman

March 31

Things have rarely been more bleak in the world, and America's divisions have rarely been wider.

But there's fractures even within the traditional sides. While the break in the conservative side of America between classic Republicans and the MAGA crowd has been widening for years, there's now a new split growing wider in the Democratic Party between the "woke" far left and more moderate liberals, and the greatest catalyst for this has been the renewed Israel/Palestine conflict.

In the past, one of the areas where it seems Democrats and Republicans both seemed to agree to some extent was America's support for Israel. But, as news of the thousands of innocent civilian deaths in Gaza has spread across the U.S., a large contingent of loud protest has erupted across the country, and as a music journalist, I've been witness to how the music industry has acted as a microcosm of the country in its feelings towards the conflict.

As this is such a touchy topic, where everyone has biases, I think it's fair to present some facts about myself before going further into this:

I am a Jewish grandson of Holocaust survivors, but do not consider myself religious.
I have never been to Israel nor do I have any close ties to the country. I do believe it has a right to exist and defend itself.
I believe the Palestinians have a right to have their own country, be safe, and have access to all the resources that any western country has.
I do not support Benjamin Netanyahu or his government.
I do not support Hamas.
I am on the side of innocent people whom I do not want to see hurt, mistreated or killed.

Seems pretty reasonable I hope? Sadly I'm sure there's something above that someone will take issue, including in the music community I love.

So many artists I love and respect have been posting and sharing news in support of one side or another, with acts with opposing views often getting targeted for what is perceived as their stance in the conflict. The most visible of these attacks has been on Jewish reggae singer Matisyahu. A couple months ago, I interviewed the artist just as he was launching his tour in support of new EP Hold the Fire. We discussed his recent visit to Israel, and while not getting into the politics of the situation, he discussed visiting victims of the horrific attack on Israeli citizens by Hamas on October 7th. He performed as part of a fundraiser to support the freeing of hostages following the attacks, and footage made the rounds of his performance to crowds, including Israeli soldiers.

Those sympathetic to the Palestinian cause have called Matisyahu a "zionist", "racist" and supporter of genocide, despite the fact that the artist's songs have always been in support of peace and unity, and Matisyahu specifically has said he has compassion for the people of Palestine (though he has loudly advocated against Hamas, and stories in the past indicate he did not support a Palestinian state). This didn't phase the protestors, who set about calling in threats to get Matisyahu's shows canceled, and having threats made to the artist and his family. Of this initial tour, three dates were canceled due to these protestors' actions, and according to the artist, he was asked to step away from a tour with Rebelution (the reasons behind this have not yet been disclosed).

Coming to his support has been famed hard rock band Disturbed's lead singer David Draiman. A proud Jew and someone who openly calls himself a Zionist, but who rejects most other labels, Draiman has been one of Israel's most vocal defenders among western musicians, calling out false accusations against the country and raising money to hire security for Matisyahu and his family. While he has also maintained a desire for peace and openly stood against the brainwashing of youth towards any hateful ideology, he's taken the offense against those who have been vocally critical of Israel, and hasn't shied away from calling out other celebrities he feels have been on the wrong side of the issue.

I can't lie and say I don't feel a bit of kinship with Draiman, and appreciate having a tough-ass hard rocker like him in the corner of my people. Though I am skeptical of some of the pro-Israel posts he has shared (everything reads like propaganda to me at this point), I appreciate the lack of b.s. he uses when addressing the issues and calling out all forms of antisemitism.

And let's discuss antisemitism for a moment. Though a semite is "anyone who speaks or has spoken a semitic language, mainly Jews and Arabs", antisemitism almost-always refers to those who hate Jews. The term has never gone away, but received a renewed focus when Kanye West went on his tirade against Jews last year, instantly making him a pariah to most, but also leading to a number of those with negative feelings towards Jews to poke their heads out and feel empowered enough to make their bigoted feelings known. I myself have encountered some of these people on X, and in attempting to question their beliefs, received some horrendous answers (see the image to the right).

Matisyahu and many of his defenders have called the protests against him acts of antisemitism (and he's responded to the rise of that hate with his new song "<a href="http://<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6jpQvARYDHg?si=inondWiT0XwL5yf4" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen>Ascent"), and this is something that the "Free Palestine" crowd will have to reckon with. I don't agree that all of it comes from antisemitism specifically (one of the groups calling for these protests has been a Jewish group for Gaza), but it certainly exists there, just as there's Islamophobia at the heart of much of the criticism of the Palestinians. And the extremist views some of these protestors have, including saying anyone who denounces their attempts to cancel Matisyahu's shows are supporters of genocide, hold no basis in reality.

On the other side, there are a large number of musicians openly advocating against Netanyahu's indiscriminate bombing of Gaza, and condemning reports of the Israeli government and military's blocking of aid to Gaza, firing upon unarmed civilians, and all-other types of war crimes. Folk singer Alexi Murdoch, whose gentle, melancholic tracks like "Orange Sky" and "Through the Dark" have soundtracked many a powerful film scene, is just one voice that has been constantly criticizing not only Israel's actions, but also the U.S.'s complicity in supporting Israel and providing the country with the weapons that have caused so much death. The British singer has stated on X that he believes "The United States is a Terror State" and has shared literature about Israeli's ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.

Obviously as an American I don't want to believe we live in a terror state (though we have no doubt committed acts, both publicly known and secret that would fall under the definition), and as a Jew, I am sickened to think that my fellow Jews would be responsible for any kind of atrocities that are similar to what they've experienced over our history (and yet, Jews are people, so just as capable of hate, racism, and evil as any other kind of person). While I love Murdoch's music, he does lose me with some of his messaging, including sharing videos from Roger Waters, who's anti-Israel sentiments have been widely considered antisemitic, including by ex-bandmate David Gilmour. And it's hard to see him post so many things critical of Israel and the U.S., and nothing criticizing Hamas (not that he's defend them, but to not put any blame on the plight of the Palestinian people on that group does seem absurd). That doesn't mean that what he is posting is wrong - just very focused one aspect of this issue.

In the punk community, it soon became clear that if you weren't shouting "Free Palestine" in your feed, then you weren't on the right side of history. Artist Laura Jane Grace went out of her way to make it clear in an X post that she stood with Palestine. I think to many in the punk community, Israel and its right-wing government feel like the oppressive authority, and the people in Gaza the underdogs - something punk music has always been for. And the people of Gaza who are suffering deserve people to speak up for them and fight for their rights. The Israeli response to October 7th has been like so many other responses of theirs in the past: an eye for a head. Tens of thousands of civilian non-combatants killed. Their infrastructure decimated. You can't not feel for them. It's still a little surprising how homogenous the response has been from the punk crowd though, and how black and white. For a hot minute, any left-leaning artist who may have shared heartfelt condolences to the Israelis who lost their lives on October 7th were now filling their feeds with "Free Palestine", and denouncing the actions of Israel, without a single mention again of Hamas. Too many people equate Israel with all Jews, meaning the constant criticism from mainstream artists of Israel is causing antisemitism to rise, and for punk artists to not do more to nuance their reactions to what's happening sometimes feels like a betrayal from the genre I love. Not that I think Laura Jane Grace or any of her punk peers support any kind of hate towards Jews or other minority groups, but their followers seem to be heading down those paths (though reading some of these reddit posts did give me hope).

Some artists have taken a more even-handed, sensible approach; Tom Morello aptly stated "I'd like to make the radical proposal that the harming of children, no matter who they are & no matter who does it, is always wrong and should be condemned. Similarly, WAR CRIMES committed by any person, any organization or any government (yours, mine, friend or foe) must be denounced and the responsible parties held accountable." and later followed with a copy/paste blurb making the rounds the reminded people that it was possible to condemn both the violence against Israelis and those against Palestinians. Yet, he has retweeted more articles since then focusing on the deaths of Palestinians in the war.

Unfortunately it seems nuance takes too much time for many, and these artists forget the influence their words can have, leading to further polarization and painting of either support for Israel as "supporting genocide" or anyone condemning Israel's actions as "antisemitic". It would be great if every time someone on the side of Israel condemns Hamas and demands the hostages be released, they also blasted the indiscriminate bombing of hospitals and schools in Gaza. For every person attacking Israel for the death toll, it would be better if they specified Netanyahu and his warmongering government, since not all of Israel supports or is complicit in his decisions. Those demanding a ceasefire should acknowledge that it will require both Israel stopping the bombings and Hamas releasing hostages (and more likely both sides getting rid of their extremist leaders) to make this a possibility.

And it would be best if everyone took the time to engage with those they disagree with in a civil manner and have a conversation before condemning them and trying to cancel them. People have the right to protest, but trying to stop a person from sharing their art and making a living because you don't agree with their beliefs is not helping any cause - it's just hurting someone else and creating more negative sentiment. Forcing venues to cancel Matisyahu's shows will not help the people of Gaza. It doesn't help anyone.

And what should never be lost in all of this back-and-forth sniping online is the actual human toll. The band SHIV lost two family members in the attacks on October 7th, influencing them to write the beautiful anti-war song "Wishing". About the song, they've said "This one is for the children of the world, any child or person who has been impacted by war, felt loss, and wished for something."

In my opinion, this is what we all need to remember. We should mourn the loss of innocent lives on either side, and focus on creating a world without conflicts and hate. This kind of hate only breeds more hate and more violence. SHIV rose from their pain and grief and created art that pines for peace.

I hope the musicians above and not mentioned here can understand that there are people hurting on both sides of the conflict, and when speaking out on the issues, they should be cognizant that focusing solely on one side's pain may not just make it seem like you don't care about the other side, but may slowly cause your followers to view the ones you paint as victimizers as a monolithic enemy.

So no matter which side you're protesting or speaking up for, please focus on messaging meant to help those in need - not condemning those you disagree with.

Find a larger list of musicians' responses to the conflicts here on Pitchfork.