Leila DeJoui July 19th, 2025 - 7:32 AM
Photo Credit: Sharon Alagna
During the Glastonbury festival, some artists have spoken out about what is happening in Gaza. Recently, during other music festivals, it has become somewhat the new normal for artists to be speaking about what is happening currently in the political climate. Kneecap’s Mo Chara has gotten a terrorism charge, Bob Vylan has gotten their US visa revoked and Massive Attack are launching a new alliance for artists facing “intimidations” and “organized censorship” for talking about what is happening in Gaza.
Massive Attack announced their new alliance on Instagram, according to an article by Stereogum. The group themselves have been pretty vocal about their opinion for quite some time. Even in 2023 they had gotten together with Young Fathers and Fontaines D.C. to release the benefit EP, Ceasefire. The EP raised money for Doctors Without Borders’ relief efforts in Gaza. During Coachella, authorities tried to charge Kneecap, but Massive Attack and many other artists had signed a statement of support for them. Massive Attack also threatened legal action against an Israeli influencer who accused them of “incitement.”
The political climate is what people want to talk about and what to hear about. All artists have different opinions on the matter and the fans either support or oppose those opinions. On Instagram, Massive Attack had posted a statement that was reposted by Brian Eno. Kneecap and Fontaines D.C. have also shown support for the Massive Attacks alliance. The statement said the following:
The scenes in Gaza have moved beyond description. We write as artists who’ve chosen to use our public platforms to speak out against the genocide occurring there and the role of the UK government in facilitating it.
Because of our expressions of conscience, we’ve been subject to various intimidations from within our industry (live & recorded) & legally via organized bodies such as UK Lawyers For Israel; whose range of activities has now finally been exposed in a new documentary film projected last night by the Led By Donkeys collective.
We’re aware of the scale of aggressive, vexatious campaigns operated by UKLFI and of multiple individual incidences of intimidation within the music industry itself, designed solely to censor and silence artists from speaking their hearts and minds.
Having withstood these campaigns of attempted censorship, we won’t stand by and allow other artists — particularly those at earlier stages of their careers or in other positions of professional vulnerability — to be threatened into silence or career cancellation.
In this spirit, we encourage artists who’ve been placed in this position, or those who now wish to use their platforms to talk about Palestine, but are concerted about industrial or legal repercussions to contact us.
[Email address that you can find in the Instagram slide, which I’d rather not have scraped from this blog post by any nefarious forces]
We want to work together to share experiences and creative, factual resources, & vitally, to stand in strength & solidarity to collectively demand:
Immediate, unfettered access to Gaza for recognised international aid agencies without military threat.
The end of the atrocious targeting of medical & aid workers.
An end of UK arms sales/licenses to Israel.
An immediate & permanent ceasefire.
A free Palestine.
If you’ve felt anxious about speaking out before but feel it’s too late, it isn’t.
It’s never too late to join this movement.
Everyone is welcome.
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