(L) MIKE. Photo by Nulvany David. (R) Wednesday. Photo by Graham Tolbert
Hundreds of musicians and record labels have joined on to “No Music For Genocide,” a new boycott campaign of Israel. The signees have pledged to remove their music from streaming services in Israel in response to the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, repression in the West Bank, apartheid conditions across the country, and repression of pro-Palestinian activists in the United States.
The full list of names can be viewed here. They include MIKE, Wednesday, Erika de Casier, Arca, Primal Scream, Massive Attack, Faye Webster, Liv.e, Nourished by Time, Smerz, Nick León, Oklou, Soccer Mommy, Kelela, and King Krule. Labels like 10k, Leaving Records, and the online radio station NTS are also geo-blocked their content and services in Israel.
The campaign bills itself as “a way for artists and independent labels to take that step themselves and refuse to carry on like it’s business as usual.” A press statement reads: “Culture can’t stop bombs on its own, but it can help reject political repression, shift public opinion toward justice, and refuse the art-washing and normalization of any company or nation that commits crimes against humanity.”
It continues: “Many of our peers have felt, like ourselves, unsure how to use music in this moment. Our first goal with No Music For Genocide is to inspire others to reclaim their agency and direct their influence toward a tangible act.”
The launch of “No Music For Genocide” comes the day after a federal judge cleared the way for the deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian born in Syria whose green card was revoked for his campus activism. This week, a United Nations inquiry was the latest to accuse Israel of genocide in Gaza, following studies by Amnesty International, B’Tselem, and Physicians for Human Rights.
