US rapper Macklemore has long been vocal about his opposition to the Israeli occupation and genocide in Palestine. After being accused of anti-semitism over a statement he made at a concert in New York on Friday, the rapper posted it on Instagram for the world to hear: “Free Palestine”.
In the video, shot during a concert at New York’s MetLife Stadium, Macklemore tells a cheering audience that one of the reasons he wanted to go on his latest tour was “because I wanted to stand up here on stages and stadiums across America and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart. Free Palestine.”
He said he wanted the words to be loud and clear, “so the people from Gaza all the way to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten them”. The rapper made these remarks before performing ‘Hind’s Hall’, his 2024 protest song paying tribute to US students rallying against Israel’s war on Gaza.
Macklemore thanked the students, particularly those at Columbia University whose renaming of one of the institute’s halls of residence in honour of six-year-old Hind Rajab — who was killed by Israeli forces — served as the song’s namesake.
“So thank you to those students that risked their diplomas, that risked their tuition, that risked their scholarships, that stood up and said no,” the rapper said.
