NEWS

Rage Against The Machine, Halsey and Rihanna speak out over Israel-Gaza crisis

Rage Against The Machine, Halsey and Rihanna are among the artists to have spoken out over the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.

It comes after a series of attacks which started at the weekend after Israel police blocked off the Damascus Gate, where Palestinian Arabs typically gather for Ramadan.

That led to an attack on Orthodox Jews, which in turn led to the Israeli police raiding the al-Aqsa Mosque, according to various news outlets including Vox.

A series of airstrikes and rocket attacks followed between Israel and Palestinian militants which resulted in 83 people in Gaza – including 17 children – and seven in Israel being killed since violence flared.

Rage Against The Machine expressed solidarity with the Palestinians following deadly Israeli airstrikes which left 51 people dead.

They wrote on Twitter: “The violence and atrocities we are witnessing in Sheikh Jarrah, the Al Aqsa compound and Gaza are a continuation of decades of Israel’s brutal apartheid and violent occupation of Palestine. We stand with the Palestinian people as they resist this colonial terror in all its forms.”

Halsey also spoke out tweeting a note that ended with #FreePalestine and argued that religion and “geopolitics” are not at the heart of the conflict.

“It is not ‘too complicated to understand’ that brown children are being murdered + people are being displaced under the occupation of one of the most powerful armies in the world. It is wilful ignorance to conflate these simple horrors with religion + geopolitics,” she wrote.

The singer was criticised for the tweet which was described by one user as “reductive” which in turn led her to clarify her initial comments.

“My tweet is for my peers / white Americans who don’t concern themselves with middle eastern crises because they don’t care about what happens to POC, and can afford to act as such by writing it off as ‘too complicated’. I’m sorry I didn’t make the target of the tweet more clear!” she added before she posted another tweet featuring political commentator Michael Brooks.

Rihanna, meanwhile said that her heart was broken after the deaths of innocent children – calling for a resolution from both sides and for the ongoing “cycle” of violence and conflict to be “broken” once and for all.

“My heart is breaking with the violence I’m seeing displayed between Israel and Palestine!” the singer wrote on Instagram. “I can’t bare [sic] to see it! Innocent Israeli and Palestinian children are hiding in bomb shelters, over 40 lives lost in Gaza alone, at least 13 of whom were also innocent children! There needs to be some kind of resolve! We are sadly watching innocent people fall victim to notions perpetuated by government and extremists, and this cycle needs to be broken!”

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Her comments sparked a backlash with many criticising her for taking a “neutral stance”.

One user wrote: “Even Rihanna had a neutral stance man fuck these celebrities Israel and Palestine are not on the same fucking pedestal to fall this ‘violence between Israel and Palestine’ either you’re with Palestine or not apna ye neutral stance bhar main le kar jao.”

Another added: “No @rihanna, if you stand with humanity you stand with Palestine.”

It comes after Wonder Woman 1984 star Gal Gadot also sparked a backlash for a tweet addressing the ongoing conflict.

“My heart breaks. My country is at war,” Gadot wrote. “I worry for my family, my friends. I worry for my people. This is a vicious cycle that has been going on for far too long.

“Israel deserves to live as a free and safe nation, Our neighbors deserve the same. I pray for the victims and their families. I pray for this unimaginable hostility to end, I pray for our leaders to find the solution so we can live side by side in peace. I pray for better days.”

Journalist Tamoor Hussain was one of many to hit back at her tweet.

“Denying Palestinians even a shred of compassion by refusing to acknowledge them and their suffering is a common tactic employed by their oppressors,” he wrote.