Outrage about Kneecap's support for Gaza is a distraction
Irish rap trio Kneecap have been at the centre of controversy since their now infamous Coachella set, their statements on Israel and Palestine fuelling a voracious backlash from public figures and political leaders.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called for the hip-hop artists to be prosecuted. UK intelligence is investigating the group for alleged support of terrorist movements for a video dredged up from 2023 in which they allegedly say "the only good Tory is a dead Tory".
Sharon Osborne, a vocal supporter of Israel, has called for the artists' US visas to be revoked. They have been dropped from festivals in Germany, and the band's US booking agent has cut ties. The band say they have received death threats.
Meanwhile, innocent civilians are being murdered in the rubble that was once Gaza; children are being starved, tortured, and killed. The UN's secretary-general António Gutierres has described Gaza as "a killing field, and civilians are in an endless death loop".
In the words of President Michael D Higgins, who called out world leaders following the pope's funeral: "How can any of them stay silent?"
Kneecap performing at the SSE Arena in Belfast in December: Even before there was any suggestion of the band supporting any prohibited organisation, it was clear any vocalisation of concerns about Israeli actions would be treated as antisemitic
We are witnessing the first livestreamed genocide in real time. If you are outraged by a band making a statement, while remaining silent on the war crimes being inflicted upon the Palestinian people, you need to evaluate your morals.
Art being provocative is hardly controversial — it is meant to provoke and challenge us. Music has long been a vehicle for highlighting strong opinions regarding injustice, oppression, and war.
Sinead O'Connor faced fierce backlash in 1992 when she ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II, saying, "Fight the real enemy." Her music was banned by several radio stations, and she was eviscerated by the Catholic Church. Her career never recovered in the US.
Bob Dylan was accused of being anti-American for his songs 'Masters of War', and the 'Times They Are A-Changin', which became rallying cries for the anti-war movement at a time young American men were being shipped off to Vietnam in their thousands.
Neil Young faced backlash for criticising the Nixon administration in the song 'Ohio', which was banned by several radio stations. Green Day's entire American Idiot album and tour was a criticism of George Bush, while the Dixie Chicks found themselves completely cancelled for speaking out against George W's Iraq war.
Whether it's Rage Against the Machine, the Sex Pistols, Madonna, or Kneecap, music and politics go hand in hand. And for as long as artists have used their platform to challenge the establishment, conservatives have been on hand to condemn them, from jazz in the 1930s to Elvis.
As a peace activist, I am far less concerned by the artistic expression of music artists than I am by the human suffering being endured by the people of Palestine.
More than 50,000 people have been killed in Gaza. Of those, nearly 70% are women and children. Some 166 journalists and media workers and over 200 humanitarian aid workers have also been killed.
Israel has dropped over 100,000 tonnes of explosives on a civilian population, destroying 88% of Gaza's infrastructure. This is not a war — it is an annihilation.
Peace is not achieved through more violence. In the decades to come, what is unfolding in Gaza will be accepted as a genocide, with war crimes having been not only tolerated by the international community, but facilitated by the many Western governments arming Israel. Just like the genocide in Rwanda, it will be too late.
Kneecap at City Hall, Cork City on February 12 last: They have been nothing if not consistent, using every live show as an opportunity to support the people of Palestine. Picture: Larry Cummins
The greatest insult to the memory of the millions murdered in the Holocaust is to twist their suffering into an excuse to launch a genocide against the Palestinian people. It is grotesque that criticism of the actions of the Israeli state is being framed as anti-semitism.
The freedom to criticise a government is a fundamental pillar of democracy, and this guarantee of free speech extends to artists and musicians too.
Free speech does not give licence to express support for terrorist groups. Kneecap is under investigation for allegedly shouting "up Hamas, up Hezbollah" at a live show. It remains to be seen whether this is true or not.
But even before there was any suggestion of the band supporting any prohibited organisation, it was clear any vocalisation of concerns about Israeli actions would be treated as anti-semitic, with far-reaching ramifications for their commercial prospects in the US and UK.
The British intelligence agencies' fervour when investigating Kneecap for words, while seemingly ignoring Israeli war crimes, is part of the larger problem here — Israel is acting with impunity.
The furore over whether Kneecap did say "up Hamas" is one great distraction campaign, aimed at providing further cover for actual human suffering. We must ask ourselves, what is more important here?
Video footage has emerged of children being ripped in half by Israeli weapons; 15 ambulance crew members were assassinated and buried in a mass grave. Kneecap's political beliefs, controversial or not, should pale by comparison.
Kneecap have been nothing if not consistent, using every live show as an opportunity to support the people of Palestine.
The fallout, however, will no doubt continue as efforts to silence those highlighting the actions of the Israeli government intensify. Netanyahu and his extremist government have been emboldened by the cover so-graciously provided by other countries to shield their abominable actions.
It is difficult to articulate how obscene it is to witness such a fixation on the thoughts of artists in the face of such horrors at the hands of the fourth strongest military in the world.
In the words of Kneecap themselves, "statements aren't aggressive, murdering 20,000 children is though."
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