New Jeresy (QNN)- American rapper Macklemore delivered a pro-Palestinian speech while opening for Ed Sheeran at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Friday night. Wearing a keffiyeh draped over his shoulders, he drew cheers from the crowd.
Macklemore was one of several opening acts ahead of Sheeran and made the comments before tens of thousands of people.
“I want the people from Gaza to the occupied West Bank to know that we have not forgotten them,” Macklemore told the audience. “I believe that every human being walking on this earth deserves exactly the same freedom — to know safety and peace before knowing the sounds of violence, and to know the sound of laughter on the playground before airplanes and bombs.”
“I wanted to stand up here on stages across America and say two words that are near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine,” Macklemore said, wearing a keffiyeh draped over his shoulders.
Macklemore went on to say he would not allow fear or concern for his own comfort or the audience’s to prevent him from speaking his mind. He then called out “Free Palestine, free Cuba, the Congo, Sudan and Iran,” and denounced the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, which he called a “terror organization.”
The rapper also performed his song, “Hind’s Hall,” while footage from Gaza, pro-Palestinian encampments, and other support messages were projected on the stadium’s screens.
“Hind’s Hall,” released in May 2024 during a wave of pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations in the United States, was named for Hamilton Hall at Columbia University, which pro-Palestinian protesters occupied and symbolically renamed after Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza by Israeli forces.
The song says Israel is committing “genocide” in Gaza and “apartheid,” criticizes Zionism and rejects the contention that anti-Zionism constitutes antisemitism.
Macklemore has repeatedly used his concerts as a platform to express solidarity with Palestine.
In response to his pro-Palestinian speech, an Israeli-American group is calling on Ed Sheeran to drop Macklemore from his tour.
The Israeli-American Council (IAC) claimed that the rapper is "spreading one-sided political propaganda" at MetLife Stadium. The IAC has received major financial backing from billionaire Miriam Adelson and her late husband, Sheldon Adelson.
Despite the backlash over Friday's performance, Macklemore repeated his pro-Palestinian message on Saturday night at the same northern New Jersey venue.
