I shot off a few comments about this elsewhere that drew some notice, so I’m rehashing it here too, after a little reflection. Maybe I should mention my bias against rap, with only a few exceptions.
I don’t care that Macklemore defended Palestine. I’m as anti-Israel as anyone, as readers of this site are well aware.
The episode depicted below happened a dozen years ago, and it is hard to forgive. His explanation was not credible. We don’t need to accept his apology. Somebody on my FB page said he was just cosplaying Ringo Starr. He is no longer on my FB page. I don’t have time for idiots or trolls.
But the timeline matters. The attacks on the Sheeran concert tour happened after Macklemore referenced Gaza, after Israel’s blitzkrieg there, not because of the blatantly antisemitic romp shown in the photograph. Of course, that has provided some support for what is really an effort to discipline public discourse on Palestine.
In other words, concert promoters and the like were fine with the antisemitism, since it made them money. It ain’t about that. They are not refusing to book Kanye West, another neo-nazi culture war pioneer.
All the foofaraw kicked up only after Macklemore spoke up about Palestine. Israel has made itself toxic with its rampages in Gaza and the West Bank. The “cancellation” of antiZionist critics of Israel by its partisans has also been fierce.
Entertainers need not be intellectuals or subject matter experts, but neither are necessary to demonstrate moral seriousness. Or one can preclude any such expectations with antics such as the one shown above.
Like most entertainers, he is following sentiment more than creating it, so any positive political impact regarding restraining Israel is negligible. I’d suspect that from the standpoint of Palestine, this sort of advocacy may do more harm than good. But it’s a close call. Mass culture is powerful.
Meanwhile the carnage in the ME continues and what happens still depends on the November midterms, neither of which is affected by the Sheeran concert goings-on.
There is no reason to compare any of this to Israeli conduct. It’s possible to minimize anything with a pointless comparison. Anchovies on pizza are terrible, unless compared to the bombing of Dresden.
You’re being wrong about something where I can judge for myself (anchovies on pizza) leads me to doubt you more generally.
I don't see how the Sheeran-Macklemore kerfuffle WON'T affect November. Millions more people know about that, and the fact that four different acts including his backup band have left the tour, than have ever heard of Yoav Gallant or Gideon Levy. Some of those millions of people are going to be curious, are going to read up or listen to a podcast or talk to their friends. Or read a blog.
You actually don't have to accept Macklemore's apology, to be glad he said "free Palestine."