Massive Attack, Brian Eno, Fontaines DC and Kneecap have announced the formation of a syndicate for artists speaking out about Israel’s military assault on Gaza who they say have been subjected to “aggressive, vexatious campaigns” by pro-Israel advocates.
Posting on Instagram, the musicians said their aim is to protect other artists, particularly those at earlier stages of their careers from being “threatened into silence or career cancellation” by organisations such as UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI).
UKLFI reported the band Bob Vylan to the police for leading a chant of “Death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]” during their Glastonbury set (police are investigating), as well as the BBC for broadcasting it. The group have subsequently had several scheduled appearances cancelled after letters were sent by UKLFI.
Mo Chara, of Kneecap, was charged with a terror offence, accused of displaying a flag at a gig in support of the banned organisation Hezbollah after being reported to the police by UKLFI. Kneecap also had gigs cancelled after interventions by UKLFI.
While those actions were made public, UKLFI are also believed to have contacted other musicians, people and organisations connected with them without publicising the fact.
In the post shared by Eno and others on Instagram, they say: “The scenes in Gaza have moved beyond description. We write as artists who’ve chosen to use our public platforms to speak out against the genocide occurring there and the role of the UK government in facilitating it.
“We’re aware of the scale of aggressive, vexatious campaigns operated by UKLFI and of multiple individual incidences of intimidation within the music industry itself; designed solely to censor and silence artists from speaking their hearts and minds.
“Having withstood these campaigns of attempted censorship, we won’t stand by and allow other artists – particularly those at earlier stages of their careers or in other positions of professional vulnerability – to be threatened into silence or career cancellation.”
They encourage other artists to contact them to make a collective stand on demands including an immediate and permanent ceasefire, immediate unfettered access to Gaza for recognised aid agencies and an end to UK arms sales/licences to Israel.
In a statement provided to the Guardian, Massive Attack said: “This collective action is really about offering some kind of solidarity to those artists who are living day after day in a screen-time genocide, but are worried about using their platforms to express their horror at that because of the level of censorship within their industry or from highly organised external legal bodies, terrifying them and their management teams with aggressive legal actions. The intention is clear and obvious: to silence them.”
The Instagram post highlights a new documentary film about UKLFI projected by Led by Donkeys on Thursday night.
A spokesperson for UKLFI said a Massive Attack show last month had prompted complaints by Jewish and Israeli audience members because it included comparison of Israel’s actions with the Holocaust and, separately, images were shown of the former Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar (which Massive Attack said was part of a digital collage that should not be isolated and taken out of context).
They added: “We wrote to Massive Attack to convey this, and requested that future performances do not repeat these actions. We believe in free speech and artistic expression, however we felt this performance crossed a line and made audience members feel deeply traumatised.”