More Than 600 Artists Demand Live Nation Cease Operations in Israel

Brian Eno and the British band Massive Attack are among more than 600 musicians who have signed an open letter, published this week as part of the Musicians for Palestine campaign, calling on Live Nation Entertainment to stop its operations in Israel.

The open letter urges the world’s leading live entertainment company to “uphold all the authoritative demands of Palestinians” by dropping Live Nation Israel and also “adopting policies to ensure its programming and partnerships are not complicit in oppression anywhere, and respecting the guidelines of Palestinian civil society.” They call on Live Nation’s venues and festivals to “please echo and adhere to these demands.”

The artists claim they “cannot stay silent” while Live Nation Israel “glorifies” what they describe as “the genocidal Israeli military.” They also describe the Israel-Hamas ceasefire plan as “corrupt.”

“We refuse to be silent as apartheid Israel continues its genocidal oppression against the Indigenous Palestinian people,” they write. “We stand firmly in principled solidarity with their struggle for freedom, justice, equality, and we insist on meaningful action to hold the perpetrators of injustice to account. We know that true solidarity starts with confronting complicity. Parts of our industry have too often failed to stand up for Palestinian liberation. We demand that this moral failure come to a decisive end. In this, we speak out together for life, dignity, and the end of impunity.”

“We echo long-standing Palestinian calls for accountability over its years of artwashing of Israeli apartheid and now genocide,” the artists add. “We can no longer allow our music to be used to artwash apartheid, genocide or oppression against any people. Our shared vision of a more just and peaceful world propels us. Join us.”

Eno organized the “Together for Palestine” charity concert in London this September that raised $2 million for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Also in September, more than 400 musicians pulled their music catalogues from streaming platforms in Israel as part of the “No Music for Genocide” campaign, while Massive Attack committed to a full boycott of Spotify. The band has boycotted performing in Israel since 1999.