Macklemore at the Ed Sheeran concert
‘Israeli’-American Council petitions Ed Sheeran to drop Macklemore
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
- The pro-’Israel’ lobby group called Macklemore’s opening set 'political propaganda’ and urged all concert vendors, as well as Ed Sheeran, to drop the rapper.
The ‘Israeli’-American Council (IAC) launched a petition Sunday urging British singer Ed Sheeran to remove American rapper Macklemore as an opening act in his US “Loop Tour” after Macklemore performed a pro-Palestinian song during a recent show.
Targeting Sheeran, stadium venues, and concert promoters, the pro-'Israel' lobby group accused the artist of leveraging a mainstream entertainment stage to promote a "one-sided political agenda".
The IAC petition claimed that concert halls should not serve as political venues, protesting the artist's use of Gaza imagery and his performance of the protest track "Hind's Hall", a song dedicated to six-year-old Hind Rajab, who was killed by 'Israeli' forces alongside her family in Gaza.
“This becomes even more troubling when the message relies on selective imagery, biased messaging, and disputed claims presented to a massive audience as fact, without context or complexity. The decision to perform Hind’s Hall was not incidental. The song was written in explicit support of the campus protest movement and takes its name from “Hind’s Hall” the name protesters gave Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall after occupying the building,” the petition claimed.
"Hind's Hall"
“Hind’s Hall” is a pro-Palestinian protest song released by Macklemore in May 2024 amid growing international calls to end ‘Israel’s’ war on Gaza.
Named after Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall, which was taken over by pro-Palestinian students, the song condemns the killing of Palestinians, criticizes US support for ‘Israel’ and calls for Palestinian freedom and rights.
The song’s title honors Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl who became a symbol of the war’s toll on Gaza’s children.
Hind Rajab was trapped inside a car in Gaza City on January 29, 2024, after 'Israeli' forces hit her family’s fleeing vehicle, instantly killing her aunt, uncle, and four cousins. Wounded and surrounded by her dead relatives, Hind stayed on the phone with Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) dispatchers for hours pleading for help. Because the area was an active combat zone, the PRCS spent hours securing military clearance through international channels before dispatching an ambulance. However, as paramedics Youssef Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun arrived at her location, 'Israeli' forces fired at their emergency vehicle and later at Hind's.
Hind's body was discovered 12 days later alongside her family and the destroyed ambulance, drawing global condemnation and triggering an official IOF investigation into the double attack.
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Macklemore’s remarks
Macklemore used his opening sets for Ed Sheeran at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on Sep. 4 and 5 to voice support for Palestine.
Wearing a keffiyeh, he called for a “Free Palestine” and performed his protest song “Hind’s Hall”, while footage from Gaza and the occupied West Bank was displayed on stadium screens.
Ed Sheeran is yet to comment publicly on Macklemore’s pro-Palestinian remarks or the petition seeking his removal from the US tour.
Read more: Macklemore calls for “Free Palestine” & performs “Hind’s Hall” at Ed Sheeran concert
