Enter Shikari, The Last Dinner Party, Architects and more sign open letter for ‘Music for a Ceasefire’

10 November, 2023

Enter Shikari, The Last Dinner Party, Architects

Enter Shikari, The Last Dinner Party and Architects are among a group of musicians who’ve signed an open letter calling for a ceasefire as the war in Israel and Gaza continues.

The Peace and Justice Project, which was founded by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, today (November 10) launched its #MusicForACeasefire open letter from artists, musicians and performers “calling for an end to the siege of Gaza.”

According to a report by Al Jazeera, at least 10,812 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7. In Israel, the death toll over the same period stands at more than 1,400.

The letter, which has also been signed by artists including English Teacher, The Blessed Madonna and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, calls “for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the bombardment of Palestine that has already taken the lives of over 10,000 innocent civilians, aid workers and journalists.”

The letter continued: “The United Nations secretary general António Guterres has said Gaza is becoming ‘a graveyard for children’, and whilst the devastation continues, the UK and US governments fail to stand up for humanity, condemn the collective punishment of the Palestinian people and advocate for peace instead of bloodshed.

“A ceasefire would allow for unhindered humanitarian aid in Gaza, where the World Health Organisation has said the level of death and suffering by the 2.2 million civilians caught up in this conflict is ‘hard to fathom.'”

It concluded: “We are a diverse coalition of artists, musicians and performers calling for an end to the siege of Gaza, immediate humanitarian aid for the many frightened, starving and wounded civilians trapped amongst the rubble, and meaningful diplomatic intervention from our political leaders to facilitate the release of hostages, an end to the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine and for lasting peace in the region.”

The full list of signatories can be seen here:

Many artists from the music industry have spoken out about the conflict in recent weeks. Earlier this month Macklemore delivered a speech at a pro-Palestine rally calling the conflict a “genocide”, while Dua Lipa, Killer Mike, Michael Stipe and more wrote an open letter to President Biden, demanding “an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost.”

Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Mark Hamill and Jamie Lee Curtis were among 700 Hollywood figures who signed an open letter voicing their support for Israel while Selena Gomez’s makeup company, Rare Beauty, announced that it will be donating funds to the relief efforts in Gaza. Over 2,000 names from the arts world, including Tilda Swinton, Massive Attack‘s Robert Del Naja and Miriam Margoyles, signed an open letter calling for ceasefire.

Similarly, Madonna addressed the situation on stage at The O2, while Tom Morello called for the condemnation of harm to all children “no matter who they are”.

More recently, Bob Vylan called out Sleaford Mods and IDLES for not speaking out in support of Palestine.

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