Macklemore's 'Free Palestine' Tour Will Benefit a Group Accused of Cheering Oct. 7, Jewish Groups Say
The rapper, dropped from Ed Sheeran's tour last month, listed the Palestinian Youth Movement among twelve beneficiaries. The Jewish Leadership Council wants Live Nation to explain its vetting.
Macklemore's answer to losing his spot on a stadium tour is raising a new set of questions about where the money goes.
Fox News reports the 43-year-old rapper was dropped from Ed Sheeran's "Loop Tour" last month after he repeatedly called for a "Free Palestine" and performed his anti-Israel song "Hind's Hall." He then announced his own "Free Palestine" tour. It has three shows: Dublin on Oct. 26, Paris on Oct. 29 and London on Oct. 30.
According to the tour website, as Fox describes it, proceeds will go to one of twelve organizations. One is the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM). Fox cites the Jewish News Syndicate, which reported that PYM's U.K. chapter has been accused of defending Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023 attack, which left about 1,200 dead and 251 civilians taken hostage. The group reportedly called the actions "legitimate" and "effective." Fox also recalls that days after the attack, a female speaker from the Palestinian Youth Movement was heard cheering Hamas at a protest outside the Israeli consulate in New York.
The reaction. The U.K.'s Jewish Leadership Council said that when PYM "describes the 7 October massacre as a 'prison break,' it risks legitimising violence against Jews." It asked how Live Nation vetted the charities and who will ultimately receive the proceeds. The Israeli-American Council, which petitioned last month to have Macklemore removed from Sheeran's tour, said his latest actions reinforce its concerns. Its statement added, "Our objection was never to his right to support Palestinians," but to "the normalization of antisemitic rhetoric."
What is not in the report. Fox says it asked Macklemore's representatives, PYM and Live Nation for comment. It does not report an answer from any of them. We have not seen the tour's beneficiary list ourselves, and the PYM accusations come from the Jewish News Syndicate and from Jewish organizations, not from a court or government finding.
Separately, Fox notes Macklemore said last month he would donate the $1 million he earned on Sheeran's tour to six organizations, including the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, HEAL Palestine, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Medical Aid for Palestinians, UNRWA USA National Committee and American Near East Refugee Aid.