After receiving a compliment about their shows in Tel Aviv, Massive Attack spoke out about their boycott of gigs in Israel that started in 1999 and continues today. The group responded on their official Twitter account, stating that they have not performed in Israel since the international request was made by Palestinian civic society and artistic institutions in 2002 as a form of non-violent pressure on Israel to end its brutal occupation of Palestine. They went on to explain that the band made the decision to boycott in 1999, based on their own observations of military oppression, occupation, and apartheid, before the Palestinian call for international boycott was made.
The BDS (boycotts, divestment, and sanctions) Movement website explains that in 2005, Palestinian civil society organisations called for boycotts, divestment, and sanctions as a form of non-violent pressure on Israel. The movement was launched by 170 Palestinian unions, refugee networks, women’s organisations, professional associations, popular resistance committees, and other Palestinian civil society bodies, inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement.
Massive Attack has teamed up with Fontaines D.C. and Young Fathers to release a limited edition 12” single to support the charity Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF). All profits from the single will be donated to the charity to help their emergency operations in Gaza and the West Bank. The statement released by the artists calling for an immediate ceasefire in the region, “in solidarity with the Palestinian people living under a brutal military operation.”
In other news, Massive Attack is set to headline the 2024 edition of MEO Kalorama and their first live UK show in five years in 2024 with a summer climate action event in Bristol. Fans can still purchase tickets from their official website. The band’s guitarist, Angelo Bruschini, passed away in October after revealing his lung cancer diagnosis earlier this year. The band described him as “a singularly brilliant & eccentric talent”
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