Kneecap have said they will ‘not stay silent’ as they hit out at the ‘coordinated smear campaign’ against them for their ‘Free Palestine’ statement at Coachella.
The Belfast band, consisting of Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí, ended their set at the second weekend of the Coachella music festival in California on April 18 with three messages on a large screen that accused Israel of genocide and war crimes against the Palestinian people.
The messages read: “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people”, “It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes” and “F*** Israel. Free Palestine.”
While many of their fans applauded the statement, some criticised the band – including Sharon Osbourne. Following their set, the band’s manager confirmed on RTE Radio that the band received death threats and added the nature of the threats were “too severe” to share on air.
Taking to their Instagram page on Friday, Kneecap released a statement on their set at Coachella, telling fans: “Since our statements at Coachella – exposing the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people – we have faced a coordinated smear campaign. For over a year, we have used our shows to call out the British and Irish governments’ complicity in war crimes.
“The recent attacks against us, largely emanating from the US, are based on deliberate distortions and falsehoods. We are taking action against several of these malicious efforts. Let us be absolutely clear.
Kneecap continued: “The reason Kneecap is being targeted is simple – we are telling the truth, and our audience is growing. Those attacking us want to silence criticism of a mass slaughter. They weaponise false accusations of antisemitism to distract, confuse, and provide cover for genocide.
“We do not give a f**k what religion anyone practices. We know there are massive numbers of Jewish people outraged by this genocide just as we are. What we care about is that governments of the countries we perform in are enabling some of the most horrific crimes of our lifetimes – and we will not stay silent.
“No media spin will change this. Our only concern is the Palestinian people. The 20,000 murdered children and counting. The young people at our gigs see through the lie. They stand on the side of humanity and justice. And that gives us great hope.”
During an interview with RTE Radio, the band’s manager, Daniel Lambert, praised them for building a career for themselves “on the basis of the Irish language and music and culture and identity.”
He added: “They have the bravery and the conviction – especially given where they’ve come from in post-conflict society – to stand up for what’s right, and are willing to do that despite the fact that it may harm their career, despite the fact that it may harm their income, and they should be praised massively for that.
“It’s an extremely strong position for young people to take, especially young people from a working-class background.” He was asked if there was a risk of painting everyone in Israel with the same brush.
Daniel said: “Absolutely not. I think when you refer to ‘Israel’ in messaging, as we did, that you’re referring to the Israeli government.”
He went on to say that suggesting the rappers’ message at Coachella was offensive would be “buying into moral hysteria” and added the real issue was the tens of thousands of people being killed by Israeli forces in Gaza.
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