This Isnt About Sides Palestinian Artists Call For Music World To Support Basic Human Rights

Have you attended any protests? What’s been happening?

Yes I have. People are protesting on a daily basis all across historical Palestine against the violent displacement of Palestinians. Rubber bullets, live ammunition, stun grenades, tear gas, guns and drones are being used against the protestors. Armed settlers are attacking people in their homes, streets, lands and neighbourhoods all over the country. Setting aside the Gaza Strip which has been under heavy strikes and bombardment, tearing down schools, hospitals, residential and media buildings resulting in the killings of many people. In Haifa for example the settlers are marking the homes of Palestinians with paint, rallying to attack them.

What do you think is going to happen in the coming weeks?

I’m not sure at this stage, but it doesn’t seem to me that it’s going to calm down. It’ll rather escalate. From what’s happening now, this is a combination of a Nakba [Arabic for “catastrophe” where some 600 Palestinian villages were destroyed in 1948] and intifada [Palestinian uprisings in 1987 and ], with the forced violent displacement, racism, genocide and white supremacist colonisation. Palestinians across Palestine and the diaspora are united as never before, and are going to continue their part in protesting and protecting their neighbourhoods and homes from the settlers who have the protection and support of the Israeli police and army. Gaza’s situation is very critical and is probably going to get worse.

As an artist and a big part of the Palestinian music scene, what would you say to the music community internationally in terms of raising awareness?

Use your platforms to speak about Palestine. If you think music connects people and carries cultural knowledge, please, my culture is being wiped out, remove your horse blinders. This is not a matter that you can be neutral about.

You’ve spoken before about how you wish there were no borders – that you’d be able to freely travel and tour without restriction of movement. Before the pandemic, what did travelling look like for you?

Let’s start by saying that I can’t even travel freely within my own country. As an artist, I cannot tour in Gaza, Jerusalem or 1948 Palestine. How about the fact that we’re deprived from having our own airport? I love travelling, meeting new people and exploring diverse cultures, but it always comes with humiliation, anxiety and a dose of trauma.

[Photo credit: Yara Jarrar