American singer Melanie Martinez has said that she ‘fully supports Palestine’ in a comment she made on her social media platform.
This came when a user asked the 28-year-old singer in a post she made on Instagram if she signed a letter to include Israel in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, the Palestinian news agency, WAFA reported on Monday.
“No, I never signed anything, & I do not support any Zionist bullsh*t,” she said. “I am in full support of Palestine.”
“If people ever use my name without my knowledge, please send me screenshots in DM’s so I can have my team tell them to take it down,” she added.
The “Dollhouse” singer is among the dozens of Hollywood celebrities who signed an open letter addressed to the President of the United States Joe Biden, urging for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
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The letter, titled ‘Artists 4 Ceasefire’, which was signed by a lot of singers, actors, comedians and public figures in Hollywood, urged Biden’s administration to ‘call for and facilitate a ceasefire without delay – an end to the bombing of Gaza.’
Meanwhile, over a thousand singers from Sweden, which is this year’s Eurovision host country, have signed an open letter calling for Israel to be excluded from this year’s edition of the song contest over its “brutal warfare in Gaza”.
The letter, which was published in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, said that by allowing Israel to participate, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) “is exhibiting a remarkable double standard that undermines the organization’s credibility”.
“The fact that countries that place themselves above humanitarian law are welcomed to participate in international cultural events trivializes violations of international law and makes the suffering of the victims invisible,” says the letter, published late on Monday.
French-Senegalese director Mati Diop, whose film Dahomey won the top Golden Bear, also called for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying: "I stand with Palestine."
— Artists for Palestine UK 🍉 (@Art4PalestineUK) February 25, 2024
Signatories include internationally known and successful artists such as singers Robyn and Fever Ray, folk duo First Aid Kit, and former Swedish Eurovision contestants such as Eric Saade and Malena Ernman, the mezzo-soprano opera singer who is also the mother of climate activist Greta Thunberg.
The letter comes after a similar petition signed by about 1,400 artists from Finland and Iceland who also called for Israel to be excluded from the song contest, which will be held in Malmö from 7 to 11 May.
Melanie Martinez showed support for Palestine by bringing the Palestinian flag to the stage during one of her recent concerts in Manchester.
✅ | Filmmaker Ken Loach renewed his call for a #CeasefireNOW at last night's BAFTA Awards. pic.twitter.com/7hysqGCcwz
— Сeasefire Tracker (@Ceasefire_Track) February 19, 2024
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 29,782 Palestinians have been killed, and 70,043 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7.
(WAFA, PC, Egypt Today)
