By Karan Singh

Karan Singh’s comprehensive list for the Palestine Chronicle highlights numerous artists who publicly back the Palestinian struggle for justice. Readers can help expand the list by adding names in the comments.

The profligate use of the word “hero” today has made bravery conditional upon comfort. Phases of colossal bloodshed and violence, however, tend to reveal just how much people in safe spaces are truly willing to risk for the dignity of others.

What makes the ongoing genocide in Palestine particularly unique is that the horrors unfolding in the region are just as indisputable as those of the Nazi Holocaust, yet the solidarity it has generated in the West belies its magnitude. In times like these, musicians typically call attention to the tyranny that sanctions atrocities against fellow human beings.

While the most influential stars in the world have unfortunately remained silent or neutral regarding Israel’s ongoing genocide in the Middle East, a handful of dauntless rappers, singers, songwriters and instrumentalists have stepped up to the challenge.

Whereas several Palestinian musicians such as Saint Levant, Elyanna and Nemahsis (with the notable exception of DJ Khaled) have used their voices to shed light on said calamity, the following list focuses on those who have joined the cause despite having no direct stakes in it.

Roger Waters (Pink Floyd)

Though most of his contemporaries have embraced the easement that comes with transitioning into a legacy act, Roger Waters has kept his foot on the pedal as he continues to uplift the disenfranchised even in his 80s.

Ever since he witnessed Israeli apartheid with his own eyes in 2006, the Pink Floyd founder has actively encouraged fellow musicians to participate in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Zionism. Unfazed by the routine allegations of antisemitism hurled at him, his public image and artistry are now tied to activism that seeks to tear down the war machine and Western colonization.

“We are involved in an existential battle for the soul of the human race,” Waters said about the Palestinian predicament in 2024. “If the empire wins this battle, then our children and grandchildren and any survivors of any of this stuff in the future will have to live in a world where we’ve just all agreed that genocide is okay.”

Kneecap

Not enough can be said about Kneecap’s contributions to the cause. Since 2023, the Irish Republican trio from Belfast has raised awareness about the Palestinian struggle non-stop while always holding a fist up to the regimes responsible for it. Their social media channels and stage act combine to form one of the strongest anti-Zionist entities in the music domain today to the point where Palestinian liberation is now central to their brand. This isn’t entirely a surprise considering the Irish and Palestinians have a shared history of colonization and partition at the hands of the British.

“The mainstream media, they always portray it as Israel versus Hamas and never actually mention the genocide, especially when you’re in America,” DJ Próvaí explained in a 2024 interview. “We have a platform and we have to use that platform to do a counter-narrative of what’s actually happening there.”

Some uncensored messaging to Coachella pic.twitter.com/WbHZBrCZl5

— KNEECAP (@KNEECAPCEOL) April 19, 2025

Massive Attack

Trip-hop pioneers Massive Attack have boycotted Israel since 1999 — in the 25-plus years since, the duo have become one of the most consistent forces to oppose Zionism and raise funds for Palestine. In addition to numerous benefit gigs, actively condemning Israeli apartheid and encouraging divestment from it, Robert “3D” Del Naja and Grant “Daddy G” Marshall have made no compromises whatsoever in their stance.

Most recently, they teamed up with Fontaines DC and Young Fathers on the Ceasefire EP, donating 100% of its earnings to Doctors Without Borders in Gaza and the West Bank.

Macklemore

While Kendrick Lamar and Drake were using their platforms to tear each other down, Macklemore proved that he has honored the spirit of hip-hop far better than two of the biggest rappers in the world. Since October 7, 2023, the Seattle native has released two songs decrying the ethnic cleansing of Gaza as well as the forces that have engineered it. “Hind’s Hall” and “Hind’s Hall 2” were inspired by six-year-old Hind Rajab, who was murdered by the Israeli Defense Forces in 2024.

Both tracks have become symbols of solidarity with the nationwide demonstrations against Israeli apartheid, with all proceeds going to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

Vic Mensa

The people of Chicago have seen it all, which is why Vic Mensa comprehends social and economic disparity better than the average American. However, it wasn’t until his 2017 visit to the West Bank that he fully understood that said contrast he grew up amid is present in every corner of the globe, especially in Palestine.

 “The parallels between the black American experience and the Palestinian experience are overwhelming,” he wrote in an essay soon after he returned. “As with the black community in the US, the use of incarceration, racial profiling and targeting the youth as methods of control are heavily prevalent in the occupied West Bank. The main difference I see between our oppression in America and that of Palestinians is how overt and shameless the face of discrimination is in the occupied West Bank.”

Rage Against the Machine

This one should come as no surprise, considering Rage Against the Machine’s principal impetus was opposing the empire. Even though the group called it quits in 2000 and hasn’t released an album ever since, their limited-yet-profound body of work continues to serve its purpose in spaces of civil disobedience even today.

Two and a half decades after frontman Zack de la Rocha spat the words “Like Gaza, on to the dawn of Intifada,” he missed the group’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2023 to attend a march in Washington DC against the indiscriminate murder of civilians in Palestine. In a similar spirit, guitarist Tom Morello has shown up to and performed at a number of student protests against Israel’s genocide.

 

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A post shared by Tom Morello (@tommorello)

Brian Eno (Roxy Music)

Brian Eno has been a vocal critic of Israel’s maltreatment of Palestinians for years. In 2014, the legendary studio wizard published a letter on David Byrne’s website in which he compared Western funding of the Zionist state to “sending money to the (Ku Klux) Klan.”

A decade later, as the situation in Gaza was worsening by the day, he and former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis penned an open letter to the International Criminal Court in which they stated that “Israel’s Government has set out to eliminate systematically every aspect of Palestinian life in Gaza.”

Sinead O’ Connor

Long before being on the right side of history became a leading pastime in the West,  Sinead O’Connor was putting her career on the line repeatedly for the greater good. Sure enough, she stood firm with Palestine right up until her untimely passing in 2023, even decades after she was blackballed by the music industry.

 “Let’s just say that, on a human level, nobody with any sanity, including myself, would have anything but sympathy for the Palestinian plight,” she said following a gruesome onslaught in Gaza at the hands of Israel in 2014. “There’s not a sane person on earth who in any way sanctions what the f*** the Israeli authorities are doing.”

Immortal Technique

Academic in the way he communicates, Immortal Technique’s knowledge about imperialism and the history of race relations is unlike any of his peers. Though he hasn’t released an album since 2008, the Harlem MC has been leveraging his fame to educate people on the colonization of Palestine, among other adjacent issues.

“The natural enemy of the Jewish people have historically and traditionally never been Arab people,” he said in 2023. “The people who have expulsed and thrown out and completely rejected and had pogroms against Jewish people are imperialistic European nations.”

Yasiin Bey & Talib Kweli (Black Star)

From the very beginning of their careers in hip-hop, Yasiin Bey (fka. Mos Def) and Talib Kweli have raised awareness about the injustice in Palestine through their music, fundraisers and calls to action. Between collaborations and solo releases, both rap veterans have brought attention to said turmoil in songs such as “Re:Definition,” “Gun Music,” “What’s Beef” and “War.”

“You can say whatever you want, but everybody can see,” Bey said about the attacks on Gaza. “There are rules of engagement on a military level for both sides, you know, whether they be the resistor or the occupier, and there is an occupation for sure.”

Serj Tankian (System of a Down)

By extension of the perspective he developed because of his Armenian roots, Serj Tankian has a deep understanding of genocide and ethnic cleansing. A fierce critic of US foreign policy in the Middle East, the System of a Down frontman has participated in fundraisers for Palestine and used his voice to encourage others to join the cultural boycott of Israel.

Green Day

Unbothered about consequences, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong donned the Palestinian flag during a show in Malaysia in early 2025 and has been altering song lyrics while performing live to bring attention to the genocide taking place in the region.

During the group’s headlining set at Coachella, he even changed the words of “Jesus of Suburbia” and sang, “Running away from pain like the kids from Palestine / Tales from another broken home.”

Fontaines DC

When Fontaines DC was given the Album Award at the 2024 Rolling Stone UK Awards, guitarist Carlos O’Connell cut to the chase and denounced Benjamin Netanyahu and Zionism while making it clear whose side the Irish group stands on.

redveil

At just 19 years of age, with his entire life and career still ahead of him, reveil set aside a few minutes during his set at Camp Flog Gnaw and displayed the names of all the children Israel killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

The Weeknd

Since being appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations World Food Programme,The Weeknd has donated food worth $4.5 million to the people of Gaza amid the violence imposed on them by Israel since October 7, 2023.

Jennifer Lopez

In 2024, as the attacks on Gaza reached unprecedented heights, Jennifer Lopez sent meals and medical supplies costing $4.5 million to Palestinians in the Strip.

Kehlani

In conjunction with the pro-Palestine music video for “Next 2 U,” Kehlani released merchandise for the song that was “made in Bethlehem in a family-owned and run sewing workshop.”

The $555K this effort generated was then “distributed amongst Palestinian, Congolese, and Sudanese families through Operation Olive Branch.”

Damon Albarn (Gorillaz & Blur)

A longtime enemy of war, Damon Albarn stirred up support for Palestine during his cameo at Bombay Bicycle Club’s Glastonbury set in 2024.

Lupe Fiasco

Just as much a scholar as he is an embodiment of hip-hop, Lupe Fiasco has been advocating for Palestinian freedom at his concerts and on social media ever since he broke into the mainstream.

Chuck D (Public Enemy)

Pushing back against authoritarianism is innate to Chuck D’s artistry, plus his work with and beyond Public Enemy, and so his advocacy for Palestine is only natural.

More artists who support Palestine:

• Andrew Hurley (Fall Out Boy)
• Bastille
• Beabadoobee
• Beth Gibbons (Portishead)
• Bikini Kill
• Billie Eilish
• Björk
• Black Thought & Questlove (The Roots)
• Blonde Redhead
• Brother Ali
• Bun B (UGK)
• Café Tacvba
• Cat Power
• Chance the Rapper
• Chappell Roan
• Clairo
• Coldplay
• Cypress Hill
• Dave Matthews
• Denzel Curry
• Digable Planets
• DJ Snake
• Dua Lipa
• Earl Sweatshirt
• Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam)
• Elvis Costello
• Eric Clapton
• Finneas O’Connell
• Frank Ocean
• Frank Zappa
• FKA Twigs
• Garbage
• George Michael
• Halsey
• Heems (Das Racist)
• Hozier
• IDLES
• Janelle Monáe
• Jeff Rosenstock
• Joan Baez
• John Legend
• Julian Casablancas (The Strokes)
• Kid Cudi
• Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth)
• Kool AD (Das Racist)
• Kris Kristofferson
• Lauryn Hill (The Fugees)
• Little Simz
• Lorde
• Lowkey
• Method Man (Wu-Tang Clan)
• Michael Stipe (REM)
• Mitski
• my bloody valentine
• Noname
• Patti Smith
• Peter Gabriel
• Royce da 5’9
• Run the Jewels
• Saul Williams
• Skrillex
• SZA
• The Sacred Souls
• Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth)
• Young Guru
• Yusuf Islam fka. Cat Stevens

(The Palestine Chronicle)