The “No Music for Genocide” campaign is experiencing significant growth, with a new wave of prominent artists committing to remove their music catalogs from Israel. This initiative aims to support the Palestinian people amid the violence in Gaza by geo-blocking music from streaming services in Israel. On Friday, October 10, the campaign announced new additions including Clairo, Lucy Dacus, Nao, Wolf Alice, Of Monsters and Men, Aurora, and Mallrat. These artists join an already extensive list of over 1,000 participants, which recently saw Lorde, Hayley Williams, Paramore, Björk, MUNA, and Paloma Faith add their names to the movement.

Originally launched in September with over 400 initial signees, the “No Music for Genocide” campaign quickly garnered support from artists such as Kneecap, Faye Webster, Japanese Breakfast, Aminé, Massive Attack, Soccer Mommy, Rina Sawayama, MIKE, Primal Scream, and Fontaines D.C. The campaign’s mission is articulated in a statement: “Culture can’t stop bombs on its own, but it can help reject political repression, shift public opinion toward justice and refuse the art-washing and normalization of any company or nation that commits crimes against humanity.” It emphasizes that this initiative is part of a broader global movement designed to diminish the support Israel relies on to perpetuate its systems of oppression.

The expansion of the campaign coincides with significant developments in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The war, which commenced on October 7, 2023, following Hamas’s attack that resulted in 1,200 Israeli deaths and 251 hostages, recently marked its two-year anniversary. During this period, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, leading the United Nations to declare in September that Israel is committing genocide. However, a recent ceasefire has been declared, with Israeli troops reportedly pulling out of urban areas in exchange for the release of 20 Hamas-held hostages. This agreement also includes Israel freeing 250 imprisoned Palestinians and 1,700 war detainees, as reported by Reuters.

With the Israeli military withdrawing from parts of Gaza, thousands of Palestinians are now embarking on a journey back to what remains of their abandoned homes. This moment, following over 700 consecutive days of violence, hunger, and homelessness experienced by the Palestinian population, and two years of global protests against Israel’s actions by numerous individuals and A-list artists, is described as bittersweet. Raghad Izzat Hamouda, a 20-year-old Palestinian woman, shared her sentiments with CNN, stating, “People are screaming with joy in the streets. Imagine that you survived the genocide that lasted for two whole years under the bombing, hunger, destruction, fear.”