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Macklemore References Holocaust to Justify Anti-Israel Comments During Germany Concert
by Shiryn Ghermezian
Macklemore performs at Alcatraz Milan on May 3, 2023 in Milan, Italy. Photo: Roberto Finizio via Reuters Connect
American rapper Macklemore claimed during a concert in Germany on Saturday that the only way to atone for the atrocities of the Holocaust is to “free Palestine.”
“The atrocity that was the Holocaust, there will never be reparations for that,” the Seattle-based rapper, whose real name is Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, told the audience at the Sparkassenpark stadium in Monchengladbach, a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. “The only way that we can atone for our past is by today standing up against apartheid, against occupation, for free Palestine. That’s the only way.”
“I want the same thing for everybody,” he added. “I want everyone to feel safe, to feel loved, to feel like they can wake up and have a shot at the day, to have breath in their lungs and to not be scared.”
Following his remarks, Macklemore performed his newest single “Hind’s Hall,” an anti-Israel anthem in which he expresses support for “free Palestine” and the anti-Israel protests taking place at university campuses across the US. In the song, Macklemore also claims that the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel were an act of “resistance.” The song’s title is a reference to Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall, the building that anti-Israel student protesters broke into and occupied in April.
Macklemore is currently on a world tour and has recently performed on stage wearing a jacket that had a patch featuring the Palestinian flag and another patch that read “Free Palestine.” He also performed while wearing around his neck a keffiyeh, a headscarf traditionally worn by Palestinians that has become a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian cause and opposition to Israel. While performing last week in Paris, he told the audience, “The Palestinian fight and resistance has been continuously what has given me energy, what has uplifted my spirit, what has reminded me that we must keep going in this fight for liberation for all human beings.”
In 2014, Macklemore performed on stage in Seattle while wearing a fake wig and beard, and an oversized prosthetic nose. The costume was labeled as “deeply offensive and propagates Jewish stereotypes,” but Macklemore claimed that it was not intended to be a reference to the Jewish community. He explained in a X/Twitter post at the time: “A fake witches nose, wig and beard = random costume. Not my idea of a stereotype of anybody.”
