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Israeli Concertgoer Gets Full Refund After Complaining About Anti-Israel Messaging at Massive Attack Show
Khalid Abdalla being introduced to speak on stage ahead of the Massive Attack headlining concert at the LIDO Festival in London’s Victoria Park on June 6, 2025. Photo: YouTube screenshot
An Israeli concertgoer received a full refund of his ticket to see the British group Massive Attack headline London’s LIDO Festival last week after complaining to festival organizers about the “really hostile” environment at the largely politicized, anti-Israel performance, the UK’s Jewish Chronicle reported.
The Israeli, whose identity was not revealed, told the JC he felt “ambushed and unsafe” during the show at London’s Victoria Park on June 6 as part of the two-week music festival. A longtime fan of Massive Attack, he attended the performance with four other British-Israeli friends.
“When we arrived at the festival in Victoria Park, we saw a lot of ‘Free Palestine’ pins and T-shirts. We didn’t make anything out of it,” the fan said. “I wanted to hear Massive Attack, as someone who grew up on their music. I had no idea about any of their political views … They lost me as a fan.”
Before Massive Attack began their performance, pro-Palestinian activist and “The Crown” actor Khalid Abdalla took to the stage to talk about Palestinian solidarity and lead the audience in chanting “free Palestine.” Abdalla, who was introduced as a patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), claimed in his speech that the pro-Palestinian solidarity movement is “the civil rights movement, the anti-apartheid movement, [and] the anti-genocide movement of our time, and that is why so many Jewish people all over the world are at the core of this movement, fighting for a world in which ‘never again’ means never again for anyone, and in which this brutal Israeli occupation ends.”
Massive Attack also displayed on large screens by the stage a montage of anti-Israel videos, including real-life footage of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar – the mastermind of the deadly terrorist attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 – as he walks in a Hamas tunnel. Another video called for the release of convicted Palestinian terrorist Marwan Barghouti.
“The concept of giving terrorists a stage is beyond me,” the Israeli music fan, who had friends murdered in the Oct. 7 attack, told the JC. “When we see Sinwar walking in the tunnels, it means we see our families and other Israelis in the tunnels. For us, it was glorifying him.”
The Israeli audience member said the crowd at the Massive Attack concert felt “really hostile,” so he and his group of friends ultimately decided to leave the set. During their exit, they met others who “also felt intimidated,” “scared” and “very threatened.”
In total, around 15 people exited the concert, the JC reported. They approached festival promoters, expressed their concerns, and gave their contact information. The Israeli man said later that same night, he received an email from promoters with an apology. He also received a full refund for his ticket to the LIDO festival, travel expenses, and the amount he spent on drinks at the venue.
The Israeli music fan accused LIDO Festival organizers of false advertising for not warning ticket holders about the political nature of the event.
“Massive Attack have a right to do the show as they want to, but the fact that no one told us PSC were going to be on stage – that it would be an orchestrated political event – it’s not about me being pro-Palestinian or not,” he said. “I didn’t know I was going to see propaganda on stage. It caught us off guard completely. It was about organizing a political event. Massive Attack and PSC were selling official merchandise, T-shirts designed for this festival, allowing PSC to be on stage, allowing them to put videos on the big screen – it’s not a fluke. It was well coordinated and organized.”
A Bristol-based band, Massive Attack has participated in a cultural boycott of Israel since 1999 and are longtime critics of Israel, regularly accusing the country of war crimes, apartheid, occupation, and genocide. In a released statement, they claimed videos shown at the LIDO Festival do not glorify or celebrate “any of the featured subjects,” and were taken out of context.
The post Israeli Concertgoer Gets Full Refund After Complaining About Anti-Israel Messaging at Massive Attack Show first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Putin Speaks to Trump, Condemns Israel’s Strikes on Iran, Kremlin Says
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meet in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to US President Donald Trump for 50 minutes on Saturday, condemning the Israeli military operation against Iran and expressing concern about the risks of escalation, the Kremlin said.
“Vladimir Putin condemned Israel’s military operation against Iran and expressed serious concern about a possible escalation of the conflict, which would have unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
Trump, for his part, described events in the Middle East as “very alarming,” according to Ushakov. But the two leaders said they do not rule out a return to the negotiating track on Iran’s nuclear program, Ushakov said.
On Ukraine, Putin told the US leader that Russia was ready to continue negotiations with the Ukrainians after June 22, according to state news agency RIA.
Trump reiterated his interest in a speedy resolution to the conflict, the Kremlin aide said.
Putin also congratulated Trump on his 79th birthday.
The post Putin Speaks to Trump, Condemns Israel’s Strikes on Iran, Kremlin Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Sunday’s US-Iran Nuclear Talks Cancelled, Oman Says
FILE PHOTO: Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi attends a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia July 11, 2023. Photo: Natalia Kolesnikova/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
The latest round of US-Iran nuclear talks scheduled for Sunday in Muscat will not take place, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on X on Saturday. Oman has been mediating the talks.
Albusaidi’s statement came a day after Israel launched a sweeping air offensive against Iran, killing commanders and scientists and bombing nuclear sites in a stated bid to stop it building an atomic weapon.
A senior official of US President Donald Trump’s administration, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed Sunday’s talks had been cancelled.
Washington, however, remained committed to the negotiations and hoped “the Iranians will come to the table soon,” the official said.
The post Sunday’s US-Iran Nuclear Talks Cancelled, Oman Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Says Talks with US ‘Meaningless’ After Israel Attack, But Yet to Decide on Attending
USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, Sept. 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Iran said the dialogue with the US over Tehran’s nuclear program is “meaningless” after Israel’s biggest-ever military strike against its longstanding enemy, but said it is yet to decide on whether to attend planned talks on Sunday.
“The other side (the US) acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless. You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime (Israel) to target Iran’s territory,” state media on Saturday quoted foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying.
“It is still unclear what decision we will make on Sunday in this regard,” Baghaei was quoted as saying.
He said Israel “succeeded in influencing” the diplomatic process and the Israeli attack would not have happened without Washington’s permission, accusing Washington of supporting the attack.
Iran earlier accused the US of being complicit in Israel’s attacks, but Washington denied the allegation and told Tehran at the United Nations Security Council that it would be “wise” to negotiate over its nuclear program.
The sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks was set to be held on Sunday in Muscat, but it was unclear whether it would go ahead after the Israeli strikes.
Iran denies that its uranium enrichment program is for anything other than civilian purposes, rejecting Israeli allegations that it is secretly developing nuclear weapons.
US President Donald Trump told Reuters that he and his team had known the Israeli attacks were coming but they still saw room for an accord.
The post Iran Says Talks with US ‘Meaningless’ After Israel Attack, But Yet to Decide on Attending first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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