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Macklemore Clarifies ‘F—k America’ Comment While Further Accusing Israel of ‘Genocide’
Macklemore performing on stage at Rock In Rio Lisbon, in Lisbon, Portugal, on June 22, 2024. Photo: Nuno Cruz via Reuters Connect
The rapper Macklemore took to social media on Wednesday to address the controversy surrounding the “F—k America” comment he made at a pro-Palestinian concert in Seattle, Washington on Saturday.
The “Thrift Shop” singer posted a lengthy statement on Instagram in which he also talked about his “unwavering” support “for a Free Palestine” and slammed the United States for supporting Israel, which he claimed is committing a “genocide” against Palestinians during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Macklemore, whose real name is Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, began by tried to explain his mindset leading up to his performance on Saturday night at the Palestine Will Live Forever Festival where he shouted “F—k America.”
“My thoughts and feelings are not always expressed perfectly or politely. Sometimes I slip up and get caught in the moment. Saturday night was one of those times,” he said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the historic event in my hometown that brought thousands of people together to raise awareness and money for the people of Palestine has become overshadowed by two words. I wish I had been in a better place with my grief and anger.”
The Seattle-based rapper then explained he has not been “OK” since the Israel-Hamas war started, following the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel, and turned his attention to Israel’s military actions during the war.
“The last 11.5 months of watching a genocide unfold in front of us has been excruciating on a spiritual, emotional, and human level. I have been in utter disbelief with how our government is showing up at this moment in history. I don’t think I’m alone,” he wrote, before discussing “US manufactured bombs” that “murder” children in Gaza. He said he is angry at the US government and falsely accused Washington, DC of sending billions of dollars to Israel “to commit internationally recognized war crimes” as well as weapons used by Israel “to kill the children of Palestine.”
“I have been disillusioned and disheartened as our government has continued to unequivocally fund and support Israel’s ongoing violence against the people of Palestine,” he wrote. “Some days I don’t know how to love something that is hurting others so much. I don’t think I’m alone.” He further praised anti-Israel protesters on the streets and on college and university campuses.
“And some days I wake up, see another couple billion dollars given to Israel, or another refugee encampment destroyed, or a father holding a limb from his martyred child, or another speech from a politician justifying the right of Israel to ‘defend itself’ while denying Palestinians the right to exist, and I say to myself … F— America.’ I don’t think I’m alone,” he added.
Macklemore concluded his statement, “I’ve slipped in front of the world before. I’m sure I’ll do it again. But they will not silence my voice, and they will not close my heart. I’ve lost endorsements, I’ve lost shows, I’ve lost business ties. I am still here, unwavering in my support for a Free Palestine. I care about humanity and this earth too much to turn back now. My intent always comes back to the pursuit of peace, love, equality, and liberation for all. And that isn’t radical, it’s human. I don’t think I’m alone.”
Macklemore was dropped from the lineup of Las Vegas’s Neon City Festival on Tuesday because of his comments over the weekend. Two Seattle-based sports teams that he co-owns denounced his remarks and said they were reevaluating their relationship with the rapper.
Macklemore performed at the Palestine Will Live Forever Festival his new pro-Palestinian song “Hind’s Hall 2,” a follow-up to his song “Hind’s Hall” released in May that celebrated the anti-Israel protests taking place at college and university campuses. Proceeds from both songs are being given to the United Nations Relief and Words Agency (UNRWA), which faced allegations investigated by the UN that several of its employees participated in the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel.
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IDF Denies Troops Fired on Civilians After Incidents of Settler Violence
Illustrative. Israeli troops during counterterrorism activity in Tulkarem, northwestern Samaria, September 2024. Photo: IDF.
i24 News – The IDF released a statement after an incident during which Israeli soldiers opened fire on Israeli civilians in the West Bank on Saturday night, denying that the trooped fired live ammunition.
This comes at the heels of arson incidents by settlers against Palestinian villages, with clashes breaking out. The IDF said that its soldiers had come under attack on Friday as they entered the area of Kafr Malik, the site of the disturbances, by Israeli civilians. “The undermining of the rule of law and the use of violence by a radical minority harm security and stability in the area.”
The IDF later said that “an initial investigation indicates that IDF forces did not fire live ammunition at Israeli civilians in the area. It should be clarified that the battalion commander’s force operating in the Baal Hatzor area of the Binyamin brigade did not fire live ammunition at all.” On the other hand, the civilians claimed this was false, posting a video that showed shell casings on the ground right next to where the troops were deployed.
Meanwhile, the police requested the remand of six individuals, two of whom are minors, to be extended in connection with the incident.
The IDF later said that, “in another area within the sector, stones were thrown at a military vehicle near the site of the clash by masked individuals from an ambush. The force responded with a warning shot of three bullets.” A possible connection “between this incident and the claim that an Israeli civilian was injured by live fire” is being investigated.
After the incidents late last week, the IDF issued an unusual directive for soldiers to exercise special vigilance and also prepare for scenarios involving nationalist incidents perpetrated by Israeli citizens. The directive was issued after a military vehicle was set on fire inside a Jewish settlement, the tires of an armored David vehicle were punctured, and a community policing caravan near the community of Beit El was also set on fire.
“The security establishment system is highly alert,” a security official told i24NEWS. “We are seeing an escalation on the ground – and if you cannot leave a military vehicle in a Jewish community without it being burned in the sector, it is a sign that the situation is dangerous.”
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Israel Orders Evacuations in Northern Gaza as Trump Calls for War to End
US President Donald Trump speaks during a swearing-in ceremony of Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
The Israeli military ordered Palestinians to evacuate areas in northern Gaza on Sunday before intensified fighting against Hamas, as US President Donald Trump called for an end to the war amid renewed efforts to broker a ceasefire.
“Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform early on Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to hold talks later in the day on the progress of Israel’s offensive. A senior security official said the military will tell him the campaign is close to reaching its objectives, and warn that expanding fighting to new areas in Gaza may endanger the remaining Israeli hostages.
But in a statement posted on X and text messages sent to many residents, the military urged people in northern parts of the enclave to head south towards the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, which Israel designated as a humanitarian area. Palestinian and U.N. officials say nowhere in Gaza is safe.
“The (Israeli) Defense Forces is operating with extreme force in these areas, and these military operations will escalate, intensify, and extend westward to the city center to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organizations,” the military said.
The evacuation order covered the Jabalia area and most Gaza City districts. Medics and residents said the Israeli army’s bombardments escalated in the early hours in Jabalia, destroying several houses and killing at least six people.
At Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, relatives arrived to pay their respects to white-shrouded bodies before they are buried.
“A month ago, they (Israel) told us to go to Al-Mawasi (in Khan Younis) and we stayed there for a month, it is a safe zone,” said Zeyad Abu Marouf. He said three of his children were killed and a fourth was wounded in the Israeli airstrike.
“We ask God and the Arabs to move and end this occupation and the injustice taking place against us,” Abu Marouf told Reuters.
NEW CEASEFIRE PUSH
The military escalation comes as Arab mediators, Egypt and Qatar, backed by the United States, begin a new ceasefire effort to halt the 20-month-old conflict and secure the release of Israeli and foreign hostages still being held by Hamas.
Interest in resolving the Gaza conflict has heightened following US and Israeli bombings of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
There has also been rising concern over how aid is being distributed to Gazans in the ruined enclave. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed over the past month in the vicinity of areas where food was being handed out, local hospitals and officials have said.
A Hamas official told Reuters the group had informed the mediators it was ready to resume ceasefire talks, but reaffirmed the group’s outstanding demands that any deal must end the war and secure an Israeli withdrawal from the coastal territory.
Hamas has said it is willing to free remaining hostages in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive, only in a deal that will end the war. Israel says it can only end the war if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms.
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Russia Launches Largest Drone Attack Yet Against Ukraine, Kills F-16 Pilot
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 10, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
i24 News – Ukraine’s Air Force said that Russia launched 537 drones and missiles against targets throughout Ukraine overnight between Saturday and Sunday, in what what described as the largest attack of the war.
Poland activated aerial defenses and scrambled jets as the six-hour onslaught continued. One Ukrainian F-16 pilot was killed as Kyiv attempted to intercept the missiles and drones, with 475 shot down.
“Tragically, while repelling the attack, our F-16 pilot, Maksym Ustymenko, died. Today, he destroyed seven aerial targets,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“Ustymenko did everything possible, but his jet was damaged and started losing altitude,” the air force said, as quoted in Politico. “He died like a hero!”
The cities of Cherkasy, Lviv, Poltava, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Kyiv were targeted.
The Russia attack came after Ukraine attacked the Kirovske airfield in the Crimean Peninsula, targeting air defenses, drones, and even destroying several helicopters and an air defense system.
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