A musical revolution over Palestine is radicalising Arab youth

The genocide in Gaza has triggered a movement in global youth culture not seen since the incendiary climate of the late 1970s. This musical phenomenon has also provoked a Zionist-led media frenzy, driven by hysteria and moral panic last evidenced when Punk rock burst onto the music scene.

Scholars in the Muslim world may look down their noses at this defining moment in youth culture, but they would be foolish to ignore it because it is driving change and politicising Arab youth, the next generation. Given that approximately 60 per cent of the Arab world’s population, around 200 million, is under the age of 30, there are a substantial number of young people. Dictators across the region will ignore them at their peril.

The Palestinian struggle for justice and freedom in Gaza and the rest of occupied Palestine has, perhaps more than any other legitimate cause, spawned aggressive lyrics about Western society and politics. They have been manifested across university and college campuses around the world. Today’s students are angry and are ready to challenge the Establishment for the refusal to embrace the pro-Palestine movement, which has captured the imagination and energy of young people around the world.

Macklemore, for example, performed his protest song “Hind’s Hall” advocating for Palestinian liberation; the song shared widely online, with all proceeds going to UNRWA. His lyrics express solidarity with the Palestinian people and critique the political and social situation in Palestine.

Although, for many, the perceived enemies are Western leaders, young Arabs are also waking up to the atrocities and contempt for human rights in their region, including the lack of any meaningful action by their own leaders over the genocide in Gaza. The same young people who have been deprived of access to even the basic realities of the Palestinian struggle are turning to music to express their outrage at the silence of the Arab regimes.

Even the music industry is divided over the new breed of rap stars emerging from the ranks of angry young men and women who are unafraid to challenge the commonly accepted Zionist narrative adopted by those who control academia, government, the economy, big business and technology. The musical rebels and resistance are infuriating the Zionist lobbies like AIPAC in the US and the assorted Friends of Israel groups in the UK which believe firmly in buying influence because, in their world, everyone has a price.

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However, the vindictive pursuit of some rap stars has seen them no-platformed at pro-Palestinian events, including the singer Lowkey. Notable popular music icons like Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, Rage Against the Machine, The Who and Pink Floyd have all embraced political themes in their songs. Some, like arguably the most infamous Punk band the Sex Pistols and their front man Johnny Rotten and guitarist Sid Vicious, used shock tactics to challenge the Establishment, but they still turned the musical protest movement into a nice little earner.

The Pistols swore live on-air during a December 1976 television interview. Their May 1977 single “God Save The Queen” described the monarchy as a “fascist regime”. It was released to coincide with national celebrations for the late Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee and was promptly banned by the BBC and nearly every independent radio station in Britain, making it the most censored record in the history of popular music.

Rich and powerful moguls in the music industry struggled to negotiate tough contracts for promoting the new upstarts. They couldn’t agree on how their music would be marketed in a bid to exert control of the anarchic artists. Those who refused to yield to such power often paid the price by being catapulted into oblivion.

Ireland and its “Troubles” saw a youth culture use music as an outlet to express their anger at the world in which they lived. Similarly, the youth in Gaza and Palestine are embracing the rap culture to raise awareness, fight for peace and depict their pain and suffering.

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Is a “musical jihad” a legitimate force for good for Palestine?

I would say so, yes. The influence that the rock band U2 had over the situation in Ireland can never be underestimated. As one of the biggest bands in the world, the fact that they cared about their country encouraged global audiences to call for peace and a non-violent solution to Ireland’s problems. You would think, therefore, that U2’s front man, Bono, would sympathise with the Palestinians struggling for freedom from Israel’s brutal military occupation. But you would be wrong.

Sadly, following Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on 7 October, 2023, Bono expressed his outrage, not at the near 80 years of occupation, but at the resistance to it. He was vocal in his support for the occupation state of Israel. However, his influence appears to be waning after a head-on clash with the influential BDS Movement over his refusal to boycott the apartheid state.

Has Bono sold his soul to the corporate music devil, which largely promotes a pro-Israel narrative, potentially overlooking or marginalising Palestinian perspectives? Perhaps, but the singer and U2 are not the only Irish musicians using their performances to highlight injustice at home and, in the case of Kneecap, in Palestine.

Kneecap’s pugnacious members garnered global attention in January 2024 at the Sundance film festival when its members rode into Utah waving smoke canisters from the roof of a mock Police Service of Northern Ireland vehicle. They insist that money does not influence or drive them and their lyrics.

Kneecap is the collective name of an Irish hip hop trio from West Belfast, in Northern Ireland, which remained part of the United Kingdom in the partition of Ireland in 1922. Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and J.J. Ó Dochartaigh use the stage names Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí respectively. They have built a following in the US with a mix of Irish republican songs, punk spirit and an award-winning film which has received critical acclaim around the world.

The film follows Kneecap’s rise, their political activism and their clashes with various authorities and groups. Their use of drug-fuelled profanities and abusive language in their lyrics make the Sex Pistols sound like choir boys. Their blend of abrasive behaviour found a youthful following of its own by 2017 and they are being credited with reviving the Irish Gaelic language among young people.

Cynics say that their clandestine use of Irish lyrics and distribution of dissident or banned literature was largely unnoticed in Northern Ireland, where English is the dominant language. The mainstream media chose to ignore the trio and by the time the authorities woke up to Kneecap’s influence it was too late; they had amassed a huge following among Ireland’s youth. Attempts to ban them simply increase their popularity among young people, and now the trio are pushing a pro-Palestine message with which young Irish radicals identify so easily.

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In 2022 the group unveiled a mural of a burning police Land Rover in West Belfast alongside the words “RUC [Royal Ulster Constabulary] not welcome” written in Irish. Ulster being the name of the six counties of Northern Ireland which the British held onto, the RUC was the former name of the province’s Police Service and was regarded by Irish republicans as a tool of British oppression. In response to criticism, the group said on social media: “We didn’t burn a police Land Rover, we painted one. Some people are more worried about a piece of art than the effigies of real politicians hanging off bonfires. We don’t want to be fighting or advocating violence. We want people to be thinking.”

However, Kneecap delight Palestinian youth and their supporters, having embraced the Palestinian cause as have many in Ireland who draw parallels between the British and Zionist occupations and colonialism. Some believe that this will destroy the band, but the trio don’t let this stop their activism.

This bothers outspoken Sharon Osbourne, the so-called “TV celebrity” wife of rocker Ozzy Osbourne. Among other things, he is known for biting the head off a live bat during a concert in Des Moines, Iowa, in1982, so her reaction to the Irish band’s shocking stage antics is surprising, and betrays her Zionist leanings. She took to social media to urge the US authorities to revoke Kneecap’s work visas for after they denounced Israeli attacks on Gaza during a performance at the Coachella music festival in California. She accused the Irish band of hate speech and supporting terrorist organisations and said that it should not be allowed to perform in the US. “I urge you to join me in advocating for the revocation of Kneecap’s work visa,” she exhorted followers on X on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, that US bastion of tolerance and moderation, Fox News, also condemned the band and accused it of bringing “Nazi Germany” sentiments to America. It is astonishing how right-wing, pro-Israel media outlets ignore the Nazi symbolism and rhetoric employed by the neo-fascists on their own end of the political spectrum, support the Zionist narrative and occupation state, and try to denounce anyone standing up for international law and justice.

Right-wing hypocrisy knows no bounds.

In the belief there’s no such thing as bad publicity, Kneecap led the audience at Coachella in chants of “Free, free Palestine” and screened pro-Palestinian messages on the stage. “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” said one; “It is being enabled by the US government who arm and fund Israel despite their war crimes,” said another. The last used an expletive against Israel, reported the Guardian.

Since all of Kneecap’s American concerts have now sold out, music executives in America are faced with their most ethical dilemma to date: do they make money or support the genocidal state of Israel?

Kneecap aren’t the only band in this new movement radicalised by cultural and political injustices, and using their creative talents to challenge the orthodox narrative that Israel has a right to self-defence against the people it oppresses and whose land it occupies so brutally.

Children of the Stones is another. COTS is a cultural experimentation by an underground rap artist called Black Kuffiyah. Their song “We’re so F***ed and lost” highlights the confusion of contemporary political discourse through the culture of memes.

“Today, far-right and Zionist talking points have infected Islamic movements,” the artist told MEMO. “Our artificial intelligence-driven video mocks the Musk/Trump-driven media and its Arab and Muslim political concubines. We are not seeking publicity, fame or money. You could call us the Banksy of political hip hop.”

He concluded by pointing out that COTS are not interested in music labels, downloads for money. “We are making an artistic statement about Palestine. In our world the artist is of the least importance.”

That’s a powerful message for the dictators across the Arab region for whom power and wealth are the drivers, rather than the well-being of their people and the Palestinian issue. For decades, they have claimed that Palestine is the main cause of the Arab world, but that’s largely window dressing. Now is the time to put meaningless rhetoric aside, and challenge the illegal actions of the Zionist state. Their young people are watching. And they’re angry.

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The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.