Macklemore’s latest anti-Israel music video, ‘F—ed up,’ places the West Bank and Holocaust side-by-side
The song, posted Tuesday, has garnered more than 14 million views on X alone
A frame from Macklemore’s latest video, “F—ed up.” (Screenshot)
(JTA) — Macklemore has come out with his latest song slamming Israel — and it links the war in Gaza with economic hardship in the United States. It also alleges nefarious control of banks and the media.
Near the end of the music video, a frame juxtaposes a photo of a Palestinian child in the West Bank city of Jenin with one of the most infamous images of the Holocaust: a child raising his hands in the Warsaw Ghetto.
“If you still haven’t said s— about the genocide, know your grandkids one day are gonna ask you why,” Macklemore raps as the image flashes on screen.
The song, called “F—ed up” and posted yesterday, has garnered more than 14 million views on X alone. It celebrates protests against President Donald Trump and his multibillionaire adviser Elon Musk as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and is closely tied to the headlines: The video includes images of Trump’s meeting last week with Netanyahu, and the chorus alludes to Elon Musk’s Nazi-like salute on Inauguration Day.
Much of the song and video focuses verbal fire on Israel and pro-Israel policy. One of the first lyrics is, “New era ushered, but white supremacy is still in charge. Talkin’ colonizing Gaza from the White House lawn” — a reference to Trump’s proposal, endorsed by Netanyahu, for the United States to take over Gaza.
From there, the song draws a connection between U.S. military aid to Israel and income inequality at home: “Killin’ Palestinian kids and we gettin’ hit with the cost,” Macklemore raps. “Why the f— you think you can’t afford the rent in your building? And you can’t afford groceries?”
Macklemore takes aim at “the oligarchy and men that control us all” while, in the video, images of tech moguls Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, as well as Musk and Trump, flash on screen. He then says there are powerful forces controlling the worlds of finance and media, in part to suppress pro-Palestinian activism.
“That’s your money, and yes, it’s all connected,” he raps. “And they controlling your feed, the information that they censor. Blockin’ hashtags, can’t say ‘#FreePalestine.’”
The video is a followup to Macklemore’s May song, “Hind’s Hall,” which was an ode to the pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University, where students forcibly occupied a campus building. That song, like this one, is filled with images of pro-Palestinian protests and accuses Israel of apartheid and genocide. It also included an extended section saying anti-Zionism was not antisemitic. He released another pro-Palestinian song, “Hind’s Hall 2,” later in 2024.
There are images of Jews throughout the video released on Tuesday as well, not all of them in positive contexts. The beginning of the video accuses Stewart Resnick, who owns the Wonderful Company, and his wife Lydia of owning California’s water — an echo of an accusation that circulated during the recent wildfires in Los Angeles.
One frame shows an illustration of a jigsaw puzzle that combines the Israeli flag with a $100 bill. Another shows far-right Israeli politician Itamar Ben-Gvir handing out guns. Another shows Trump pushing Netanyahu’s chair in at at conference table — an image that the neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes recently suggested indicated American subservience to Israel. It refers to Netanyahu as “the colonizer.”
The song also says, “You can kill people – resistance grows in the wake. And while our president sends billions to Israel’s safes, ethnic cleansing’s never gonna make Israelis feel safe.”
Pro-Palestinian voices have praised the video, while Israel advocates on social media have accused it of antisemitism.
In a post on X, David Draiman, the frontman of Disturbed who is an outspoken supporter of Israel, called on Jews to do more to fight hatred against them. His post referenced a recent AI video that depicts Jewish celebrities standing up to recent antisemitic comments by Kanye West.
Fellow #Jews, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU??” Draiman wrote. “Your voices are noticeably absent during this explosion of antisemitism. #Kanye and #Macklemore ‘s Jew hatred isn’t enough? Aren’t you ashamed that only a fake/AI generated piece exists to supposedly represent you?”
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