Is Israel committing genocide in Palestine?
Yes. According to the United Nations; many Palestinian and Israeli historians; the International Association of Genocide Scholars; human rights organizations ranging from Al Mezan and PCHR to Amnesty International; the Israeli-based groups B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights; governments from South Africa to Saudi Arabia; and countless other researchers and scholars. These charges follow years of apartheid within Israel and endless Israeli efforts to continue building illegal settlements in the Occupied West Bank, making Palestinian statehood all but impossible. They have not been shy about this.
Should I boycott even if my music makes little or no money in Israel?
Yes. While big earners and major label artists also have a critical role to play in this effort, the goals of No Music For Genocide stretch beyond raw financial impact or sacriface. Each of us can collectively push our different scenes, communities, and cultures toward a 'new normal' in which pro-Palestine efforts are common sense. This matches the logic of the 1980s music boycotts against apartheid South Africa: delegitimize a system in the nations that it relies on to survive. Israel acts in lockstep with the U.S.A., UK, Germany, etc.
How long will it take to remove my music from Israel?
In most cases: within 24 hours to seven days of a distributor initiating the geo-block process. We've seen companies like Distrokid tell artists and labels to expect two to three business days, for reference.
How often does NMFG update the boycott list?
As often as we can 🫡 This is a volunteer operation and each name is checked then added manually. THANK YOU for wanting to join and for your patience :)
The genocide wouldn't be possible without the U.S., UK, Germany, etc. Why not boycott them?
Many rightfully refer to Israeli crimes against humanity as "American-Israeli." For over 100 years, western powers have colluded with zionists (Jewish, Christian, and atheist) to assault Palestinian and Arab rights and destroy democracy in the region. For the past 23 months, the United States, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, and others have worked with Arab regimes to fund, arm, protect, and provide diplomatic immunity for Israel — a longstanding, heinous tradition. To achieve this, they have also had to try to silence, attack, jail, or deport people within their own borders who disagree, stripping many of our civil liberties around the world. For those of us living within these nations, it's challenging to actively boycott ourselves. What we can do is honor Palestinian calls to boycott Israel itself.
At the same time, doing so creates social and cultural opposition, wherever we are, against the dominant government narratives. We must reject them however we can. To be clear, boycotting Israel is not mutually exclusive with boycotting other countries too. As Nigerian artist Seun Kuti said this year at music festivals in Europe: "Free Europe. Free Europe from right-wing extremism, from fascism, from racism. Free Europe from imperialism... as soon as Europe is free from those, Gaza, the DRC, Sudan etc. will be free." With this in mind, let's continue interrogating our own industry's complicity and act.
Why don't I see my favorite artist on the boycotter list?
The initial boycotter list reflects a rapid, grassroots effort and is non-exhaustive. If you don't see an artist you love, there's a chance they haven't heard of this yet! Feel free to share a kind comment or message that encourages them to join No Music For Genocide.
What about Palestinians within Israel and the Occupied West Bank?
This is an important question and we appreciate anyone asking it. So far, we've concluded that geo-blocks of Israel do not impact the Occupied West Bank (or Gaza), based on all of the on-the-ground availability tests and Spotify API checks we've run. There is a chance that some distributors and streaming services batch together Israel and Palestine (or "Occupied Palestinian Territories" in distributor portals), yet another form of erasure, but we fortunately haven't encountered this yet. What we have encountered: digital apartheid. Israel controls internet infrastructure across Palestine; it's restricted Gaza to 2G speeds and the West Bank to 3G speeds (which roughly equates to U.S. internet from five to 15 years ago). Meanwhile, Israel enjoys rapid access. Apple Music allows direct pitching for editorial support in Israel but does not in Palestine; major labels have operations in Israel but not in Palestine; and even Bandcamp historically struggled to support Palestinians because PayPal banned Palestinians in the West Bank while allowing access to illegal Israeli settlers. Artists in the West Bank would rely on PayPal accounts from those living abroad or within Israel.
The boycott will unfortunately affect everyone in Israel (or '48 Palestine) itself, including Palestinians. Much like the 1980s boycotts against apartheid South Africa, which Black South Africans demanded, loss of access is considered a lesser priority than challenging complicity and normalization. BDS / PACBI (who's supporting the initiative) = a representative of over 170 Palestinian unions, political parties, refugee networks, and civil society organizations across the Occupied West Bank, Gaza, the diaspora, and '48 / Israel itself. They've emphasized that despite our shared concerns, challenging normalization in this moment is the priority, even when it comes at a personal loss of access. To quote several friends of the movement in Palestine, who wished to remain anonymous: "The music we need to amplify right now, across all of Palestine and beyond, is Palestinian." Additionally, we look to Boycott From Within, a boycott advocacy group led by ’48 Palestinians in Israel. It's worth nothing that, in part because of support for boycotts from Palestinians in Israel, the Israeli government criminalized BDS and lets any citizen file a lawsuit against anyone else there who even promotes boycotts.
Who is the character in the NMFG logo?
That’s Handala (حنظلة), an iconic character created by Palestinian illustrator Naji al-Ali in the 1960s. His back is turned to the viewer to show his refusal to compromise with injustice; he's symbolized steadfastness for decades and became synonymous with BDS / PACBI since its founding in 2004. al-Ali drew Handala as a 10-year-old boy frozen in time until he can return to Palestine. al-Ali was also 10 when zionist militias forced him and his family to flee Palestine in 1948. This is known as the Nakba (النكبة), or “catastrophe” in Arabic. We wanted to honor Handala and bring him into the context of a music boycott: unplugging the aux, kicking down the speaker, providing no music for genocide. Here's a short clip and a longer documentary with more info about al-Ali and his illustrations.
Is it antisemitic to criticize and boycott Israel?
No :) Decades before the Holocaust, countless Jewish scholars and religious leaders vehemently opposed the political ideology, zionism, that led to the modern nation-state of Israel. zionism's European founding fathers openly spoke about their ambitions in Palestine as a "colonial" project in the 1800s. Palestinian activists and resistance groups have spelled out the difference between Judaism and zionism for decades despite the Jewish Star of David adorning the warplanes, missiles, and uniformed officers that terrorize them. More and more Jews around the world are reviving the tradition of Jewish anti-zionism. In any case, the priority right now is ending Israeli apartheid, occupation, and genocide, not bad faith accusations of antisemitism.