Macklemore speaks at Pro-Palestinian DC rally: ‘This is genocide’

Rapper Macklemore said it was “beautiful to observe” the huge crowd at the pro-Palestine demonstration in Washington DC Saturday, where tens of thousands showed up to call for a ceasefire and the destruction of Israel.

“They told me to be quiet, they told me to do my research, to go back, that it’s too complex to say something, to be silent in this moment,” the singer, whose legal name is Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, said from the podium.

“In the last three weeks, I’ve gone back and I have done some research, I’m teachable,” the “Thrift Shop” singer told the crowd. “I don’t know everything, but I know enough to know that this is a genocide.”

He noted in his quick speech that he wasn’t the most “qualified” to speak on the controversy.

Thousands turned out in the nation’s capital, chanting: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and blaming President Joe Biden and other American politicians of genocide Saturday. The chant is widely considered antisemitic because it implies the elimination Israel and its people.

Macklemore first offered Palestinians his support two weeks ago on Instagram, where he said he couldn’t “stay silent any longer.”

The rapper said he was “deeply hurt for the Israelis that lost loved ones,” but didn’t believe in “killing innocent humans in retaliation.”

“This is why I am supporting the people around the world who are calling for a ceasefire. We are witnessing an unfolding genocide in Palestine at this very moment.”

At the DC event, many speakers took hits at the President, especially his pledge to send $14 billion in aid to Israel.

“Biden, Biden you can’t hide! We charge you with genocide!” 

Supporters attended the rally to protest against the deaths of 9,000 Palestinians in Gaza due to airstrikes following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

A spokesperson for the Chicago Chapter of the U.S. Palestine Community Network said Biden was “dehumanizing” Palestinians, and that “Israel does not have the right to exist as a racist state.”

Marte White, who said he was from Community Movement Builders – a nationwide Black activist group – said that “Israel can go to hell.”