The music industry’s Kneecap, Fontaines D. C., and Brian Eno have formed a partnership to protect artists who openly support Palestine from censorship and intimidation.
The British band Massive Attack have formed an alliance for artists who are facing intimidation from within the music industry over their support of Palestine and Gaza. The collective known as Ethical Syndicate Palestine (ESP) is supported by Kneecap, Fontaines D.C. and Brian Eno and cites “organised censorship” of artists who have spoken out about Israel’s military action.
The statement shared by Massive Attack and others on Instagram reads: “The scenes in Gaza have moved beyond description. We write as artists who’ve chosen to use our public platforms to speak out against the genocide occurring there and the role of the UK government in facilitating it.”
We’re aware of the scale of aggressive, vexatious campaigns carried out by [UK Lawyers for Israel] UKLFI, as well as of numerous instances of intimidation within the music industry itself, all of which were designed to censor and defame artists from speaking their hearts and minds, according to ESP in their statement.
The accusations that we have intimidated Massive Attack and carried out aggressive vexations campaigns are false, said Caroline Turner, director of UKLFI, in a statement to The Mirror. She further describes the Lido Festival performance by Massive Attack in June 2025 as “divisive and offensive political theater.”
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In a statement, ESP pointed fingers at UKLFI, accusing them of intimidating artists. Brian Eno, Kneecap, and Massive Attack all tagged the activist group Led By Donkeys, which requested an investigation into UKLFI’s charitable wing in their ESP Instagram posts.
Before Led by Donkeys, Turner claims that UKLFI responded to their film and that their allegations primarily concerned UKLFI Ltd., a non-profit, rather than UKLFI Charitable Trust.
In recent months, UKLFI reported the band Bob Vylan to the police for leading a chant of “death to the IDF [Israel Defence Forces]” during their Glastonbury set. It also reported the BBC for broadcasting the set and wrote to the Academy of Music Group advising them to cancel Vylan’s Radar Festival performance.
Following a report to the police by UKLFI, Mr. Liam hAnnaidh (aka Mo Chara), a member of the music trio Kneecap, was charged with a terrorism offence in May 2025. On August 20, 2025, Mr. hAnnaidh will make his court appearance for the following hearing. The UKLFI wrote to all the venues in the UK that were scheduled to host Kneecap over the summer informing them of the dangers of allowing them to perform.
The musicians of ESP say their goal is to protect other artists, particularly those at early stages of their careers. “Having withstood these campaigns of attempted censorship, we won’t standby & allow other artists – particularly those at earlier stages of their careers or in other positions of professional vulnerability – to be threatened into silence or career cancellation.
Their statement reads, “In this spirit, we encourage artists who have been placed in this position, or those who are now interested in using their platforms to talk about Palestine, but are concerted about industrial or legal repercussions to contact us.”
The syndicate also urges artists to make a stand on demands including immediate unfettered access to Gaza for recognised aid agencies, an end to UK arms sales and licences to Israel, and an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
Artists including Paloma Faith, Bob Vylan, Aja Monet, Saul Williams, and AURORA all commented expressions of support on Instagram. Paloma Faith wrote: “I’ve been shadow banned for some time!!! Keep going everyone, it’s going to eventually change! Hang in there”. The Scottish rock band Garbage have also publicly joined the syndicate.
The Mirror has reached out to the Ethical Syndicate Palestine for comment.
Source: Mirror
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