Celebrities rally in London for Britain’s biggest Gaza fundraising event
Pro-Palestinian slogans rang out around London’s Ovo Arena Wembley on Wednesday, with the 12,500-capacity venue sold out for Britain’s biggest fundraising event for the people of Gaza.
The livestreamed “Together for Palestine” (T4P) concert, with tickets at £70 ($95) each, was the latest in a series of pro-Palestinian events in the British capital, which has seen a wave of marches and demonstrations since the conflict began nearly two years ago.
British musician and political activist Brian Eno organized the fundraiser to support charities working in the Palestinian territory and to encourage celebrities to speak out.
The line-up included actors Benedict Cumberbatch and Florence Pugh, documentary maker Louis Theroux, whose last film saw him travel to the occupied West Bank to interview Israeli settlers, as well as Palestinian voices and human rights activists.
Eno told AFP that no venue would accept an event with the word “Palestine” in it this time last year.
But “things have changed,” he said. “Israel thought starving a whole population would be fine with everyone… I think that changed people’s minds.”
The United Nations last month officially declared a famine in Gaza, blaming “systematic obstruction” of aid by Israel during the war.
On Tuesday, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, which does not speak on behalf of the world body, said that “genocide is occurring in Gaza”, again blaming Israel.
Israel has denied the allegations and called the latest report “distorted and false”.
Israel’s ‘genocide’ in Gaza
T4P participants said it was unacceptable to remain silent.
The crowd, many waving Palestinian flags, cheered Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, who has faced harsh criticism from Israel and some of its allies.
“The genocide in Gaza is a defining moment,” the Italian human rights expert said.
“Anyone who holds a position of power, including to narrate, has the responsibility to take part in this, to make people understand that they shouldn’t feel fear to speak.”
Palestinian artwork curated by Gazan artist Malak Mattar decorated the stage, depicting the situation in Gaza.
“We want to empower people to take action,” Mattar said. “We owe the people of Palestine our solidarity.”
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians dead, according to the health ministry in Gaza, figures the UN considers reliable.
Funds raised from Wednesday’s concert and online donations will go to British charity Choose Love, to support Palestinian-led organizations providing humanitarian relief.
