Coldplay made headlines on Wednesday when the group posted the music video for
the single “Freedom for Palestine” to its
Facebook page.
The campaign,
also the name of the single by OneWorld, was endorsed by the UK’s Israeli
Committee Against House Demolitions and Jews for Justice for
Palestinians.
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Roger Waters: I'm not anti-Semitic, I'm anti-occupation Coldplay took no part in the production of the song, but
their Internet promotion nonetheless immediately caught the attention of major
Jewish and Israeli media outlets.
The post, which directed fans to the
website of the song’s producers, managed to pull in over 3,500 “likes” within
six hours, a large number for most Facebook users, though the figure pales in
comparison to a previous post on Coldplay’s page which reeled in nearly 11,000
“likes.”
In an e-mail to
The Jerusalem Post, OneWorld media officer Paul
Collins said, “We were delighted that Coldplay told their fans about the single,
and hope this will make a big difference.”
The song calls for the West
Bank security barrier to be toppled, for human rights and “justice for all,”
while the video features a keffiyeh-clad breakdancer superimposed on animated
scenes of Palestinians at IDF checkpoints. The song is scheduled for official
release in early July.
Coldplay fans expressed predictably polar opinions
of the band’s foray into politics.
While some praised the band using
their fame to promote the Palestinian cause, others were decidedly disturbed by
the move.
In a comment on the Facebook post, one such fan wrote,
“Coldplay should stick to music.”
Most of the comments, however, in typical fashion of political discussions on the Internet, turned into expletive-filled personal attacks on other commenters.
The video, which has been on YouTube for
over a week, had been viewed by over 21,000 people at press-time.
The
media attention brought by Coldplay’s decision to share the song with their fans
will likely boost the video’s exposure.
According to OneWorld’s website,
the video is a response by international musicians to the injustices faced by
Palestinians daily, including “human rights abuse and [living] in crushing
poverty in refugee camps and under Israeli occupation.”
Collins told the
Post, “We hope the single will communicate the realities of life for
Palestinians to new audiences, and strengthen the call for
change.”
Musicians who perform in the song include Maxi Jazz and Dave
Randall of Faithless, LSK, the Durban Gospel Choir and Jamie Catto, among
others.
Organizations listed as campaign supporters also include Friends
of Al-Aksa, Stop the War Coalition and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.