Musicians Jonny Greenwood and Dudu Tassa have blamed threats from pro-Palestine activists for the cancellation of their UK shows next month, and called out the hypocrisy of those defending Kneecap’s right to expression while simultaneously silencing them.
In a newly published letter, the Radiohead guitarist and Tassa, who is one of Israel’s leading rock stars, said the venues – Bristol’s Beacon Hall and London’s Hackney Church – and their “blameless staff” received “enough credible threats to conclude that it’s not safe to proceed”.
The shows were cancelled following a campaign by anti-Israel activists. Urging supporters to boycott the performance, local advocacy group Bristol Palestine Alliance had released a post labelling Tassa and Greenwood “guilty of supporting the Gaza holocaust”. In response to the cancellation of the Bristol show, The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel, part of the BDS movement, stated: “Palestinians welcome the cancellation of Jonny Greenwood and Dudu Tassa’s concert, which was due to take place in Bristol, UK on the 23rd June and would have whitewashed Israel’s genocide.”
In their letter, Greenwood and Tassa condemned the censorship and silencing of their music. “The campaign which has successfully stopped the concerts insist that ‘this is not censorship’ and ‘this isn’t about silencing music or attacking individual artists’,” they said. “But its organisers can’t have it both ways. Forcing musicians not to perform and denying people who want to hear them an opportunity to do so is self-evidently a method of censorship and silencing. Intimidating venues into pulling our shows won’t help achieve the peace and justice everyone in the Middle East deserves. This cancellation will be hailed as a victory by the campaigners behind it, but we see nothing to celebrate and don’t find that anything positive has been achieved.”
They also quoted the statement from artists supporting the Northern Irish rap trio Kneecap, who are due to be investigated by UK Counter Terror Police over comments they have made: “As artists, we feel the need to register our opposition to any political repression of artistic freedom … In a democracy, no political figures or political parties should have the right to dictate who does and does not play at music festivals or gigs that will be enjoyed by thousands of people.”
The duo added: “Nor should anyone. We have no judgement to pass on Kneecap but note how sad it is that those supporting their freedom of expression are the same ones most determined to restrict ours.”
Dudu Tassa, who is of Iraqi-Jewish and Yemeni descent, and Greenwood have been collaborating and releasing music since 2008. Their joint album of Arabic love songs, Jarak Qaribak – meaning “your neighbour is your friend” – was released in June 2023 and brought together vocalists and musicians from across the Middle East.
The pro-Palestine movement threatened rock band Radiohead last year due to Greenwood’s refusal to give in to the BDS movement’s pressure to cancel his tour with the Israeli musician. In his statement on X, Greenwood criticised their call as “unprogressive” and said: “I think an artistic project that combines Arab and Jewish musicians is worthwhile. And one that reminds everyone that the Jewish cultural roots in countries like Iraq and Yemen go back for thousands of years, is also important.”
In Greenwood and Tassa’s new letter, they echoed this, saying: “We believe art exists above and beyond politics; that art that seeks to establish the common identity of musicians across borders in the Middle East should be encouraged, not decried; and that artists should be free to express themselves regardless of their citizenship or their religion – and certainly regardless of the decisions made by their governments.”
They added that they “agree completely” with anyone asking how a concert can be more important than what’s happening in Gaza and Israel. “They’re right – it isn’t. How could it be? What, in anyone’s upcoming cultural life, is?”
They also championed all the performers in their band, “especially the Arab musicians and singers who have shown amazing bravery and conviction” by contributing to their debut album and performing shows with them.
“Their artistic achievements are toweringly important, and we hope one day you will get to hear us play these songs – love songs mostly – together with us, somewhere, somehow. If that happens, it won’t be a victory for any country, religion, or political cause. It’ll be a victory for our shared love and respect of the music – and of each other.”
Dudu Tassa is the grandson of Kuwaiti musician Daoud Al-Kuwaiti, whose musical collaborations with his brother Saleh as the Al-Kuwaiti Brothers were famous in the Arabic world between the 1930s and 1950s. When Saddam Hussein discovered that the singers were Jewish rather than Arabic, their music was banned in Iraq during the dictator’s regime.
