"It’s 2026. Being apolitical during a genocide doesn’t work anymore," Macklemore said.
minute read
Rapper Macklemore has announced a "Free Palestine" tour that will raise money for 12 organizations, at least seven of which have faced government scrutiny or allegations involving Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and other designated terrorist groups.
The Seattle rapper will begin the tour Oct. 26 in Dublin before traveling to Paris on Oct. 29 and London on Oct. 30. Additional cities, including dates in the United States, are expected to be announced.
Macklemore framed his tour as a response to his removal from Ed Sheeran's "Loop Tour" following his anti-Israel statements and performances. "If these last couple of weeks have shown us anything, it’s that something has shifted over the last three years," Macklemore wrote on Instagram. "There has been a collective awakening around Palestinian liberation, the power of billionaires that try to censor that call, and what we expect from artists right now."
"It’s 2026. Being apolitical during a genocide doesn’t work anymore," he continued. "People are asking artists to show up, educate themselves and be in community. To use the stage for more than entertainment. To push back when the call for a Free Palestine is met with attempts to silence it."
"What happened to me is bigger than one artist or one stage," Macklemore added. "When the billionaire class can decide which voices are allowed on stage and which ones are too dangerous to hear, everyone should be paying attention."
"So, as you all know, my schedule freed up a bit."
Macklemore said he spent the previous week contacting other artists who had publicly supported Palestinians. "Because of how quickly all of this has come together, a lot of the conversations, schedules and details are still being worked out," he wrote. "But this is a moment of momentum, and there is work to be done...So we’re going on tour."
Macklemore's first three stops also come amid heightened antisemitism and intense opposition to Israel in those parts of Europe. In London, the Community Security Trust recorded 994 antisemitic incidents during the first six months of 2026, a 24 percent increase from the same period in 2025. CST said antisemitic incidents across Britain have remained substantially higher since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack than before the massacre.
France has similarly experienced elevated antisemitism, while Paris has repeatedly been the site of major anti-Israel demonstrations.
Ireland has emerged as one of Europe's most outspoken governmental critics of Israel since Oct. 7. The country formally recognized a Palestinian state in 2024 and this year enacted legislation banning imports of goods from Israeli settlements in territory the Irish government considers occupied Palestinian land. Irish officials have portrayed the policies as support for Palestinian statehood and international law, while Israeli officials have accused Ireland of adopting an increasingly hostile approach toward the Jewish state.
The organizations benefiting from Macklemore's tour have also faced controversies, including ties to terror. The beneficiaries are Anera, Glia, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Taawon, HEAL Palestine, Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA), Jewish Voice for Peace, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), Institute for Middle East Understanding, Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF) and UNRWA USA.
In June, the US Agency for International Development's Office of Inspector General referred 101 current or former United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) employees to the State Department for consideration of suspension or debarment over "participation in the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks and/or affiliation with the military wing (al-Qassam Brigades) of Hamas." Investigators said one UNRWA teacher was a Hamas fighter who received orders to bring two anti-tank missiles to a specified location during the Oct. 7 attacks. A deputy school principal allegedly served as a Hamas platoon commander with communications responsibilities that day, while other employees allegedly served as Hamas commanders, intelligence operatives and a sniper.
In August, the USAID inspector general announced proposed debarments involving former UNRWA employees accused of links to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. One former teacher and alleged Hamas military operative allegedly "engaged in kidnapping operations" on Oct. 7, while another alleged Hamas operative was accused of receiving and holding civilian hostages.
HEAL Palestine has also faced government scrutiny. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson demanded records from HEAL and five other nonprofits in January as part of an investigation into organizations "potentially linked to support of Hamas." HEAL founder Steve Sosebee previously founded PCRF, another tour beneficiary. A Jerusalem Post investigation reported that Sosebee previously participated in fundraising involving the Holy Land Foundation, which was shut down by the US government before federal prosecutors secured convictions against five of its leaders for providing material support to Hamas.
Medical Aid for Palestinians has faced allegations based on purported internal Hamas documents captured in Gaza. NGO Monitor reported that a 2022 Hamas Ministry of Interior document described an individual it identified as MAP's Gaza "administrative director" as affiliated with Hamas and pledged to its rule.
Anera has faced separate scrutiny over its Gaza operations. NGO Monitor reported that it appeared to coordinate some humanitarian programs with a Gaza ministry headed by senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad, whom the US Treasury Department later designated.
Taawon has partnered with organizations that NGO Monitor has alleged have ties to the PFLP, a US-designated foreign terrorist organization.
The Middle East Children's Alliance has faced scrutiny over its involvement with Viva Palestina. The Anti-Defamation League reported that MECA raised $70,000 in 2009 for a Viva Palestina convoy to Gaza. Viva Palestina had previously donated money to Hamas, according to the ADL, and MECA director Barbara Lubin participated in the convoy, whose members met Hamas officials, including Ismail Haniyeh.
The ADL has documented statements by Palestinian Youth Movement members and affiliates that it says expressed support for terrorism and the Oct. 7 attack. The day after the massacre, PYM co-hosted a New York protest where speakers praised Hamas' actions.
PYM subsequently defended the demonstration, saying, "We defend their fundamental right to resist an illegal occupation, break out of their concentration camp, and defy the cruelty of the sixteen-year Zionist blockade."
The tour announcement comes shortly after Macklemore pledged the entire $1 million he earned from Sheeran's tour to six of the controversial organizations. UNRWA USA, HEAL Palestine, PCRF, MAP, and Anera, are again beneficiaries of the new tour.
It is also not the first time Macklemore has raised money for some of the organizations. In September 2024, Macklemore performed at the "Palestine Will Live Forever" festival at Seward Park Amphitheater in Seattle, which raised money for UNRWA, HEAL Palestine, PCRF, and Pious Projects.
The festival was held in the heart of Seattle's largest Jewish community on the Jewish Sabbath and less than a year after the Oct. 7 massacre. Local Jewish institutions increased security, and activists targeted synagogues, congregants, and a nearby Jewish home displaying American and Israeli flags.
During the festival, Macklemore told the cheering crowd, "F*ck America." He also performed "Hind's Hall" and "Hind's Hall 2," which celebrated the violent Gaza encampment at Columbia University, rapped about supporting the "resistance," called Israelis "motherf*ckers" and said, "There will never be freedom by pleading with Zionists."
The fallout prompted the Seattle Kraken and Seattle Sounders, in which Macklemore is an investor, to distance themselves from his comments. The Seattle Mariners stopped playing his hit "Can't Hold Us" during the seventh-inning stretch, and Macklemore was dropped from the Neon City Festival in Las Vegas.
The Seattle rapper will begin the tour Oct. 26 in Dublin before traveling to Paris on Oct. 29 and London on Oct. 30. Additional cities, including dates in the United States, are expected to be announced.
Macklemore framed his tour as a response to his removal from Ed Sheeran's "Loop Tour" following his anti-Israel statements and performances. "If these last couple of weeks have shown us anything, it’s that something has shifted over the last three years," Macklemore wrote on Instagram. "There has been a collective awakening around Palestinian liberation, the power of billionaires that try to censor that call, and what we expect from artists right now."
"It’s 2026. Being apolitical during a genocide doesn’t work anymore," he continued. "People are asking artists to show up, educate themselves and be in community. To use the stage for more than entertainment. To push back when the call for a Free Palestine is met with attempts to silence it."
"What happened to me is bigger than one artist or one stage," Macklemore added. "When the billionaire class can decide which voices are allowed on stage and which ones are too dangerous to hear, everyone should be paying attention."
"So, as you all know, my schedule freed up a bit."
Macklemore said he spent the previous week contacting other artists who had publicly supported Palestinians. "Because of how quickly all of this has come together, a lot of the conversations, schedules and details are still being worked out," he wrote. "But this is a moment of momentum, and there is work to be done...So we’re going on tour."
Macklemore's first three stops also come amid heightened antisemitism and intense opposition to Israel in those parts of Europe. In London, the Community Security Trust recorded 994 antisemitic incidents during the first six months of 2026, a 24 percent increase from the same period in 2025. CST said antisemitic incidents across Britain have remained substantially higher since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack than before the massacre.
France has similarly experienced elevated antisemitism, while Paris has repeatedly been the site of major anti-Israel demonstrations.
Ireland has emerged as one of Europe's most outspoken governmental critics of Israel since Oct. 7. The country formally recognized a Palestinian state in 2024 and this year enacted legislation banning imports of goods from Israeli settlements in territory the Irish government considers occupied Palestinian land. Irish officials have portrayed the policies as support for Palestinian statehood and international law, while Israeli officials have accused Ireland of adopting an increasingly hostile approach toward the Jewish state.
The organizations benefiting from Macklemore's tour have also faced controversies, including ties to terror. The beneficiaries are Anera, Glia, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Taawon, HEAL Palestine, Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA), Jewish Voice for Peace, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), Institute for Middle East Understanding, Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF) and UNRWA USA.
In June, the US Agency for International Development's Office of Inspector General referred 101 current or former United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) employees to the State Department for consideration of suspension or debarment over "participation in the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks and/or affiliation with the military wing (al-Qassam Brigades) of Hamas." Investigators said one UNRWA teacher was a Hamas fighter who received orders to bring two anti-tank missiles to a specified location during the Oct. 7 attacks. A deputy school principal allegedly served as a Hamas platoon commander with communications responsibilities that day, while other employees allegedly served as Hamas commanders, intelligence operatives and a sniper.
In August, the USAID inspector general announced proposed debarments involving former UNRWA employees accused of links to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. One former teacher and alleged Hamas military operative allegedly "engaged in kidnapping operations" on Oct. 7, while another alleged Hamas operative was accused of receiving and holding civilian hostages.
HEAL Palestine has also faced government scrutiny. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson demanded records from HEAL and five other nonprofits in January as part of an investigation into organizations "potentially linked to support of Hamas." HEAL founder Steve Sosebee previously founded PCRF, another tour beneficiary. A Jerusalem Post investigation reported that Sosebee previously participated in fundraising involving the Holy Land Foundation, which was shut down by the US government before federal prosecutors secured convictions against five of its leaders for providing material support to Hamas.
Medical Aid for Palestinians has faced allegations based on purported internal Hamas documents captured in Gaza. NGO Monitor reported that a 2022 Hamas Ministry of Interior document described an individual it identified as MAP's Gaza "administrative director" as affiliated with Hamas and pledged to its rule.
Anera has faced separate scrutiny over its Gaza operations. NGO Monitor reported that it appeared to coordinate some humanitarian programs with a Gaza ministry headed by senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad, whom the US Treasury Department later designated.
Taawon has partnered with organizations that NGO Monitor has alleged have ties to the PFLP, a US-designated foreign terrorist organization.
The Middle East Children's Alliance has faced scrutiny over its involvement with Viva Palestina. The Anti-Defamation League reported that MECA raised $70,000 in 2009 for a Viva Palestina convoy to Gaza. Viva Palestina had previously donated money to Hamas, according to the ADL, and MECA director Barbara Lubin participated in the convoy, whose members met Hamas officials, including Ismail Haniyeh.
The ADL has documented statements by Palestinian Youth Movement members and affiliates that it says expressed support for terrorism and the Oct. 7 attack. The day after the massacre, PYM co-hosted a New York protest where speakers praised Hamas' actions.
PYM subsequently defended the demonstration, saying, "We defend their fundamental right to resist an illegal occupation, break out of their concentration camp, and defy the cruelty of the sixteen-year Zionist blockade."
The tour announcement comes shortly after Macklemore pledged the entire $1 million he earned from Sheeran's tour to six of the controversial organizations. UNRWA USA, HEAL Palestine, PCRF, MAP, and Anera, are again beneficiaries of the new tour.
It is also not the first time Macklemore has raised money for some of the organizations. In September 2024, Macklemore performed at the "Palestine Will Live Forever" festival at Seward Park Amphitheater in Seattle, which raised money for UNRWA, HEAL Palestine, PCRF, and Pious Projects.
The festival was held in the heart of Seattle's largest Jewish community on the Jewish Sabbath and less than a year after the Oct. 7 massacre. Local Jewish institutions increased security, and activists targeted synagogues, congregants, and a nearby Jewish home displaying American and Israeli flags.
During the festival, Macklemore told the cheering crowd, "F*ck America." He also performed "Hind's Hall" and "Hind's Hall 2," which celebrated the violent Gaza encampment at Columbia University, rapped about supporting the "resistance," called Israelis "motherf*ckers" and said, "There will never be freedom by pleading with Zionists."
The fallout prompted the Seattle Kraken and Seattle Sounders, in which Macklemore is an investor, to distance themselves from his comments. The Seattle Mariners stopped playing his hit "Can't Hold Us" during the seventh-inning stretch, and Macklemore was dropped from the Neon City Festival in Las Vegas.
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