Legendary rocker Dave Matthews criticized Congress on Wednesday for allowing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak in front of them as the Israel- Hamas war rages on.
The iconic jam band leader, 57, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday at a Washington, D.C., protest it was “disgusting” that lawmakers invited Netanyahu to speak on his vision for “combatting terror” and creating peace despite his controversial involvement in the nearly year-long war.
“I just think it’s terrible when the majority of the world is looking at this man and what he’s doing in Gaza and then also what he’s overseeing in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, that we’re welcoming him into this so-called sacred halls of our government,” Matthews said.
“This has been an ongoing struggle for people that just want to have dignity and be able to live independent lives and dream of a better future,” Matthews continued. “And this man is the pinnacle of the obstacle toward that freedom, and that we have him visiting the country is obscene.”
Newsweek has contacted Matthews for further comment.
The band had a concert in Camden, New Jersey, on July 20 and are on a short break until their next show on August 23 in Greenwood Village, Colorado.
Netanyahu called protestors “Iran’s useful idiots” during his remarks to Congress earlier this week, and implored them to give Israel “the tools” to “finish the job.” He claimed Israel would do “whatever it must do” to secure its border and return displaced Israelis to their homes.
In June, the Crash Into Me singer paused a Dave Matthews Band concert in Virginia Beach to “demand” for a ceasefire in Gaza “for the sake of humanity.”
Matthews has long shared his political views, previously showing support for Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders. He supported Obama for president in 2008, and in 2009, claimed he believed some of Obama’s harsher critics were motivated by race. In 2012, Matthew also performed at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle where Obama was hosting a campaign fundraiser.
In 2015, Matthews told Rolling Stone, “When I hear someone like Bernie Sanders talking, I think there’s a hope.”
Other famous singers and bands, including Dua Lipa, Katy Perry, John Legend, and Paramore, to name a few, have also called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. Palestinian-American model Bella Hadid wrote an open letter to President Joe Biden on Instagram in October, pleading with him to end it. The post has over 2 million likes.
Last week, Adidas responded to backlash for a sneaker collaboration with Hadid after some connected the shoe to the deaths of Israelis during the 1972 Olympic Games.
The company announced a new campaign with Hadid for its classic SL 72 sneakers, which were released the same year as the 1972 Munich Olympics. During the Games, members of the Palestinian militant organization Black September killed members of the Israeli team.
Adidas told Newsweek in a statement that the company is “revising the remainder of the campaign.”
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
