Music / massive attack
Robert Del Naja signs open letter defending Jeremy Corbyn
Robert Del Naja has added his signature to an open letter in support of Jeremy Corbyn. The Massive Attack frontman is one of a number of public figures who have signed the letter, which follows the release of another open letter calling on the Labour leader to resign due to his “association with antisemitism”.
The letter describes Corbyn as a “life-long, committed anti-racist” and states that “no political party or political leader has done more to address [antisemitism] than Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party.”
“In the last two years, the speed of investigations has increased fourfold, staffing committed to dealing with the issue has doubled, legal experts have been drafted, and rules changed to expedite sanctions,” the letter continues. “But the prevailing evidence speaks for itself: Labour’s political opponents and much of the media have trivialised and weaponised this issue for ideological ends.
is needed now More than ever
“It has never been more important that voters are made aware of the truth of what the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn stands for: the eradication of all racism, including antisemitism, wherever it rears its ugly head.”
Jeremy Corbyn with Marvin Rees after the latter was elected mayor of Bristol in May 2016.
Other signatories to the letter include some of Del Naja’s fellow musicians such as Brian Eno, Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters and Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, alongside authors and academics including Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein and Michael Rosen, and actor Mark Ruffalo.
Del Naja has been outspoken on issues of racism and antisemitism in the past. In 2010, Massive Attack were one of a number of acts to boycott playing in Israel, in protest against the Israeli blockade of the Gaza strip.
In an interview with the New Statesman, Del Naja explained that this was “not an action of aggression towards the Israeli people” but was instead targeted “towards the government and its policies. Everyone needs to be reminded of this because it’s very easy to be accused of being anti-Semitic, and that’s not what this is about.”
During their headline slot at Longitude Festival in Dublin in 2014, the band used their stage show to broadcast messages of support for Palestine and facts about the conflict in the Holy Land.
Massive Attack’s stage set at Longitude Festival 2014, highlighting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (photo by Allen Kiely)
To read the letter in full, click here.
Read more: Jeremy Corbyn attends General Election rally in Filton
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
