American rapper Macklemore has said he will donate his $1million (€871,000) net earnings from Ed Sheeran's tour to organisations supporting the Palestinian people. The rapper, who has been dropped from the tour for making pro-Palestinian remarks on stage, has challenged Jewish billionaire Robert Kraft to match his donation. "I will be donating the entire $1 million of my net earnings from Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour to six organizations working directly to support the Palestinian people," wrote Macklemore.
"And I invite Robert Kraft to match my donation. Whatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protecting. A Palestinian life is no less valuable than any other life on this earth." Macklemore has shared that his net earnings will go to organizations including Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, Heal Palestine, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Medical Aid for Palestinians, UNRWA USA National Committee and Anera.
Kraft, who owns the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium, intervened towards Sheeran and made the decision to ban Macklemore from the Gillette Stadium because his venue would not "provide a platform for hate speech". The tycoon and Israel donor predictably accused the Grammy-winning rapper of having "a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric" - something which Macklemore denies. In fact, Kraft's accusation can be dismissed when looking at the footage of Macklemore on stage.
"To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you. My message is for peace; love for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality," said Macklemore. "So I say Free Palestine, I say Free Lebanon, I say Free Cuba, I say Free Congo, Free Sudan, I say Free all people in America living in fear of this terrorist organization, ICE.
None of us will be free until we are all free." Kraft has now responded by saying that he and Sheeran have pledged $2m (€1.7m) each "to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis" - although, rather crucially, he did not specify which organisations or charities would receive the money. "Earlier today, before Macklemore challenged me to match his donation, Ed called me and asked me to commit $2 million to match his donation to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis," Kraft said in a statement. "Ed now plans to reach out to other venue owners and our goal is to continue to work together to build bridges." "I have dedicated much of my life to building bridges between all people.
I believe deeply that all lives are worth protecting," Kraft added. Earlier this week, Sheeran said he was "appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine," and described the "suffering and pain caused on both sides" as a human tragedy in a lengthy Instagram statement. "I am not complicit," he added.
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