Bittersweet empathy cuts through complicit silence

Celebrities, frontline workers and Palestinian musicians combine movingly to make Together for Palestine a powerful fundraiser for those suffering in Gaza

- Adam White

Despite the UN this week declaring that Israel is committing genocide in Palestine - trailing in the footsteps of similar declarations by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and indeed Israel's own Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories - it is still jolting to witness someone stand up on a packed stage in front of thousands and call a spade a spade. At London's Ovo Wembley Arena on Wednesday night, as part of a Palestinian fundraising concert spearheaded by Brian Eno, this is a regular occurrence. "Genocide". "War crime". "A slow, grinding, relentless violence." That last one courtesy of Louis Theroux, I should say. He is just one of a stacked lineup of speakers tonight (Florence Pugh, Riz Ahmed, Benedict Cumberbatch and Richard Gere among them), all of whom express solidarity, horror and righteous fury firmly and plainly. Discussion of Palestine, particularly in the wake of 7 October 2023, has tended to be couched in caveats, or at least very careful language. An estimated 64,000 Palestinian killings later, it is undeniable now that something has shifted.