SEATTLE — Seattle rapper Macklemore made waves as the first major music artist to come out against the United State's aid to Israel in his new song.
The new song, titled "Hind's Hall" in reference to protests on Columbia's campus, also supports student protests on college campuses. Across the nation, college students are occupying campuses in protest and calling for universities to divest from Israel, including at the University of Washington.
An encampment on UW's campus is in its second week and protestors demand the university to cut ties with Israel and Boeing. The company has manufactured aircraft for the Israeli military for years and has donated $100 million to UW over the years.
All money made from the song is donated to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, according to Macklemore's YouTube video.
Protestors at UW said they felt supported by Macklemore and his new song.
"It's really powerful how he's uplifting the student intifada and student revolution here in the States," said Juliette Magid, a protestor with UW United Front for Palestinian Liberation.
"The reason we haven't seen a lot of support from the mainstream is because of the repercussions that could be faced for supporting this," said Claire Valley, a protestor with UW United Front for Palestinian Liberation.
Macklemore called out other music artists in his new song and their silence about the war, which has resulted in the death of approximately 33,000 Palestinian people in Gaza, according to the Associated Press in April. He is an independent artist and not under a major record label.
The song's music video gives a nod to UW's encampment on the quad, condemns police response to protests on college campuses, and calls out politicians, including President Joe Biden, over his handling of the war in Gaza.
"The story is never about the students, it's never about us or the liberated zone. The story is always about Palestine," said Magid.
While the Anti-Defamation League has not come out with an official stance on the song, its regional director for the Pacific Northwest said it does raise concerns in the Jewish community.
"I think it does have a lot of blind spots around not only what's happening geo-politically, but locally in our own Seattle community that the rise in antisemitism is real," said Miri Cypers, regional director with the Anti-Defamation League.
The song comes out as the ADL reports antisemitic incidents on UW's campus and students reporting feeling unsafe.
"I think the message in all of that is that there is just a lot of gray area, and the black-and-white and good-and-bad attitude is ultimately not pushing us in a direction where we're able to have good dialogue and conversations and questions, and that polarization is leading to a lot of prejudice and the outgrowth of antisemitism," Cypers said.