Musicians’ boycott against Israel only grows despite Gaza ceasefire
Lucy Dacus, on the right, performing with her band, boygenius
Shay Ringel reports in Haaretz on 22 October 2025:
Despite the ceasefire agreement signed between Israel and Hamas last week, the cultural boycott movement against Israel has only expanded in recent days, with several additional musicians joining the initiative to regionally restrict access to their songs on streaming platforms in Israel.
Artists who have recently joined the No Music for Genocide movement – which encourages artists to block access to their music over the war in Gaza and violence in the West Bank – include Clairo, My Bloody Valentine, Hot Chip, Nightmare, On Wax, Orbital and boygenius member Lucy Dacus.
The estate of late Oscar-winning Japanese musician and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, a founding member of the innovative synth band Yellow Magic Orchestra, also announced on Monday that it is removing all of the composer’s albums from streaming in Israel in support of Palestinians.
According to the website of the No Music for Genocide movement, the initiative seeks to protest “the genocide in Gaza; occupation and ethnic cleansing of the West Bank; apartheid within Israel / ’48; political repression of Pro-Palestine efforts wherever we live; and the music industry’s own ties to weapons and crimes against humanity.”
“As we continue to pray for recovery, rebuilding, and life free from state terrorism for the people of Gaza, despite over 30 Israeli ceasefire violations and counting, we renew our demands to boycott, divest from, and sanction apartheid Israel for its crimes across all of Palestine until we achieve peace rooted in true justice,” the movement wrote on Instagram.
While many of the aforementioned artists’ songs are already blocked for streaming in Israel, others are still accessible due to copyright issues. They join a growing list of artists who, since the campaign began in September, have either declared support for the No Music for Genocide movement or independently removed access to their songs.
Some of the most prominent artists who have joined the boycott so far include Lorde, Björk, Paramore, King Krule, Rina Sawayama, Japanese Breakfast, Massive Attack, of Montreal and Primal Scream.
At the time of writing, no artist who has joined the boycott of Israel has announced that they are returning their catalog to streaming platforms in Israel following the cease-fire.
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