We Believe in Israel (WBII) has announced it will be campaigning for music streaming service Spotify to remove extremist content which incites and promotes hatred, violence, and disinformation against Jews and Israelis. WBII’s research is ongoing, but the group has already identified dozens of instances of problematic material. WBII will be contacting Spotify directly in the coming days and ensuring that its supporters are kept up to date as this campaign develops.
WBII’s findings include the following:
- Rapper Lowkey’s “Long Live Palestine – Part 2” states that is time to have “globalised the Intifada”, that he had “studied the Torah and learnt by their own admission Israel's actions are not kosher in their own religion”, while contributing artist Hasan Salaam rapped “So whether it's the Mossad or the FBI policing you it's all one struggle till the final breath is leavin' you”
- His earlier “Long Live Palestine” echoes a popular antisemitic conspiracy theory with “Every coin is a bullet, if you're Marks and Spencer and when you're sipping Coca-Cola that's another pistol in the holster of the soulless soldiers. You say you know about the Zionist lobby but you put money in their pocket when you're buying their coffee”
- Rapper Ambassador MC (whose real name is Safeer Hussain)’s “Free Palestine” claims “what happened in America on 9/11 happens in Palestine, 24/7” and that “The Zionists and Jews are different types of people. The Jews ‘ain't bad, but the Zionists are evil. Even the Rabbis know the Zionists are crazy”. His 2021 rap “Free Palestine 2” states “Most [Palestinian prisoners] are killed brutally but some are set free”, and that “Israel wants every Palestine to bleed”
- Shadi al-Bourini and Qassem al-Najjar’s “Strike A Blow At Tel Aviv” says “Oh you settler, with your sidelocks, in your shelter you cower with fear” and “We don't want no truce or solution. All we want is to strike Tel Aviv”
Luke Akehurst, Director of We Believe In Israel says: “Spotify has a responsibility to uphold its platform rules which quite clearly state that content promoting, threatening, or inciting violence is unacceptable. Our research has identified dozens of such breaches, and we expect timely action to be taken. Following the high levels of antisemitism experienced by British Jews during and after last May’s escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas, it is remarkable that content directly inciting violence and hatred remains available. The presence of Lowkey’s music is particularly offensive. We view his comments about globalising the Intifada as a direct incitement of violence towards Jews and Israelis, while Hasan Salaam promotes commonly held and nefarious antisemitic conspiracy theories about Jewish world domination.”
Rachel Blain, Campaigns Manager of We Believe In Israel says: “We will put pressure on Spotify to ensure that problematic content is removed in a timely fashion. We Believe In Israel’s research is an ongoing project and we will continue to highlight music and podcasts which breach the platform’s rules.”