Why more than 1,000 musicians are boycotting Israel with 'No Music for Genocide' The initiative continues in the aftermath of a fragile ceasefire

toggle caption Camille Blake; Daniella Caycedo; Juliette Boulay

Since September, more than 1,000 artists and labels including Lorde, Björk and Massive Attack have joined an international initiative to remove their music from Israel. The boycott, called No Music for Genocide, is straightforward: artists are asking their labels and distributors to geo-block their music so it cannot be streamed in Israel. According to the movement's website, this act is "just one step toward honoring Palestinian demands to isolate and delegitimize Israel." Despite a fragile ceasefire currently in place, No Music for Genocide organizers say they're continuing the boycott amidst additional airstrikes in Gaza.

"Boycott is one of the most effective and enduring efforts that one can take to fight a militarized, overtly violent, three-headed monster of a system," blues poet Aja Monet, one of the participants, tells NPR. "We're in a place where capitalism rules everything. The most effective thing we can do is to be strategic about where we put our resources."

Sponsor Message

The musicians' coalition coincides with a similar pledge from some Hollywood stars to boycott Israel's state-funded film industry. In September, an independent United Nations commission of inquiry concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and that countries helping to arm the Israeli government, like the United States, are complicit in the violence. Israel strongly denies that it is committing genocide — and some Israelis say the artists' efforts are misguided, because the boycott affects even those who oppose the w