UK
Song linking Israel to Osama bin Laden removed from Spotify after two million streams
The rap song vanishes after years of campaiging
July 8, 2024 11:31
The rap song vanishes after years of campaiging
July 8, 2024 11:31A song on Spotify that compared Israel to al-Qaeda has been removed from the music platform following an extensive campaign by Israel advocacy groups.
Ambassador MC’s Free Palestine was released in 2014 and has been streamed over 1.9 million times on Spotify and 3.5 million times on YouTube.
The rap states that “Jews ain't bad but the Zionists are evil, even the rabbis know the Zionists are crazy”. It claims “Israel wants every Palestinian to bleed” and states that the Jewish state is “killing newborn babies”.
The song links Israel to Nazism, as well as Al Qaeda’ Twin attacks on the Twin Towers in New York in 2001: “'Cause what happened in America on 9/11 happens in Palestine 24/7,” Ambassador MC, whose real name is Safeer Hussain, sings.
It also advocates a boycott of Israeli goods and companies that operate in the Jewish state, including Starbucks.
Allegedly in breach of Spotify’s terms and conditions, the song is no longer available on the platform following over two years of lobbying from We Believe in Israel (WBII) and the Board of Deputies of British Jews. It is not clear if the platform removed the song because of the campaign or another factor.
WBII and BoD’s Spotify campaign has succeeded in securing the removal of several agedly pro-Hamas songs in Arabic.
Other tracks highlighted by the campaign remain available on the platform, including Lowkey’s Long Live Palestine rap series which calls for the globalisation of the intifada, praised the Yemeni Houthis and claimed that “resistance isn’t terrorism” after the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel.
A We Believe in Israel spokesman said, "We are pleased to see songs which we flagged as likely being in breach of platform terms and conditions well over two years ago are now no longer available on Spotify. This is an ongoing campaign and we will continue collaborating with the Board of Deputies to secure our desired outcome."
A Board of Deputies spokesman said, "Big tech companies have a responsibility to prevent extremism. Where platform rules or terms and conditions exist, they must be enforced.
“Ambassador MC’s attempts to designate between those he sees as virtuous Jews and Zionists are deeply offensive, and strongly legitimises antisemitism masquerading as criticism of Israel and its right to exist. We are grateful to We Believe in Israel for their work on this important issue and look forward to collaborating further."
The JC has approached Spotify and Ambassador MC for comment.