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<\/a><\/p>\nFontaines D.C. at the Primavera Sound music festival in Barcelona Saturday night. (Screenshot)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The display, which also included a large image of a Palestinian flag as well as the message \u201cuse your voice,\u201d was met with resounding applause and cheers from the tens of thousands of fans gathered at one of Europe\u2019s largest music festivals.<\/p>\n
Many in Ireland are staunchly pro-Palestinian, a solidarity rooted in their perception of a shared history of colonization. Saturday\u2019s performance saw Fontaines D.C. join the vanguard of Irish musicians who have openly criticized Israel at major music festivals.<\/p>\n
In April, the Irish rap group Kneecap displayed the message \u201cF\u2013k Israel Free Palestine\u201d at the Coachella music festival in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Last month, Fontaines D.C. joined over 100 musical artists in signing a letter of support for Kneecap as the band faced gig cancellations after videos surfaced showing a band member voicing support for Hamas and Hezbollah.<\/p>\n
One Kneecap band member has since been charged with a terrorism offense by London police for allegedly wearing a Hezbollah flag at a concert in November 2024.<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s Primavera Sound performance was not the first time that Fontaines D.C. voiced support for Palestinians.<\/p>\n
In June 2024, the band won $2,000 dollars in a viral TikTok music competition and announced that it would donate their prize to Doctors Without Borders \u201cfor Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n
And in December, the band collaborated with a Dublin soccer team to create a new jersey to raise mon\u00adey for Med\u00adical Aid for Pales\u00adtini\u00adans, a British charity that offers medical services in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon. It features the Palestinian flag along with the words \u201cSaoirse don Phalaist\u00edn,\u201d or \u201cFreedom for Palestine\u201d in the Irish language.<\/p>\n
Climate activist Greta Thunberg wore the jersey in a video on board a ship carrying aid to Gaza which was intercepted Monday by the Israeli navy.<\/p>\n
The same month, at the 2024 Rolling Stone UK Awards, Fontaines D.C. guitarist Carlos O\u2019Connell used his acceptance speech for best album to say \u201cF\u2013k Netanyahu. F\u2013k Zionism.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know, I just think there\u2019s only a couple of words to say here,\u201d O\u2019Connell said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of weird that this is the first time it\u2019s been said all night, but I\u2019m just gonna say it: Free Palestine. Free Palestine. Free Palestine. F\u2014k Netanyahu. F\u2014K Zionism. Free Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last May, O\u2019Connell read aloud a letter from a Palestinian in Gaza on the Instagram page Voices for Gaza, which posts videos of celebrities reading first-person testimonies by Palestinians.<\/p>\n
And in August, the band canceled a concert in Istanbul to pressure the company that owns the planned venue, Zorlu Holding, to divest from Israel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were really looking forward to visiting and playing Istanbul, however in this instance, we must be clear in our convictions and put solidarity with the people of Palestine first,\u201d the band said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Last year, the Turkish government completely shut down trade between Turkey and Israel. Zorlu Energy, a subsidiary of Zorlu Holding, announced in March that it was selling its stake in an Israeli power plant, Dorad Energy.<\/p>\n