“Massive Attack” concert with a Palestinian flag on the screen (Photo: Social media)
The British band “Massive Attack” made the questionable decision to project a video montage, including the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a performance near Manchester. Defending the footage as “artistic,” they later said it was a protest against global injustice and denied they were glorifying terrorism.
According to Ynet News, the video footage was part of a collage titled, “Open the Doors to the Merchants of Death,” and provoked strong criticism – even from fans.
“They’re not even pretending to hide behind ‘social justice’ – they’re glorifying a terrorist leader,” one commented , while another fan wrote, “I love their music, but it’s hard to listen to it now, given their twisted political views.”
On Sunday, Telegraph columnist, Jake Simons, reposted the video on 𝕏, asking, “Is it me or did MassiveAttackUK just play footage of Hamas butcher Yahya Sinwar and his family while on stage?“
Massive Attack has established an anti-Israel stance, displaying a large Palestinian flag as their backdrop and with the words “Free Palestine” during their performance. However, they issued a statement accusing critics of taking the footage of Sinwar out of context.
“Massive Attack categorically reject any suggestion that footage or reportage used as part of an artistic digital collage in our live show seeks to glorify or celebrate any featured subject,” they said, pointing out that they also featured footage of others, including IDF soldiers, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The band said they wanted to create a tone of “horrified lament” and a criticism of individuals in power: “That an individual of power can take people down into hell,” while dismissing criticism of their montage as politically motivated.
Yahya Sinwar has become an icon among the keffiyeh-draped crowd and is often held up as a hero. When left-leaning Haaretz wrote of his death in October 2024, describing him as a man “known for his cruelty and sadistic instincts,” the analysis provoked many comments supporting Sinwar when posted on 𝕏.
Like other news outlets, Haaretz slated Sinwar as a sadist who had wreaked disaster on his own people, saying, “He specialized in torturing and murdering his Palestinian brothers whom he suspected of being collaborators with Israel,” and reminding readers that Sinwar was given life in prison for the murder of Palestinians, not just Israelis, some of whom had been found innocent.
The footage screened by Massive Attack showed Sinwar with his family in the tunnels, portraying him as a brave resistance fighter, but with no reference to the $32,000 Hermès Birkin handbag spotted in his wife’s hands, the fact that they hid in tunnels leaving civilians exposed above ground, or the multi-billion dollar fortune he and other Hamas leaders had racked up at the expense of their own people.
Even though Sinwar’s life was saved by Israeli medical treatment while in prison, he allegedly spent the years following his release planning a calculated invasion and attack against Israel, intending to murder as many Israelis as possible.
“I know the person who planned and conceived and initiated this criminal attack,” said Dr. Yuval Bitton, who was responsible for treating Sinwar and saving his life. “I have known him since 1996 – not only him but the entire Hamas leadership in Gaza – and it was clear to me that this is what they were planning.”
According to Bitton, Sinwar believed that Jews have “no place” on “Muslim lands” and was “willing to sacrifice even 100,000 Palestinians to ensure the survival of his rule.” He noted that the terror leader was “willing to pay with the lives of militants, Hamas members, [and] civilians; he doesn’t care.”
According to music magazine, NME, Israeli influencer Hen Mazzig, asked, “Why is the self proclaimed ‘pro peace’ band @MassiveAttackUK screening footage of Yahya Sinwar during their concert?”
Mazzig’s post continued, “Sinwar masterminded the slaughter of innocents at a music festival, yet they’re celebrating him at a similar event. If you’re booking the UK’s largest arena, you should care a lot more about the message you’re spreading. Encouraging 23,000+ people to sympathize with Hamas is more than irresponsible – it’s incitement.”
Massive Attack has since threatened Mazzig with legal action, saying they considered his post defamatory, and that it had been passed to the band’s lawyers. The band warned Mazzig to delete his post and issue an apology “or further action will follow.”