Art is political; we often hear that phrase. No poetry or prose could deem itself to be apolitical in this day and age; it would be an anomaly and, worse, a crime.
Gaza, a place so vibrant and devastated with protest and purgatory in fruition, clocks in 100 days of war and several decades of oppression on itself.
We have witnessed a rise in journalism, art, and amplification of voices in the ongoing genocide. Palestinian art has not only been subjected to heavy censorship in its homeland but, to our dismay, outside, too. An example of that would be Mohammed Assaf's Ana Dammi Falastini.
The 2015 song was subjected to censorship on streaming giants like Spotify. The reason for the removal could have been the We Believe in Israel (WBII) petition, which received around 4000 signatures, set to remove Anti-real content from all the streaming platforms.
This comes as another blow to art, whose purpose is to educate and, most importantly, resonate. The Song title translates to My Blood is Palestinian. The reason to propagate art in a way rather than one that makes it very obvious is to be able to reach an audience more significant than the extent of protests. What attracts will also agitate, and that is precisely what Palestinian music today stands to do.
To liberate and to be loud, as much as it can be. The Palestinian anthem has since been added back to the streaming website on Spotify, but that does not suffice as a redemption for the genocidal erasure of Palestinian identity. With 24,100 Palestinians killed, according to the data available on January 15th 2024, the displacement and devastation haven't foresaw an end.
The attempt for music to amplify voices and to make art political is how the revolution has gestated through history; we pray for liberation and a free Palestine.
-Eesha Javadekar
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