By Kobi Guillory and Shabbir Rizvi

Chicago, IL – On Friday morning, March 8, House of Blues Chicago announced that the concert of Zionist musician Matisyahu, scheduled for that night, was canceled. The last minute cancellation came after weeks of pressure from the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR), the Anti War Committee – Chicago, Students for a Democratic Society, and members of the Chicago Black and brown coalition for Palestine.

“Chicago has made it clear that it stands with Palestine, and that supporters of the Gaza genocide are not welcome here,” said Nazek Sankari, USPCN-Chicago co-chair. “Matisyahu is a clear apologist for Israel and its crimes against humanity, so he is a legitimate political target, and we are celebrating this victory tonight.”

Matisyahu, whose real name is Matthew Paul Miller, is a white American and self-proclaimed Zionist who performs reggae music. A few months prior to his scheduled performance at the House of Blues, Matisyahu played for the infamous Israeli “Golani Brigade,” who have taken part in numerous massacres since the illegal establishment of the Israeli occupation and have been deployed in Gaza since October 7 where they have suffered numerous losses.

Zionism is a fundamental part of the Matisyahu performance. He often brings out the Israeli flag, affirms his support for the “Israeli Defense Forces” and the Zionist occupation, which has murdered over 30,000 Palestinians to date and is displacing hundreds of thousands more. His lyrics contain vague themes of “peace” and “unity” but these lyrics are at odds with his Zionist views, at one point expressing “There was never a country called Palestine.”

In the week leading up to the scheduled concert, over 250 artists signed a petition to House of Blues which said, “We will not allow for a musician who has performed for the Israeli Occupation Forces, raised money in support of Israel and the AIPAC lobbying group, and who continues to deny ongoing genocide, to perform in our city.”

“It's only fitting that an artist who built his career on Black and brown culture is being held accountable by a Black and brown Coalition for Palestine,” said Merawi Gerima, a leading member of CAARPR and one of the artists who signed the petition.

In addition to the petition from artists, over 1000 people sent emails to House of Blues demanding the cancellation of the zionist’s performance. The venue also received hundreds of phone calls. USPCN and the allied organizations had planned to protest outside House of Blues during the concert. According to a leaked statement from the neighboring Marina Towers, the Chicago Police Department was expecting thousands of protesters.

This was the third cancellation of one of Matisyahu’s performances after his Tucson and Santa Fe concerts were shut down. He was also met by pro-Palestinian protests in Portland and Minneapolis, and people are preparing to protest his upcoming concerts in Detroit and Cleveland among other cities.

“We are proud that we were able to shut Matisyahu down, but there are many other targets out there as well,” said Olan Mijana of CAARPR. “Our Black and brown coalition says, 'No business as usual while Israel is committing genocide,' and this is why we will be mobilizing tens of thousands for the DNC in Chicago in August, to expose the Democratic Party for its complicity. Genocide Joe Biden, Blinken, Schumer, Durbin, Duckworth, Genocide Jan Schakowsky, Casten, and others in the Democratic Party have blood on their hands and must be held accountable.”

#ChicagoIL #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #CAARPR #USPCN #Matisyahu #SDS #SDSChicago #AWCChicago