Dua Lipa, Mark Ruffalo and Benedict Cumberbatch among 100s signing letter to Keir Starmer on Gaza
Dua Lipa, Mark Ruffalo and Benedict Cumberbatch are among 300 public figures who have signed an open letter addressed to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. It calls for an end to the country’s “complicity” in the crisis in Gaza.
“We urge you to take immediate action to end the UK’s complicity in the horrors in Gaza,” the letter begins. “Right now, children in Gaza are starving while food and medicine sit just minutes away, blocked at the border. Words won’t feed Palestinian children – we need action. Every single one of Gaza’s 2.1 million people is at risk of starvation, as you read this.”
Many figures in the entertainment industry backed the notion. Further signees include Brian Eno, Annie Lennox, Tobias Menzies, Tilda Swinton, Toby Jones, Wolf Alice, Steve Coogan, Sadie Frost, Ruth Negga, Lily Cole, and Riz Ahmed.
The letter continued with the facts, stating, “Mothers, fathers, babies, grandparents – an entire people left to starve before the world’s eyes. 290,000 children are on the brink of death – starved by the Israeli government for more than 70 days.”
The signatories called for an immediate suspension of all UK arms sales to Israel. They also demanded immediate humanitarian access for aid agencies and an unfaltering commitment from the UK government to assist in brokering a ceasefire.
This isn’t the first open letter addressed to the UK government released in the last month. Elton John spearheaded an open letter which addressed the UK’s stance on AI in the creative industry. “To parliamentarians on all sides of the political spectrum and in both Houses,” the letter reads, “we urge you to vote in support of the UK creative industries. Supporting us supports the creators of the future. Our work is not yours to give away.”
Elsewhere, artists have been boycotting festivals with ties to Superstruct, a production company owned by KKR. KKR have ties to the Coastal GasLink pipeline and several Israeli corporations that operate in occupied Palestinian territories. An open letter which accrued the signature of over 200 artists called for the festival to distance themselves from the company directly enabling the conflict.
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