Richard Gere says Donald Trump could “stop all this craziness” in Palestine in one day
At the benefit fundraiser, Together for Palestine, orchestrated by Brian Eno, the actor Richard Gere took to the stage to deliver a message to US President Donald Trump.
The Days of Heaven actor spoke in support of peace before introducing doctors and medical charity officials to the stage. “Hello, London,” he yelled as he emerged with Guz Khan. “What an incredible viewing here in this house.”
The actor then spoke about the need for love and compassion in unprecedented times. But beyond the “love” and “community” in the room, he called for direct actions from politicians who can make a direct difference to the devastation in Palestine.
Singling out his own President, the American actor commented, “There’s one man who could stop this in one day. He says, ‘I can stop wars in one day’, my President Trump. In one day, he could stop all this craziness.”
As applause for the cause and boos for Trump rang around the Wembley Arena, as Gere added, “[Benjamin] Netanyahu needs the US, needs Trump so badly. One day. If he wants a Nobel Peace Prize, this is the way to get it.”
The Together for Palestine benefit concert has been organised by musician Eno, with a core line-up of previously announced musical names including Damon Albarn, King Krule, Bastille, Rina Sawayama, Jamie XX, Hot Chip, Paloma Faith, James Blake, and Sampha.
This musical cast was interspersed with speeches by journalists such as Louis Theroux and Mehdi Hasan, charitable figures, actors, Palestinians who have experienced the crisis first-hand, and various other notable names before a sold-out crowd, and thousands of others watching the live stream on YouTube.
Advocating for Palestine has been invariably tied to worsening censorship in the industry. Eno touched upon this when explaining, via The Guardian, why he decided to mastermind the event. He said, “More than any other conflict since the birth of the modern communications age, more so even than South Africa in the 1980s, the Israeli occupation of Palestine has been conducted with words and images as well as with bullets and bombs.”
Eno continued, “And for that reason, those artists who oppose the occupation and advocate for justice for Palestinians have been subjected to a cynical, pernicious censorship designed to severely narrow the scope of the stories they can tell.”
He ended the article with a powerful quote: “As the Egyptian-Canadian writer Omar El Akkad says, one day everyone will have always been against this.” This was a quote echoed throughout the evening at the Wembley Arena.
You can watch the event live on the YouTube link below. The event is expected to run from 19:00-22:30 BST. See details of the full line-up below. You can also visit the official fundraising website here.
The full line-up for Together for Palestine:
- Adnan Joubran
- Amelia Dimoldenberg
- Amena
- Amer Hlehel
- Bastille
- Benedict Cumberbatch
- Bilal Hasna
- Brian Eno
- Cat Burns
- Celeste
- Charithra Chandran
- Damon Albarn
- Diana Buttu
- Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
- Dr Victoria Rose
- El Far3i
- Elyanna
- Eric Cantona
- Faraj Suleiman
- Florence Pugh
- Francesca Albanese
- Greentea Peng
- Guy Pearce
- Guz Khan
- Hot Chip
- Ibibio Sound Machine
- Inua Ellams
- James Blake
- Jameela Jamil
- Jamie xx
- Khalid Abdalla
- King Krule
- Lana Lubany
- Leigh-Anne
- Laura Whitmore
- London Community Gospel Choir
- Louis Theroux
- Mabel
- Madame Gandhi
- Malak Matar
- Mary Nazzal
- Mehdi Hasan
- Misan Harriman
- Motaz Malhees
- Munroe Bergdorf
- Nadine Shah
- Nai Barghouti
- Neneh Cherry
- Obongjayar
- Paloma Faith
- Paul Weller
- PinkPantheress
- Portishead
- Rachel Chinouriri
- Ramy Youssef
- Rina Sawayama
- Riz Ahmed
- Ruth Negga
- Sama’ Abdulhadi (performing b2b with Jamie XX)
- Sampha
- Saint Levant
- Stephen Kapos
- Sura Abdo
- The London Arab Orchestra
- TRANS VOICES
- Yara Eid
- Yasmeen Ayyashi
- Ysee
- Zainab Jiwa
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