Dave Matthews traveled to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the United States Congress amidst Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.
Discussing his decision to join the protest, Matthews told Al Jazeera, “I just think it’s terrible when the majority of the world is looking at this man and what he’s doing in Gaza and then also what he’s overseeing in the West Bank and East Jerusalem that we’re welcoming into the so-called sacred halls of our government.”
“This has been an ongoing struggle for people that just want to have dignity and be able to live independent lives and dream of a better future,” Matthews added. “And this man is the is the pinnacle of the obstacle toward that freedom and that we have visiting the country is obscene. It’s a disgusting show of support for someone that doesn’t deserve our support.”
“I’m ashamed that my tax dollars are going to the brutalizing of an entire people. It’s shameful. And I’m ashamed that our government is welcoming him here.”
According to the Associated Press, thousands of protesters against Israel’s war in Gaza marched on Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, calling for an end to the conflict that has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians. In his speech to Congress, Netanyahu dismissed criticism by the United Nations, human rights groups and the International Criminal Court that Israel’s government has committed war crimes as “utter nonsense, and he derided pro-Palestinian protesters as “idiots,” according to the Washington Post. Netanyahu also said Israel would not end its war in Gaza until it had acheived total victory over Hamas.
In October, Dave Matthews Band will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of its class of 2024. In the lead up to the band’s enshrinement, they’re current playing shows on their annual summer tour (get tickets here).