Madonna says she’s ‘heartbroken and frightened’ by Israel’s conflict with Palestine and calls for ‘peace’ in emotional on-stage speech: ‘We can’t lose our humanity’
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Madonna has revealed she’s ‘heartbroken and frightened’ by Israel’s conflict with Palestine in an emotional on-stage speech.
Speaking during her Celebration Tour in London, the hitmaker, 65, said it would be ‘irresponsible’ to keep quiet about the conflict and fought back tears as she called for ‘peace.’
The conflict, which began on October, 7, has so far seen 3,785 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
In her speech, Madonna urged fans to ‘light enough candles and use our consciousness to change the world,’ while recalling the alleged stabbing of Wadea Al-Fayoume, six, by his landlord Joseph Czuba in Chicago.
Madonna began her speech: ‘I need to talk about children, and all the things that are going on in the world right now, it would be irresponsible of me not to say something.’
Moving: Madonna has revealed she’s ‘heartbroken and frightened’ by Israel’s conflict with Palestine in an emotional on-stage speech
‘What’s happening right now between Israel and Palestine, obviously is heartbreaking, and nobody wants to see what’s happening,’ she added.
‘I turn on social media and I want to vomit. I see children being thrown off motorcycles, kidnapped, babies being decapitated, children at peace raves being shot and killed, what the f**k is going on in the world?
‘How can human beings be so cruel to one another, and it’s just getting worse, and it frightens me.
‘I want to paraphrase James Baldwin… and that is the children of the world belong to all of us, I don’t care where they are, what headdresses, what the colour of their skin is, what their religion is, the children belong to us, and we are responsible for them, a six year old boy was stabbed to death in Chicago yesterday, it was a hate crime because he was Muslim.
Madonna then told the crowd: ‘We have to remember that we are human beings here, we cannot lose our humanity. Our hearts may be broken but our spirits cannot.’
Earning a huge cheer, she continued: ‘No one can break our spirit. And you might look at what’s going on in the world and say ‘what the f**k can I do I’m just one person I’m helpless’, no you are not.
‘Each and every one of you have the power to turn light on in the world we are all candles we can bring light to the world. Are you with me London?
‘And if we turn enough light on, and if we light enough candles, the collective consciousness of generosity and unity will change, no politicans, no laws, no sanctions, no land given or taken.
Moving: Speaking during her Celebration Tour in London, the hitmaker said it would be ‘irresponsible’ to keep quiet about the conflict and fought back tears as she called for ‘peace’
Scary: In her speech, Madonna urged fans to ‘light enough candles and use our consciousness to change the world’
‘We with our consciousness can change the f*****g world are you with me London?
‘And thank you for turning your lights on that means everything to me, that’s means you are listening. This is not for me this is for all of you.’
Posting her speech on Instagram, Madonna captioned her post: ‘The Children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the Globe;’ …………… #jamesbaldwin
‘Our hearts may be broken but they cannot break our spirit. Let’s bring more light to the world #madonnacelebrationtour.’
Since the conflict began 12 days ago, many stars have openly expressed their devastation and heartbreak, with some facing criticism for their stances.
Gigi Hadid posted a large handful of statements equivocating the suffering of Israelis to that of the Palestinians.
She was then slammed by the Israeli government, in a post on their Instagram Stories which read: ‘There is nothing valiant about Hamas’ massacre of Israelis. Condemning Hamas for what it is (ISIS) is not anti-Palestine and supporting Israelis in their fight against barbaric terrorists is the right thing to do.’
The account of the State of Israel then directed comments at Hadid specifically, tagging her account and writing: ‘Have you been sleeping the past week?’
‘Or you just fine turning a blind eye to Jewish babies being butchered in their homes? Your silence has been very clear about where you stand. We see you.’
Devastating: On Tuesday a massive blast ripped through a Gaza hospital, reportedly killing nearly 500 people, though the figure has not been verified
Tragedy: The conflict, which began on October, 7, has so far seen 3,785 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes, according to the health ministry in Gaza
On Tuesday a massive blast ripped through a Gaza hospital, reportedly killing nearly 500 people, and Palestinian leaders initially said Israel was to blame while Israeli Defense Forces said a rocket launched by Islamic Jihad from Gaza had misfired and exploded.
It comes after Israel opened a border crossing in the south of Gaza on Wednesday, allowing some aid trucks to enter – the first crack in a punishing 11-day siege.
Even after Israel told Palestinians in the north to evacuate to what it called ‘safe zones’ in the south, strikes continued overnight throughout the densely populated territory.
After decades of conflict between the two territories, tensions erupted again earlier this month after Hamas, an Islamist militant group who seized control of Gaza in 2006, fired thousands of rockets at Israel.
READ MORE: Madonna pays tribute to Israelis and Palestinians as she launches Celebration World Tour: ‘Even though our hearts are broken, our spirits cannot be broken’
The country responded by saying the country is ‘at war’ and fired at targets in Gaza in response.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has visited Israel to ‘express solidarity’ with the country, and called for any escalation of violence in the wider region to be avoided.
Sunak landed at Ben Gurion airport on Thursday ahead of holding talks with his counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, and President Isaac Herzog.
‘Above all, I’m here to express my solidarity with the Israeli people. You have suffered an unspeakable, horrific act of terrorism and I want you to know that the United Kingdom and I stand with you,’ Sunak told reporters on the ground.
As part of a trip, he will urge Middle East leaders to ‘avoid further dangerous escalation’, saying that ‘too many lives have been lost’ already in the conflict.
The visit comes after the US president flew into Israel on Wednesday in a diplomatic bid to prevent fighting from spiralling into a larger crisis.
Joe Biden urged Israel not to be ‘consumed by’ rage in the wake of Hamas’s deadly attack on October 7 and to avoid making the same ‘mistakes’ that the US did after September 11 2001, following the Islamist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
The president’s trip appeared to mark a breakthrough, with Netanyahu’s office announcing it had approved a request from Biden to allow Egypt to deliver limited quantities of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
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