The Israeli-American Council launched a petition urging British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran and tour leadership to remove U.S. rapper Macklemore from the remaining dates of the “Loop Tour,” after the group said he used an opening set to promote an anti-Israel political message.
In a statement, the IAC said that Macklemore “used his opening set at Sheeran’s show at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey—before more than 80,000 attendees—to deliver a one-sided anti-Israel speech, call for ‘Free Palestine,’ and perform his song ‘Hind’s Hall,’ while images from Gaza and political propaganda were projected on the massive screens behind him.”
He performed on back-to-back nights on Friday and Saturday.
Macklemore’s song takes its name from “Hind’s Hall,” the moniker anti-Israel protesters gave Columbia University‘s historic Hamilton Hall after breaking into and occupying the building.
“This was an Ed Sheeran concert—not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event,” the IAC wrote in the petition, which also targeted tour venues and concert promoter Live Nation. “The question is where the line should be drawn when an opening act uses a global concert platform to advance a one-sided political agenda.”
The IAC, which represents more than 150,000 Israeli-Americans across the United States, said that the performance used “selective imagery, biased messaging, and disputed claims” presented to a large audience without sufficient context.
“Freedom of expression does not mean freedom from responsibility. Your show. Your stage. Your responsibility,” the petition states.
Founded in Los Angeles in 2007, the IAC operates in 100 communities and on 58 campuses nationwide, organizing civic programs and leading efforts against antisemitism. In 2025, the organization joined the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
Macklemore led concertgoers in chants of “Free Palestine” during the opening performance, according to videos posted early Sunday by the StopAntisemitism advocacy group.
“I wanted to stand up here on stages and stadiums across America and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine,” Macklemore is seen saying, before repeating the phrase as audience members cheered. He also referenced Gaza and the “occupied West Bank.”
StopAntisemitism condemned the remarks, saying “Jewish patrons should not be subjected to this propaganda” and that the appearance came “despite massive backlash surrounding Macklemore opening for Sheeran.”
Macklemore, whose legal name is Benjamin Haggerty, previously apologized in 2014 after a costume he wore resembled an antisemitic Jewish caricature.
