I was seriously super excited when I found out that Coldplay had released a NEW SONG. I mean, come on, it's COLDPLAY we're talking about, people. The epitome of everything good about music today. (Yip, I'm a huge fan.)
The new song is accompanied by an awesome, gorgeous video about praying for the current state that the world is in, and obviously– as a religious Jew– I will be the first to admit the power and beauty of prayer and turning to G-d in the good times and the bad.
So far so good.
And what made the video (and song) even more powerful was the fact that it wasn't just Chris and Coldplay- it was a collab with other singers, Little Simz, Burna Boy, TiNi and Elyanna.
Now, here's where things went dark for me.
I was happily enjoying some Coldplay (like any normal person) does, when one of the artists pops up, Elyanna. And then she starts to sing in Arabic – about praying for world peace.
Never mind the fact that this is entirely ironic, because one things Arabs don't seem to want these days is peace.
And I probably wouldn't have any problem with it, except that I'm Jewish and I live in Israel. And since October 7th, 2023, when Hamas invaded Israeli kibbutzim and cities, raping, burning, destroying and plundering, I have watched my country and my people as they suffer endless agony.
So either Chris Martin could have not invited her to collaborate on this song, or (and this would have been magical) he could have invited an Israeli artist to also join in and sing in Israel, thus displaying his care for people on BOTH sides of the conflict.
Alas, he didn't. While he might not have said the words out loud, it's clear where his sympathies lie (and they aren't with me or my people or our country.)
I can hear you asking, "And so? Isn't this insanely irrelevant? Why should we even care?"
The thing is, with the huge influence that popstars wield these days, helped along by social media and the viral transfer of information, this kind of thing can change people's perspectives and swing them even further in the direction of antisemitism, support for terror activities and even the cause of the poor Palestinians in Gaza, Hamas and Hezbollah.
And it's not like situation isn't more than bad enough, with a huge surge in rampant, violent and downright scary antisemitism throughout the world.
Now (and this is going to sound hypocritical) I just want to put it out there that I'm not going to stop listening to Coldplay, because - hey - it's COLDPLAY and their music is brilliant, but I really wish they had chosen to leave politics in its own arena, where it belongs.
Oh, Chris Martin. Why? Just why?
