Dear Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, and Austin City Council Members,

We come together as local Austin musicians and advocates, but most importantly as human beings who are bearing witness to the devastating loss of life and unfolding horrors in Palestine and Israel, and an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which has been described as the “most dangerous place to be a child” by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson James Elder & executive director Catherine Russell, and has been described as “a textbook case of genocide” by US based Israeli scholar of Genocide Raz Segal, and former UN Human Rights official Craig Mokhiber. 

History shows that music has the power to educate people, build empathy, break down barriers, and inspire change in a way that’s fundamentally different from any other form of communication. Music is an essential part of all human civilizations, and a powerful catalyst for change, bringing people together in various ways; from something as simple as knowing you are not alone in a personal struggle, to something as monumental as sparking a mass demand for human rights and change. As the Live Music Capital of the World, Austin is immersed in the buzz and energy of the power of music, and we are ready to channel that power into positive action. For this reason, we align our message with that of Musicians for Palestine, a collective of thousands of musicians globally, who have gathered together to ask for a permanent ceasefire, to stand against all forms of racism and hatred, to uplift the voices of the oppressed and silenced, and to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people’s struggle for freedom, justice, and equal rights. We too, will not be silent after 75 years of Israel’s military occupation and system of apartheid against Palestinians – as leading international, Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations have described it.

We stand with our fellow musicians in Gaza, such as Fares Anbar, a young and talented musician in Gaza, who prior to this conflict was preparing for concerts abroad with his band, Sol Band, but now spends his days documenting the tragic and catastrophic realities in Gaza, and trying to survive. We also condemn and mourn the murder of Gaza’s first music teacher Elham Farah, an 84 year old accordionist, beloved musician, and a member of Gaza’s ancient Christian minority, who was shot by an Israeli sniper meters away from her home, and left to bleed to death.

We ask that as the representatives of the city of Austin, where thousands of Texans have rallied in support of a ceasefire, that city council members support the ceasefire resolution passed by the the city of Austin’s Human Rights Commission on November 6th, 2023, by sponsoring this item on the next Council agenda on January 18th, 2023. The resolution denounces islamophobia, antisemitism, and anti-Arab sentiments, and calls for an immediate and explicit ceasefire, to allow for the entry of urgent humanitarian aid in Gaza, to prevent the further loss of innocent life,  & to facilitate the release of all civilian hostages. 

Over 17,000 people have been killed in Gaza over the last two months alone, not accounting for the thousands of murdered civilians whose bodies are decomposing under the rubble, which puts the number well over 25,000 of which over 10,000 are children. Over 1.8 million people have been displaced, and a Human Rights Watch report has accused Israel of committing war crimes by deliberately using starvation as a method of warfare against the civilian population in Gaza. In addition, and according to the U.N humanitarian office, Gaza is facing a public health disaster “due to the collapse of its health system and the spread of disease”, conditions exacerbated by Israel’s bombardment of healthcare facilities and residential buildings. Situations have been described where patients, including children, have had limbs amputated, and women have had emergency cesareans, all without anesthesia. Wounds have been cleaned using vinegar, and surgeries done using the unsophisticated illumination of smartphone flashlights. Any human of conscience knows that these statistics are absolutely horrific, and these situations are catastrophic. 

We urge city council members to join the actions of other cities in the nation who have passed ceasefire resolutions, including but not limited to, Richmond, CA, Atlanta, GA, Akron, OH, Detroit, MI, amongst others, to implement a ceasefire resolution that calls for the ending of bombing in Gaza, the entrance of humanitarian aid, and the return of all hostages. 

We believe that the city of Austin can play a vital role in advocating for the ending of the suffering, and we are adding our voices to those of dozens of representatives from the US congress, UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, Amnesty International, The International Committee of the Red Cross, Jewish Voices for Peace, our fellow musicians and artists nationally and globally, many other organizations, most UN nations, and millions of people of conscience around the globe. 

We refuse to stand by idly and silently as a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza unfolds, which has been described by UN Secretary General António Guterres as a threat to “international peace & security.” As the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini put it best, “The generations to come will know that we watched this human tragedy unfold over social media and news channels. We will not be able to say we did not know. History will ask why the world did not have the courage to act decisively and stop this hell on Earth.”

We Must Act Now.