Macklemore announces Free Palestine tour to benefit humanitarian aid organisations Macklemore has announced a “Free Palestine” tour, a series of live shows that will feature the US rapper performing alongside musicians and friends to raise funds for humanitarian causes in Palestine. —Guardian, 24 Sep 2026
If these last couple of weeks have shown us anything, it’s that something has shifted over the last three years. There has been a collective awakening around Palestinian liberation, the power of billionaires that try to censor that call, and what we expect from artists right now.
It’s 2026. Being apolitical during a genocide doesn’t work anymore. People are asking artists to show up, educate themselves and be in community. To use the stage for more than entertainment. To push back when the call for a Free Palestine is met with attempts to silence it.
What happened to me is bigger than one artist or one stage. When the billionaire class can decide which voices are allowed on stage and which ones are too dangerous to hear, everyone should be paying attention.
Because of how quickly all of this has come together, a lot of the conversations, schedules and details are still being worked out. But this is a moment of momentum, and there is work to be done.
–Macklemore announcing the Free Palestine Tour
Macklemore’s tour will begin in Dublin on 26 October. Further dates in Paris (29 October) and London (30 October) have been announced, with North American dates to follow. Fans hoping to get tickets are encouraged to sign up for presale access at macklemore.com.
I am not, it goes without saying but saying anyway, a prophet. But we sometimes confuse prophets with those who predict the future, which they sometimes do. Mostly they just observe what is happening and say what they see. This post from eight years ago observes that “Trump recognizes that anything or anyone that cannot help him or that might harm him must be destroyed.” Same person, same power, same scorched America. This time bigger flames.
scorched-earth: relating to or being a military strategy involving deliberate and usually widespread destruction of property and resources (such as housing and factories) so that an invading enemy cannot use them.
Trump knows nothing about history or about military strategy. He is, as his closest advisers have said, an idiot. But instinctively, he recognizes that anything or anyone that cannot help him or that might harm him must be destroyed.
A scorched-earth strategy has been used throughout history. In America, this has happened a number of times, including most famously during the Civil War. General Sherman’s March to the Sea, including the burning of Atlanta, caused $100 million (1863 dollars) in damage to Georgia.
Trump’s March includes the attempted destruction of government institutions, public servants, the free press, the rule of law, truthfulness, core American and moral principles, and more. In this, he has been aided and abetted by numerous Republican enablers, who either don’t realize that this is a scorched-America strategy, or who do recognize it and want to be part of the victorious army.
In war, it must be devastating beyond description to watch the land you love, live in, and have developed be totally destroyed. In America, we are learning how that feels.
The Lotus Sutra—aka The King of Sutras, The Lotus Blossom of the Wonderful Dharma, The Discourse on the White Lotus of the True Doctrine—is one of the best-known and best-loved discourses attributed to the Buddha.
A bodhisattva is one who takes up the way of the Buddha for the benefit of others. The Buddha speaks of various characters of bodhisattvas in the Lotus Sutra. In Chapter 20 we find Sadāparibhūta Bodhisattva—the Never Disrespectful, Never Disparaging, Never Belittling Bodhisattva.
The Never Disrespectful Bodhisattva was mocked and cursed by people, including those who were “attached to the Dharma superficially”, for his absolute refusal to disrespect others, no matter their behavior. His simple explanation was “I would never disrespect you because you will all become buddhas.” Ultimately, after a long while, the others learned and came around to his way.
How easy, even irresistible, it can be to disrespect, disparage and belittle others, especially when it seems to us so clearly appropriate and deserved. How cleverly cutting we can be. At those times, recall the Never Disrespectful Bodhisattva:
Then the World-Honored One, wanting to restate this teaching, spoke in verse:
There was a bodhisattva Whose name was Never Disrespectful.
At that time the four groups Were attached to the Dharma superficially.
Never Disrespectful Bodhisattva would go to them And say: “I would never disrespect you, For you are following the Way And surely will all become buddhas.”
When people heard this They made light of him or cursed him. Never Disrespectful Bodhisattva Withstood it all patiently…
At the end of his life Never Disrespectful met countless buddhas, And through teaching this sutra Gained immeasurable happiness.
Gradually developing his blessings, He quickly attained the Buddha way. The Never Disrespectful of that time Was really me.
–Lotus Sutra, Chapter 20, translated by Gene Reeves
It would be hard to name a band more willfully strange that managed to score two Top 20 hits in the 1980s than Was (Not Was). Pairing bent but danceable funk/disco rhythms with surreal lyrics that found the humor in everything from accidentally strangling a friend to a quickie wedding in Las Vegas, the group also had a knack for lining up unusual collaborators; throughout their discography, one can find guest appearances from Leonard Cohen, Ozzy Osbourne, Doug Feiger, Mel Torme, Kris Kristofferson, Wayne Kramer, and Frank Sinatra, Jr., among many others.
Was (Not Was) was masterminded by Don Was (born Don Fagenson) and David Was (born David Weiss), longtime friends who grew up in the Detroit suburb of Oak Park, Michigan. Was (Was Not) used a constantly shifting cast of musicians on their recordings, though vocalists Sweet Pea Atkinson and Sir Harry Bowens were in many ways the public face of the group, giving a personality and continuity to their body of work. The group earned a rabid cult following and great reviews with the off-kilter dance tracks of their self-titled 1981 debut, and their second LP, 1983’s Born to Laugh at Tornadoes, gave them the opportunity to work out their ideas and ambitions on a major-label budget. But it was 1988’s What Up, Dog? that briefly made them stars with the singles “Walk the Dinosaur” and “Spy in the House of Love,” whose grooves finally caught the ears of the radio audience.
–Mark Deming, AllMusic
Was (Not Was) continued on and off for years after What Up, Dog?. The record industry didn’t know exactly what to do with them. Don Was has gone on to be a producer for major artists.
Videos for their two biggest hits are below. Also is a video from 1992, Shake Your Head (Let’s Go to Bed), notable for the singing of Ozzy Osbourne and the presence of Kim Basinger. Once you’ve seen these, seek out more Was (Not Was), starting with the albums What Up, Dog? and Are You Okay? Talented musical misfits are perfect for those who love a groove or a sweet melody and have smart and misfit ears.
It seems that the official start of each season used to be a bigger deal. There wasn’t even a Google Doodle for it today.
Maybe we just have so much going on and so much on our minds that this thin divider is too insignificant, compared to all the “important” stuff. Is it really that remarkable that in the Northern Hemisphere, days have been getting shorter and nights have been getting longer for three months, and that on this day the earth has more or less equalized its orientation to the sun. (In the Southern Hemisphere, it’s all reversed, this is the start of Spring (Vernal Equinox), and we wonder 1) how can Christmas arrive in Summer? and 2) why don’t all those people down there just “fall” off the earth? Oh yeah, gravity.)
The first thing listened to this morning was Vivaldi’s Autumn from The Four Seasons. Thank goodness at least Vivaldi paid attention.
Joyously it also included a great surprise, Avinu Malkeinu from the album Compassion (2014) by Lior and Nigel Westlake, with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Lior is an Israeli-born singer/songwriter whose family emigrated to Australia when he was young.
The notes to this song cycle explain the rich mixture of Hebrew and Arabic songs, including an essential High Holiday hymn like Avinu Malkeinu, all centered on the title concept–and the Yom Kippur concept–of compassion.
Compassion: IV: Inna Rifqa (The Beauty Within) is taken from a Muslim hadith:
“Compassion does not enter into anything without beautifying it, and is not removed from anything without making it ugly.”
It is obvious to point to Leonard Cohen’s Who By Fire for Yom Kippur, as it is his take on the liturgical poem Unetanah Tokef, recited during the holiday services. The poem says:
On Rosh Hashanah it is inscribed, And on Yom Kippur it is sealed. How many shall pass away and how many shall be born, Who shall live and who shall die, Who shall reach the end of his days and who shall not, Who shall perish by water and who by fire, Who by sword and who by wild beast, Who by famine and who by thirst, Who by earthquake and who by plague, Who by strangulation and who by stoning, Who shall have rest and who shall wander, Who shall be at peace and who shall be pursued, Who shall be at rest and who shall be tormented, Who shall be exalted and who shall be brought low, Who shall become rich and who shall be impoverished. But repentance, prayer and righteousness avert the severe decree.
Here it is featured as one of three songs that cover kindred territory and decades of his creative and spiritual life: Who By Fire (1974), Everybody Knows (1988), You Want It Darker (2016).
Appropriate for Yom Kippur, you will read and hear the evolution that artists model for us as they—and we—face our world, our lives and each other. Cohen as a man in his thirties, in his fifties, in his eighties.
You Want It Darker, written as he approached death, is punctuated by an exclamation suitable for facing your god, your life, yourself: Hineni. Here I am.
Who By Fire
And who by fire, who by water Who in the sunshine, who in the night time Who by high ordeal, who by common trial Who in your merry merry month of may Who by very slow decay And who shall I say is calling?
And who in her lonely slip, who by barbiturate Who in these realms of love, who by something blunt Who by avalanche, who by powder Who for his greed, who for his hunger And who shall I say is calling?
And who by brave assent, who by accident Who in solitude, who in this mirror Who by his lady’s command, who by his own hand Who in mortal chains, who in power And who shall I say is calling?
Everybody Knows
Everybody knows that the dice are loaded Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed Everybody knows the war is over Everybody knows the good guys lost Everybody knows the fight was fixed The poor stay poor, the rich get rich That’s how it goes Everybody knows
Everybody knows that the boat is leaking Everybody knows that the captain lied Everybody got this broken feeling Like their father or their dog just died Everybody talking to their pockets Everybody wants a box of chocolates And a long-stem rose Everybody knows
Everybody knows that you love me baby Everybody knows that you really do Everybody knows that you’ve been faithful Oh, give or take a night or two Everybody knows you’ve been discreet But there were so many people you just had to meet Without your clothes Everybody knows
Everybody knows, everybody knows That’s how it goes Everybody knows Everybody knows, everybody knows That’s how it goes Everybody knows
And everybody knows that it’s now or never Everybody knows that it’s me or you And everybody knows that you live forever When you’ve done a line or two Everybody knows the deal is rotten Old Black Joe’s still picking cotton For your ribbons and bows And everybody knows
And everybody knows that the Plague is coming Everybody knows that it’s moving fast Everybody knows that the naked man and woman Are just a shining artifact of the past Everybody knows the scene is dead But there’s gonna be a meter on your bed That will disclose What everybody knows
And everybody knows that you’re in trouble Everybody knows what you’ve been through From the bloody cross on top of Calvary To the beach of Malibu Everybody knows it’s coming apart Take one last look at this Sacred Heart Before it blows Everybody knows
You Want It Darker
If you are the dealer, I’m out of the game If you are the healer, it means I’m broken and lame If thine is the glory, then mine must be the shame You want it darker We kill the flame
Magnified, sanctified Be the holy name Vilified, crucified In the human frame A million candles burning For the help that never came You want it darker
Hineni, hineni I’m ready, my Lord
There’s a lover in the story But the story’s still the same There’s a lullaby for suffering And a paradox to blame But it’s written in the scriptures And it’s not some idol claim You want it darker We kill the flame
They’re lining up to prisoners And the guards are taking aim I struggle with some demons They were middle class and tame I didn’t know I had permission To murder and to maim You want it darker
Hineni, hineni I’m ready, my Lord
Magnified, sanctified Be the holy name Vilified, crucified In the human frame A million candles burning For the love that never came You want it darker We kill the flame
If you are the dealer, let me out of the game If you are the healer, I’m broken and lame If thine is the glory, mine must be the shame You want it darker
No sin is so light that it may be overlooked; no sin is so heavy that it may not be repented. —Moses ibn Ezra
A person cannot find redemption until he sees the flaws in his soul, and tries to efface them. Nor can a people be redeemed until it sees the flaws in its soul and tries to efface them. But whether it be a person or a people, whoever shuts out the realization of his flaws is shutting out redemption. We can be redeemed only to the extent which we see ourselves. —Martin Buber
Should we despair of our being unable to retain perfect purity? We should, if perfection were our goal. However, we are not obliged to be perfect once and for all, but only to rise again and again beyond the level of the self. —Abraham Joshua Heschel
Bear in mind that life is short, and that with every passing day you are nearer to the end of your life. Therefore, how can you waste your time on petty quarrels and discords? Restrain your anger, hold your temper in check, and enjoy peace with everyone. —Rabbi Nachman of Breslov
Al Cheit (For Our Sins) is a central prayer of Yom Kippur. It is traditionally recited while beating our hearts for each item on the list.
It is a long list. Few will have committed all of them. Few have escaped committing any. It is just a list of examples. Your experience may vary, and there may be others you might add.
The tradition says that the Book of Life is open during the Ten Days of Awe. When the holy days end with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, when the shofar sounds, the book closes and our lives will have been written for the next year. But the book is always open. This isn’t an inventory of recriminations. It is an opportunity to reflect and, if needed, to make amends. That is how, as Heschel says, “to rise again and again beyond the level of the self.” That is how we write the book.
Al Cheit
For Our Sins
For the sins we have committed through arrogance and selfishness:
For being obsessed with our own concerns,
For choosing rudeness over common courtesy,
For loving our egos.
For the sins we have committed by defrauding others:
For using people in pursuit of our ambitions,
For manipulating the love of others,
For gossiping.
For the sins we have committed through denial and deceit:
For creating theories to rationalize our behavior,
For faking emotions for our own benefit,
For using the sins of others to excuse our own,
For claiming that ends justify the means.
For the sins we have committed through greed and overindulgence:
For using force to maintain our power,
For poisoning our planet,
For remembering the price of things but forgetting their value.
For the sins we have committed through hardening our hearts:
For accepting poverty as inevitable,
For staying silent when we should speak out,
For resenting the young and ignoring the elderly,
For abandoning proper outrage.
For the sins we have committed through hypocrisy:
For condemning in our children the faults we tolerate in ourselves,
For condemning in our parents the faults we tolerate in ourselves,
For neglecting our promises.
For the sins we have committed by narrow-mindedness:
For passing judgment without knowledge,
For denying our baseless hatreds.
For the sins we have committed against You through sex and love:
For confusing love with lust,
For pursuing fleeting pleasure while disregarding lasting hurt,
For withholding affection to control the ones we love.
For all these sins, forgive us, pardon us, grant us atonement.
The days from Rosh Hashanah (“Head of the Year”, the New Year) and Yom Kippur (“Day of Atonement”) are the ten holiest on the Jewish calendar. Known as the Days of Awe or Days of Repentance, they are a time for reflection on the year past and the year to come, and a time to make amends—not by asking God for forgiveness, but by asking it from those who have been wronged, and through the practice of repentance (literally, “turning”), prayer and charity.
During these days, the Book of Life is metaphorically open, and on its pages your life is weighed: “On Rosh Hashanah it is written, on Yom Kippur it is sealed.”
The liturgy for these holidays, and particularly for Yom Kippur, is some of the most moving and soul-searching in all of the religious canon. There are Old Testament readings included, but not too often from the Book of Job.
There are two solid consensuses about the Book of Job.
Literary types agree that it is probably the greatest work of literature in the Bible.
Religious types agree that it is the most puzzling book in the Old Testament, and that even when you look at it in the most common and superficial way (“Why do bad things happen to good people?”), you end up scratching your head.
Job is the book to read for Yom Kippur. It is the book to ponder at the start of the year, at the end of the year, and at points between. (It was, by the way, Abraham Lincoln’s most studied book of the Bible.)
We begin with the book itself.
It is unusual for it to have been included in the canon of the Hebrew Bible because it is not about a Jew. When non-Jews appear in other books, it is usually a story of helping Jews or hurting Jews or marrying Jews or eventually becoming Jewish. None of that applies to the Book of Job.
The story is relatively simple, at least until the end. Job is a rich and pious man who has everything: health, wealth, family and friends (or so they seem). Satan wants to prove that Job’s piety is dependent on his having everything, and challenges God to take it all away. God does.
Job’s friends are convinced that he must have done something wrong, and urge him to figure it out and repent. The scenes with his friends are talky, like a play, or maybe like the film My Dinner With Andre—except this is My Dinner with Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite.
Job’s wife has a different suggestion: “Curse God and die.”
Job remains steadfast in his faith.
And then, in Chapter 37, God appears to Job, to explain it all.
The chapters that follow are a poetic and breathtaking description of the world’s wonders, by the one who made them. God tells Job that his friends don’t know what they’re talking about (God takes care of them later). And God implicitly tells Job the only two things to do: Be awed. Be humble.
Job’s reply in Chapter 42 is one of the most important passages in the Bible. It is not only the watchword for Yom Kippur; it is the watchword for everyone, religious or otherwise, who is convinced they are smarter than anyone in the room or in the universe:
Then Job answered the Lord:
“I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
‘Hear, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you declare to me.’
I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees you;
therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.”
“I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”
Whether this is a day of reflection and fasting, reciting centuries-old prayers, or an ordinary day of work or study, managing others or being managed; whether you are Job beset by unexplained misfortune, or Job’s wife, ready to kill him if he doesn’t kill himself, or Job’s friends so quick with advice; whether you are being punished by God, Satan, or whatever other forces you believe are working against you; whether you are the smartest person in the room or not; this is what we can do, even if there is seemingly no comfort in it:
Emma Goldman’s dislike of religion is evidenced by her participation in events such as this [Yom Kippur Picnic], scheduled on Jewish holy days. Jewish Women’s Archive
When Jews decide to chow down on Yom Kippur, it’s usually done clandestinely, sneaking tasty morsels in a dark pantry, or disappearing into a diner in some nearby non-Jewish neighborhood. But furtive noshing wasn’t always the heretical path of choice on the Day of Atonement. Just over a century ago, a range of leftists held massive public festivals of eating, dancing, and performance for the full 25 hours of Yom Kippur, not only as a way to fight for the their right to party, but to unshackle themselves from the oppressive religious dictates they grew up with. What does one do, after all, when prayers and traditional customs no longer hold any meaning yet you still want to be part of a Jewish community? Eating with intention on a fast day allows you, in one fell swoop, to thumb your nose at the religious establishment and create a secular Jewish identity.
These Yom Kippur Balls, organized initially by anarchists in the mid-1880s, started in London and migrated to New York and Montreal. Smaller nosh fests and public demonstrations were also celebrated by Jewish antinomians in other locales. Unorthodox Jews in interwar Poland could pull hundreds of locals into small venues on Yom Kippur in shtetls like Kalish and Chelm; in larger cities like Warsaw and Lodz, they could sell out 5,000-seat circuses. Heresy was big business; tickets for early 1890s Yom Kippur events cost 15 cents for anarchists: capitalists who deigned to attend paid double.
There’s no suggestions here about what Jews of any religious or political stripe should do about fasting or partying on Yom Kippur. As with all such things, there is what your society or community expects you to do, what your God demands that you do, and what your heart and mind tell you to do. If there is a paradise, Emma Goldman is probably there, still railing against injustice, still noshing on Yom Kippur.
