Charlotte Church has received criticism for performing a ‘antisemitic’ song at a Sing for Palestine charity event.
The 38-year-old Welsh singer led the Côr Cochion choir in Caerphilly, South Wales, in a protest chant during the pro-Palestine event, with film online showing Church singing along to From the River to the Sea.
During the confrontation between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the song has been labelled antisemitic since it is a popular call to arms at pro-Palestinian demonstrations, notably the lyric ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free.’
The singer also sang the protest song Stop the Occupation at the Bedwas Workmen’s Hall event.
Following the occasion, Church received criticism for her delivery of From the River to the Sea, which some have called a ‘genocide song’.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism accused the musician of ‘anti-Jewish prejudice’ and urged the Charity Commission to look into the incident.
‘The genocidal chant From the River to the Sea refers to the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, and only makes sense as a call for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state – and its replacement with a Palestinian state. It is a call for the annihilation of half the world’s Jews, who live in Israel,’ a spokesperson said.
‘Since October 7, when Hamas committed their barbaric terrorist acts, we have heard this chant on the streets of Britain during anti-Israel marches, accompanied by all manner of anti-Jewish racism.
They continued to MailOnline: ‘Singing From the River to the Sea is not standing up for human rights. At best Charlotte Church has been tone deaf, but at worst she is using the voice for which she is so well known to fan the flames of hatred. You cannot stoop lower than using your stardom to teach kids to sing extremist lyrics in a village hall.
‘We will be writing to the Charity Commission to ask them to investigate how this was allowed to take place on a charity’s premises.’
Jewish MP Andrew Percy slammed Church’s performance as ‘deeply concerning’.
‘Those who joined in should hang their heads in shame,’ he told The Sun.
Speaking at the event, which was raising money for the Middle East Children’s Alliance charity, Church told the crowd (as reported by The Sun): ‘A lot of us are feeling a lot of emotion. This is a safe space to just breathe and sing and get it all out.’
Posting on X ahead of the event, she said: ‘Hello my loves, Big sing for Gaza is today!
‘So wonderful to sing with a generous, big hearted group of humans!
Bedwas here we come! Xx.’
The Pie Jesu hitmaker has been vocal in her support of Palestine and calls for a ceasefire, posting regularly on social media to raise awareness.
Sharing a video speaking to her 150,000 followers in November, she said: ‘CeaseFireNow. Please, raise your voices. Do all that you can, organise, strategise, get creative. Anything you can think of to put pressure on our government, on the leaders of this country, to call for a ceasefire immediately.
‘I’ll be going live on Instagram every Monday and Friday at 6:30am, I hope you’ll join me in singing for the liberation and protection of the Palestinian people.
‘I’d be really grateful if anybody knows of any Palestinian songs that I can learn, if you do then please send them my way. Or if anybody knows any Palestinian songs and wants to teach us all on the Instagram live or one of the Instagram lives going forward, I would be very grateful 🇵🇸❤️’
