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For the Palestinian relief nonprofits behind a $1 million pledge from rapper\u00a0Macklemore, the Grammy winner\u2019s latest contributions offer more than just money.<\/p>\n
Macklemore committed to\u00a0donate his net earnings\u00a0from Ed Sheeran\u2019s Loop Tour after he was dropped for making pro-Palestinian comments onstage at New Jersey\u2019s MetLife Stadium. The goal, he wrote in a Wednesday post on social media, was to \u201cbring the conversation back to where it belongs\u201d \u2014 the Palestinian people \u2014 after a 48-hour period that saw four\u00a0supporting acts quit in solidarity\u00a0and confusion over who\u00a0held responsibility for the decision.<\/p>\n
The six donation recipients included Medical Aid for Palestinians, Palestine Children\u2019s Relief Fund and the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees,\u00a0UNRWA. In addition to the funding windfall, their leaders welcomed the renewed public awareness of the\u00a0perilous living conditionsfaced by the Palestinian people they treat regularly.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if you don\u2019t see bombs falling every night, the rubble is still there,\u201d said Alicia Phillips Mandaville, the acting CEO of Anera, another beneficiary. \u201cAnd the traumatized children are still traumatized.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tareq Hailat, the director of strategic engagement at Palestine Children\u2019s Relief Fund, said his phone rings \u201call the time\u201d with calls from people in Gaza \u201cbleeding and asking for help.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s this notion that there\u2019s a ceasefire. But it\u2019s not true. There are children dying every single day. There\u2019s our team that is constantly in danger on the ground every single day. There\u2019s people we have to feed,\u201d he said. \u201cSo to have this attention on it is incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israeli operations have\u00a0killed more than 1,000 Palestinians\u00a0since a\u00a0fragile ceasefire\u00a0took effect last October. Hundreds of thousands of\u00a0Palestinians struggle to get healthcare\u00a0in the West Bank. Palestinians say\u00a0water shortages persist. The world\u2019s leading authority on food insecurity warned in July that most Gaza families still\u00a0weren\u2019t getting nearly enough to eat\u00a0even as Israel allowed more aid.<\/p>\n
The Palestinian Children\u2019s Relief Fund medically evacuates children who can\u2019t get the care they need because of crumbling healthcare infrastructure and flies outside physicians in to treat others inside Gaza.<\/p>\n
The nonprofit will put its share of Macklemore\u2019s gift into an unrestricted fund, according to Hailat. The donation allows leaders to more fluidly direct money based on the evolving circumstances inside Gaza.<\/p>\n
Anera \u2014 a humanitarian aid group working in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan \u2014 noted its donation also came with no requirements for how to use the money. Mandaville said that flexibility is important when \u201cthe way people live\u201d and \u201cthe rules we work inside\u201d change on a monthly basis.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there\u2019s flooding again this year like there was last year, we can deal with that. If there is an acute hunger crisis again, like there has been in the past, we can meet that,\u201d she said. \u201cWe can buy more blankets because people want their grandparents to be warm at night.\u201d<\/p>\n
This week\u2019s gift wasn\u2019t the first time Macklemore has donated to some of the recipients.<\/p>\n
The rapper has long advocated for the plight of Palestinians. He previously pledged the proceeds and streaming royalties from his protest anthems \u201cHind\u2019s Hall\u201d and \u201cHind\u2019s Hall 2\u2033 to UNRWA.<\/p>\n
More than $509,000 in support has come through those royalties, according to UNRWA USA CEO Mara Kronenfeld.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has been contributing to saving probably hundreds of thousands of lives in Gaza through his contributions already,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
This latest donation is already catalyzing more gifts.\u00a0Ms. Rachel, a YouTube star and music teacher, announced Thursday that she would donate $1 million to the Palestinian Children\u2019s Relief Fund and called on others to match the gift.<\/p>\n
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft \u2014 whose Kraft Group also owns Gillette Stadium, where Sheeran is scheduled to perform later this month \u2014 said in a Wednesday Instagram post that he would match Sheeran\u2019s own $2 million donation for aid \u201cin the region.\u201d The post did not specify the gift\u2019s recipients.<\/p>\n
Macklemore has said his removal was the result of an effort led by Kraft.\u00a0Kraft said in a statement Monday\u00a0that the decision to cancel Macklemore was a result of the rapper\u2019s recent comments \u201cand a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery.\u201d\u00a0Macklemore has asserted\u00a0that criticism of the Israeli government should not be conflated with antisemitism.<\/p>\n
Everyday donors appear to be joining efforts like Ms. Rachel\u2019s. Online progressive influencers have helped raise more than $72,000 more for the Palestinian Children\u2019s Relief Fund.<\/p>\n
Anera reported that the donations it received Wednesday through social media platforms were more than triple this month\u2019s daily average. The nonprofit has also gained more than 8,000 followers since Macklemore tagged its account in his post. Mandaville hopes that exposure will introduce new, younger audiences to the nonprofit\u2019s work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would guess that our traditional donor does not know the lyrics to \u2018Thrift Shop,\u2019\u201d she said, referencing Macklemore\u2019s breakout 2012 hit.<\/p>\n
UNRWA USA\u2019s Kronenfeld said the spike reflects an existing trend. Her organization has gained 203,000 donors since October 2023, she said, allowing them to send more than $117 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe contributions keep coming in because Americans care,\u201d she said. \u201cIt will increase that much more with Macklemore\u2019s extremely humane gesture.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n