Earlier in the evening, British singer Annie Lennox called for a ‘ceasefire’ after a Sinead O’Connor tribute.
By Shula Rosen
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. gave a speech at Sunday night’s Grammy ceremony in Los Angeles during which he commemorated over 360 Israelis who were murdered and 40 were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7h at the Nova music festival.
Mason said, “Music must always be our safe space. When that’s violated it strikes at the very core of who we are.”
He added, “We felt that at the Bataclan music hall in Paris. We felt that at the Manchester Arena, in England. We felt that at the Route 91 music festival in Las Vegas.”
“And on October 7, we felt that again when we heard the tragic news from the Supernova music festival for love, that over 360 music fans lost their lives, and another 40 were kidnapped,” Mason said.
“That day and all the tragic days that have followed have been awful for the world to bear as we mourn the loss of all innocent lives,” Mason continued.
“We live in a world divided by so much… Music must remain the common ground on which we all stand, at peace and harmony.”
“Music must always be our safe space. When that is violated it strikes at the very core of who we are.” Pitch perfect tribute to the Nova festival victims of Hamas. This is what terrorists do. They want to kill bodies and spirit. Safety and joy. They cannot win. #Grammys pic.twitter.com/CDzbfkDfbC
— Heidi Bachram 🎗️ (@HeidiBachram) February 5, 2024
Harvey Mason Jr then pointed out the that string quartet included Israeli and Palestinian musicians.
Earlier in the evening, British singer Annie Lennox called for a “ceasefire” and “peace in the world” after a performance in honor of the late Sinead O’Connor.
In contrast to Harvey Mason Jr.’s remarks about the unifying power of music, over a thousand Swedish performers demanded Israel’s ouster from the Eurovision song contest their country will be hosting in May in a letter published Monday in one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic region.
Accusing Israel of committing “war crimes” in its ongoing war against the Hamas terror organization in the Gaza Strip, their missive in the Aftonbladet stated that the Jewish state’s participation in the annual competition “undermines” its “mission” as “a peace project with the ambition to unite countries and citizens through music.”