By Aidan Radnedge and Matthew Lodge and Eirian Jane Prosser
08:28 26 Feb 2024, updated 09:28 26 Feb 2024
- The singer has been condemned for her Sing For Palestine event appearance
- Were you at this event? Email [email protected]
This is the moment Charlotte Church leads a 100-strong pro-Palestine choir featuring children in singing ‘anti-Semitic’ song From The River to Sea – after sparking a backlash over her performance.
Footage has emerged showing how the 38-year-old star led a choir in the protest chant at a Sing For Palestine event in Caerphilly, south Wales.
The song is deemed anti-Semitic and a direct call for the state of Israel to be destroyed.
The Welsh singer, draped in a keffiyeh scarf in solidarity with those in Palestine, was also caught singing ‘Stop the Occupation’ as she attended the event at the Bedwas Workmen’s Hall on Saturday night.
The incident has sparked fury among people in the Jewish community, with the advocacy group the Campaign Against Antisemitism accusing her of using her ‘stardom to teach kids to sing extremist lyrics in a village hall’.
- Were you at this event? Email [email protected]
And Jewish MP Andrew Percy blasted the incident as ‘deeply concerning’, saying all who joined in Charlotte’s sing-along ‘should hang their heads in shame’.
The pop star has been outspoken in her support for the territory, having released an Instagram video in November calling for the ‘liberation of Palestine’.
During the event, which was attended by 150 people, Church told the crowd it was a ‘safe space to just breathe and sing and get it all out’, The Sun reports.
She then led a choir, which included some children, in a seven-minute rendition of the controversial song as part of her 40-minute set.
Church was given a bottle of champagne at the end of the event, which was being held to raise money for the Middle East Children’s Alliance charity.
It has sparked calls from the Campaign Against Antisemitism for an investigation by the Charity Commission.
The organisation told MailOnline: ‘The genocidal chant “From the River to the Sea” refers to the Jordan River and 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.
‘Since 7th October, 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.
‘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.’
There was outrage last week after activists projected the words ‘From the River to the Sea’ on the outside of Big Ben’s tower in London during a pro-Palestine rally.
The stunt was pulled off in full view of dozens of police monitoring a protest outside Parliament on Wednesday night, with Scotland Yard saying officers could not act because it was ‘not a criminal offence’.
A spokesman from the Board of Deputies, which represents the Jewish community, said at the time: ‘From the river to the sea is seen by many Jews as a hate slogan.
‘For it to be projected on to Big Ben is a demonstration of the utter contempt these extreme campaigners have not only for the concerns of the Jewish community, but for our Parliament.’
Andrew Percy, a Tory former minister who is Jewish, said: ‘For months I’ve been standing up here talking about the people on our streets demanding ‘death to Jews’, demanding jihad, demanding intifadas as the police stand by and allow that to happen.
‘A genocidal call of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” was projected on to this building. That message says no Jew is welcome in the state of Israel or in that land. This is going to continue happening because we’re not dealing with it.’
Church has been supportive of Palestine since the war in Gaza began last Autumn following Hamas’s surprise terror attack in southern Israel which killed more than 1,000 people.
In November the popstar choked back the tears in a video posted on Instagram as she implored her followers to take up the plight of innocent Palestinians caught up in the violence.
And she posted ahead of the latest event on X, formerly Twitter, saying: ‘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!’
She faced criticism in the online responses, including one person telling her: ‘Sing for Israel, sing for those murdered in 7th Oct, sing for those raped, sing for the babies, sing for the hostages.’
Other responses offered thoughts such as ‘Start by saying you want the hostages freed and then I might respect you’ and ‘How about a sing song for the hostages? No…didn’t think so’.
A commenter also wrote: ‘I must have missed your call for Hamas to return the hostages and end the bombing.
‘As this has been Israel’s only demand for a ceasefire I am sure you have already started a choir to highlight this & condemn Hamas & their cohorts for not doing so.’
Yet she was also told: ‘Morning Charlotte, that’s great, bless you, thank you for your singing special and may you all have a great day in support of Gaza.’
Other responses included ‘Free Palestine! thank you’, ‘Love and solidarity’ and ‘Queen Charlotte’.
The singer said she wanted to show her support and solidarity with the Palestinian people, as she urged listeners ‘don’t look away’.
Church referred to the ‘genocide’ which has so far seen nearly 30,000 Palestinians killed, two-thirds of them women and children, according to Palestinian health authorities.
‘Go with what your heart is saying, go with what your soul knows is the right thing to do,’ she said.
Meanwhile, Church recently knocked £300,000 off the price of her family home after failing to sell it in almost six months.
She bought The Spinney for £1.3million after splitting with former rugby ace Gavin Henson in 2010.
The star put the house on the market for £2.3million in August last year – but after failing to sell the price has now been lowered to ‘offers over’ £2million.
Just before Christmas she joined AJ Odudu, Michelle Visage and Gok Wan to film an upcoming Wheel of Fortune reboot celebrity special.
MailOnline has contacted Charlotte Church’s representatives for comment.
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
