The Comet is Coming. Photo by Fabrice Bourgelle
London-based jazz group The Comet is Coming has canceled their final show, scheduled for tonight (October 20) at the Bratislava Jazz Days festival in Slovakia, in a show of support to Palestine.
Israel has massively escalated its military campaign in the Gaza Strip in response to Hamas’ October 7 attack. Over 3,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 12,500 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, with Israel’s decision to cut water, electricity, and aid to the strip condemned as collective punishment — a war crime — by Secretary General of the United Nations.
In response to the attacks, Palestinian advocacy groups and allied organizations such as Jewish Voice for Peace have called for a global general strike. On Instagram, the Comet is Coming explained their decision to join in.
“We stand in solidarity with the global call to strike by our Palestinian brothers and sisters who are in the midst of a genocidal assault,” the band wrote.
“This was to be our final show. Our last statement is a call for immediate ceasefire, an end to the illegal occupation of Palestine and routine violence against the Palestinian people.”
The statement ends with a repost of remarks from Radio Alhara calling for all musicians to cancel their concerts for Friday, October 20. “No legal or financial consequences can match the hardship faced now by the Palestinian people, and if threatened with such we should ask promoters and presenters what they themselves are doing to counter the ongoing catastrophe.”
Read the full statement below via Stereogum.