Zack De La Rocha performs with Rage Against The Machine, 2022. Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images.
Rage Against The Machine frontman Zack De La Rocha skipped his band’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Friday night (November 3) and was photographed the following day at a March on Washington, calling for a ceasefire between Hamas and the Israeli government and protesting the United States’ continued financial support of Israel’s military in the conflict.
As RATM’s lead vocalist, De La Rocha has been the de facto representative for the group’s leftist politics but rarely uses social media and has not yet made an official statement on the war. The FADER has reached out to the band’s longtime label, Epic Records, for further comment from De La Rocha and/or the band as a whole.
300,000 of us marched on DC today in support of Palestinian self-determination and called for an end to Israel's genocide. Cell service tanked the livestream but I ran into Zack de la Rocha who came out for the march. pic.twitter.com/uj8Pi8buig
— hate5six (@hate5six) November 5, 2023
Guitarist Tom Morello was the only member of the group present at this year’s ceremony, referring to himself as “one quarter of Rage Against The Machine” and adding that, “Like most bands, we have differing perspectives on a lot of things, including our being inducted into the Rock Hall.” He didn’t directly reference the conflict in his acceptance speech, but he posed with a “CEASEFIRE” sign backstage. Unlike De La Rocha, Morello is active on X and has been vocal in calling for Israel to stop its bombing of the Gaza Strip, as well as for Hamas to release the Israeli hostages they took on October 7.
"Music can change the world…I hear from fans who have been affected by our music and in turn have affected the world…Organizers, activists, public defenders, teachers, the presidents of Chile & Finland have all spent time in our mosh pit." - RATM's @tmorello at #RockHall2023 pic.twitter.com/crTRWSkGiq
— Rock Hall (@rockhall) November 4, 2023
Since Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel a month ago today — in which the fundamentalist group killed roughly 1,400 Israelis (including roughly 260 attendees of a music festival near the Gaza border) and took 242 hostages, only four of whom have since been released — Israel has mounted air and ground offensives and a siege in Gaza that has cut off food, fuel, and water supplies to large swaths of the strip. On Monday (November 6), Palestinian casualties passed 10,000, with more than 4,000 children dead.
On October 25, Dua Lipa, Devonté Hynes, and Caroline Polachek were among 120 prominent figures in entertainment who signed an open letter urging President Biden to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, with 120 more — including Drake and Jennifer Lopez — adding their names the following week. Over the weekend, Kid Cudi joined the call for a ceasefire, expressing his solidarity with Palestinian civilians in an Instagram post.
