The Gaza genocide has been a contentious topic in cultural discourse during the ongoing Gaza war. Celebrities, athletes, public intellectuals, activists, cultural institutions and ordinary people have weighed in on the events in Gaza, as well as the cultural and societal implications of viewing those events through the framework of genocide.
Cultural discourse
Public figures who have said Israel is committing genocide in Gaza include Kid Cudi, Macklemore, Kneecap, Massive Attack, Summer Walker, Chris Brown, John Lurie, Dua Lipa, and Fontaines D.C. Time described a "growing divide" within Hollywood over the war. The genocide scholar Raz Segal's verdict that Israel's actions in Gaza are a "textbook genocide" was quoted approvingly by the climate activist Greta Thunberg and the BBC football presenter Gary Lineker.
In the UK, a group of over 2,000 artists and celebrities calling themselves Artists for Palestine signed a letter on October 17, 2023, stating, "We are witnessing a crime and a catastrophe. Israel has reduced much of Gaza to rubble, and cut off the supply of water, power, food and medicine to 2.3 million Palestinians. In the words of the UN's undersecretary for humanitarian affairs, 'the spectre of death' is hanging over the territory." Since then, the letter has grown to have 4,409 signatures, and includes signees such as Tilda Swinton, Steve Coogan, and Miriam Margolyes.
In October 2025, more than 450 Jewish and Israeli figures including Knesset member Avraham Burg, former peace negotiator Daniel Levy, author Naomi Klein, film-maker Jonathan Glazer, actor Wallace Shawn, and writer Benjamin Moser signed an open letter known as Jews Demand Action, urging the United Nations to impose sanctions against Israel and demanding accountability over Israel's actions in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Music
's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest has become controversial since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, with protests and petitions demanding the country be excluded from the event, while some pro-Israel groups launched petitions of their own in support of Israel's continued inclusion. Israeli officials ran advertising campaigns to encourage support for their country's entries, which was cited as one of the factors leading to Israel placing within the top two of the public vote at the and editions. Participating broadcasters from , , the , , and boycotted the edition after Israel was permitted to compete.
Numerous musicians have withdrawn from music festivals for the festivals' relationships with companies alleged to be complicit in genocide. Over 100 acts dropped out of The Great Escape Festival in protest against the event's sponsor, Barclays, which they said was "bankrolling genocide". Several artists also dropped out of the Latitude Festival over its Barclays sponsorship. Over 80 musicians boycotted the 2024 South by Southwest festival because of the event's partnership with the US Army and Raytheon. Several of those musicians accused the companies of being linked to genocide. In May 2025, over 50 artists signed a letter urging Field Day to cut ties with the private equity firm KKR, saying "the festival is now implicated in the crimes against humanity of apartheid and genocide."
Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) has accused Radiohead of "complicit silence" in "Israel's genocide against Palestinians in Gaza" and urged fans to boycott the band's upcoming 2025 tour. PACBI previously protested against two planned UK concerts by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood and Israeli musician Dudu Tassa, saying that they were "artwashing genocide". The two concerts were cancelled due to "credible threats". PACBI argued that Tassa had performed for Israeli troops during the Gaza war, and that Greenwood and Tassa performed concerts in "apartheid Tel Aviv while Israeli forces burned Palestinians alive in Rafah". Regarding the Tel Aviv shows, Greenwood said critics were "silencing Israeli artists for being born Jewish in Israel".
In September 2025, over 400 artists called for their music to be removed from streaming platforms in Israel as part of a campaign labeled "No Music For Genocide".
Literature When asked whether what is happening in Gaza is a genocide, the author Masha Gessen said, "I think there are some fine distinctions between genocide and ethnic cleansing and I think that there are valid arguments for using both terms." When pressed further, they said, "it is at the very least ethnic cleansing". Controversy surrounded Gessen's reception of the Hannah Arendt Prize over a New Yorker article critical of Israeli actions in Gaza in which Gessen compared them to Nazis liquidating a ghetto.
The novelist Omar El Akkad has called the Gaza war a genocide and wrote the book One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This about Western complicity in it.
Author Sally Rooney has written that Israel is committing genocide and that the UK is complicit through its "material and diplomatic support". She pledged to financially support Palestine Action, despite the group's proscription in the UK.
Journalist and author Zukiswa Wanner and artist Mohamed Abla have both criticised the German government for supporting the "ethnic cleansing, murder and genocide" of Gaza.
In a 2025 interview with Juan Cole, the journalist and author Ta-Nehisi Coates, referring to the Democratic Party said that "if you can't draw the line at genocide, you probably can't draw the line at democracy", referring to the actions of the second presidency of Donald Trump.
Film and television
While accepting the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film for The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer drew parallels between the depiction of the Holocaust in his film and Israel's actions in Gaza. Journalist Naomi Klein expanded on the parallels between Gaza and the film's depiction of the Holocaust, highlighting the normalisation of genocidal action. Similarly, in an interview with The New York Times in July 2025, Jewish American actor Mandy Patinkin pleaded, “To watch what is happening, for the Jewish people to allow this to happen to children and civilians of all ages in Gaza, for whatever reason, is unconscionable and unthinkable...And I ask you Jews, everywhere, all over the world, to spend some time alone and think, Is this acceptable and sustainable? How could it be done to you and your ancestors and you turn around and you do it to someone else?”
In February 2025, British animator Joanna Quinn and others founded the collective Animation Community for Palestine (ac4pal) to support the work of Palestinian animator Haneen Koraz, who produces films with children in Gaza during the genocide.
At the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, over 350 members of the film industry signed a letter saying, "we cannot remain silent while genocide is taking place in Gaza and this unspeakable news is hitting our communities hard." The letter was dedicated to Palestinian journalist Fatma Hassona, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike.
In August 2025, at the Venice Film Festival, hundreds of filmmakers, artists, and cultural figures signed an open letter under the banner of Venice4Palestine, calling on the festival to take "a clear and ambiguous stand" against the Gaza genocide.
In September 2025, more than 4,000 artists signed a pledge by Film Workers for Palestine not to work with Israeli film institutions complicit in Israel's actions and denounced the "unrelenting horror" in Gaza. The pledge states:
In an interview with Jay Shetty on On Purpose With Jay Shetty, British actress Emma Watson stated:
On 26 September, American actress Jennifer Lawrence stated that what's happening in Gaza is "no less than a genocide" and calls it "unacceptable" during a press conference at the 2025 San Sebastián International Film Festival.
Religion On 30 June 2026, the Presbyterian Church (USA) voted to recognize the war in Gaza as a genocide, passing 454–15 at the church's General Assembly in Milwaukee, Winsconsin. The church also called for United States Congress to impose an arms embargo against Israel and boycott Israeli products.
Sports Multiple football supporters' groups have called for Israel to be banned from FIFA competitions. The Celtic ultras group the Green Brigade organised the "Show Israel the Red Card" campaign, writing: "Israel is committing genocide and ethnic cleansing; it is practising apartheid; and it is illegally occupying Palestinian territory." During the 2025 UEFA Champions League final, fans of French football club Paris Saint-Germain displayed a banner saying "Stop genocide in Gaza".
In September 2025, a coalition of 50 athletes including Cheick Doucouré, Nigel Pearson, Moeen Ali, and Khadijah Mellah signed a letter calling on UEFA for Israel's suspension from sports competitions. The letter stated, "sport cannot stand silent while athletes and civilians including children are indiscriminately killed en masse in Gaza". That month UEFA postponed a planned vote to exclude Israel from competitions after Donald Trump's peace proposal. In October 2025, 30 international human rights experts sent a letter to UEFA requesting they "move forward with an immediate and complete ban of Israeli football, including banning their national teams, club teams and players, from participating in UEFA competitions until justice and accountability is achieved for Palestine and all Palestinians." That month, a billboard campaign urging UEFA to expel Israel was launched by the group Game Over Israel. In November 2025 over 70 athletes including Paul Pogba signed a letter calling for UEFA to ban Israel and the Football Association of Ireland passed a resolution calling for Israel's suspension.
The BDS Movement accused the Israel–Premier Tech cycling team of sportswashing genocide and also criticised Union Cycliste Internationale for allowing the team to take part in Grand Tours. Several protests against the team occurred during the 2025 Tour de France and 2025 Vuelta a España. Stage 11 of the Vuelta finished without a winner due to protest at the finish line. The Government of Asturias called for Israel–Premier Tech to withdraw from the 2025 Vuelta and said that President Adrián Barbón would not attend stages in Asturias. The final stage of the Vuelta was also cancelled due to protest in Madrid. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez voiced his support for the protestors. Sánchez later said that Israel should be banned from all international sports competitions.
In January 2026, American football player Azeez Al-Shaair was fined $11,593 by the NFL for wearing eye black with the message "stop the genocide" during a game.
In June 2026, Alex Haditaghi, bussinessman and owner of the Polish football club, Pogoń Szczecin, reportedly refused to negotiate two players of the club, Léo Borges and Dimitrios Keramitsis, to Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C., citing Israel's genocidal and "inhumane" actions in Gaza and compared the negotiation to dealing with a football club representing Nazi Germany.
Other notable figures
The Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai said, "When we see alarming signs of genocide, we cannot wait to take decisive action. We must work together to urge our leaders to stop these war crimes and hold perpetrators to account." Another Nobel Peace Prize winner, Tawakkol Karman, said, "The world is silent in front of the genocide and the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people in Gaza."
In January 2024, The Times of Israel reporter Jeremy Sharon said that Israel's actions were defensive responses to Hamas, characterising calls for Gaza's destruction and other statements by Israeli officials (later found by the ICJ to be "incitement to genocide") as "intemperate comments of some of its political leaders".