 Nice to meet you, where you been? I can show you some terrible things. Artists are speaking up for Palestine in the belly of the beast in the United States, which is Israel's largest financial backer. Musicians, actors, and other artists have been fired, dropped from labels, or otherwise sanctioned for openly supporting Palestine. But that has not stopped the Palestine solidarity movement within the cultural sphere. People's dispatch spoke to Leila Higazi, a musician from New York City, whose ability to adapt popular songs to spread a pro-Palestine message has garnered quite literally millions of views. How did you start making music? Thanks for having me. I started when I was pretty young. I've been singing since I was five. I started playing piano when I was 10 and writing songs around that time. It's been a really long time. What has making music meant to you personally throughout this genocide? For the first month into it, I don't think I was able to do much of anything. But then at some point, I think it was around Christmas time. I was just watching everybody go about life as usual in the United States, especially in New York. Christmas is a big thing in New York. I started for whatever reason just singing Christmas songs with lyrics about Palestine. It started out just being this sarcastic thing that I would do to vent my rage. I don't know. At some point, people actually started listening and then I started covering pop songs. It just happened from there. I guess this has been my own way of coping. The other thing that occurs to me is that as someone who deals with dynamic disability, which can change day to day, I can't always make it to protest. I never know how I'm going to feel that day. But I generally have the strength to sit at the piano and write, which has has I think been the primary way that I've dealt with these horrific things I've cooked. What is the role that art and culture can play in stopping genocide? You know, sometimes I feel like when we talk about Palestine, it's like you can feel like you're screaming into the void, right? Like there's the people who really get it and have always gotten it. There's the people who I guess are just starting to get it. And I think public discourse has changed a lot in the past several months in a way that we've never seen before, especially in the United States. But it just occurred to me like if they're not getting it when we talk, maybe they'll get it when we sing, or maybe they'll get it. There's a way that art forms sometimes can reach people who may not necessarily be reading the news or following politics in the same way that others are. And, you know, I just think that art has always reflected the times and it can be a really powerful tool that we shouldn't take for granted. How would you like to see fellow artists and musicians stepping up for Palestine? You know, I think what I would like to see is first of all just basic recognition because I think that there's so many people right now who are sort of just trying to go on like as if there isn't a genocide going on. So there's still, you know, especially in the music world, I'm still seeing people like release songs, like there's nothing going on. You know, there's still all, you know, just kind of playing shows as usual. And I'm not saying that, you know, I mean, if you're a musician and you're a freelancer, like obviously we have to work, this is our living, I understand. But what I want to see is like, well, you know, are you at least using any platform that you have to speak about this? Because if you're sort of just going on business as usual, and you're not acknowledging this in any way, especially, especially when you've acknowledged other crises in the world, as so many artists often do, it really makes, I think your silence is such a strong statement. And we're very aware, you know, especially like the Arab American community, like of how racialized your silence is. And I just, you know, I want people to feel like, especially artists, like they can come out and be their true selves and speak when they see something wrong. And if they don't understand that something's wrong, I hope they're at least educating themselves. And, you know, following people or listening to voices that are maybe more educated. But yeah, I do think that there's a point when like your silence is just complicity. So, you know, if you haven't spoken up by now, it's not too late, please do. And that's whatever your art form is, like your voice matters. And like the idea that, you know, we're all kind of, I don't know, separate from what's going on, like anyone who's able to like separate from this, I just sometimes I want to shake them. I want to be like, you know, we're, if you think this doesn't affect you, like you're broken too, like this is, you know, I think we've really lost the ability sometimes to empathize with people in a certain part of the world. And that disturbs me deeply, especially when I do see people speaking out about other issues that matter, but they're silent on this. So it's, you know, it speaks volumes. It really does. I feel like there's certain issues that there are, I want to say there is enough voices coming out in support of certain people that people sort of feel comfortable, like they have, like they won't lose everything if they speak about those issues. And, you know, whether it be like Black Lives or, you know, I mean, it was so easy for everyone to come out for Ukraine. Why is that? Like we need to look at sort of the, obviously racial reasons behind that, particularly in light of Ukraine, right? When we were seeing a lot of things happen and you had people going on Western media and saying, Oh, but these are like civilized people. I mean, we can't pretend that there isn't a racial component, you know, but I think like, especially like on the issue of like Black Lives, something that I'm noticing. And, you know, I hope that this is related and answers your question. But, you know, the same people who like, particularly white folks like who stood up for Black Lives have nothing to say now. And it just sometimes it makes me wonder, like, if their solidarity was ever real, you know, it's like, were you saying this because, you know, you felt like you had to, was this genuine? And then, you know, those same folks are actually coming out and I want to say even like harassing a lot of Black folks who are speaking in solidarity with Palestine. So it's just it's very interesting, like how conditional people's solidarity can truly be. And I think at the end of the day, it's just people are so afraid to say the wrong thing that they'd rather say nothing at all. And I think also because this has been painted as this complicated issue, right? I mean, that's sort of the story that we've been fed for such a long time. Yeah, people are, they're just afraid. And I think what they don't realize is that true solidarity means you might lose something, right? Like, at the end of the day, if you're not willing to sacrifice, right? Yeah, there's a difference between like, sort of speaking up in a performative way and actually showing true solidarity with the cause. So I just hope that more people recognize that and I mean, what we're seeing is so clear. And if you think that it's unclear, probably listening to the wrong people. Yeah, definitely. Yeah, thank you for that answer, Leila. And I think, you know, something you mentioned was sacrifice. And in that vein, there have been many musicians and many artists and actors who have come out in support of Palestine and have been punished for it in various ways, right? And I'm wondering if you in your personal life, I mean, I'm sure you've supported Palestine for a very long time. Have you ever experienced any of those repercussions or not any other artists who have? As far as me as an artist, like, it's kind of hard to say because it's possible that certain opportunities just aren't coming in because of this. Like, you know, my sister and I played Lincoln Center this past summer with our band. And, you know, we both had the conversation of like, it's possible those gigs won't come through anymore. And at the same time, I think that the pro Palestine movement is so strong that there are a lot of things that will come through because of it. You know, I can say personally, as a voice teacher and a piano teacher, I did lose a student that I've had for seven years over this issue. And this was before I started releasing music about Palestine, well, not releasing music, but like putting stuff online, making covers and stuff like that. But yeah, I was just posting about Palestine on my page. And, you know, basically the mother of the student said that I hated white people because I was talking about white supremacy culture and how it feeds into this. And, you know, it's just it's very upsetting. I mean, I had a beautiful relationship with that student. And, you know, I hope when she's older one day that she learns and can reflect that was a really difficult loss for me. You know, I mean, I'm very grateful to say that I, for the most part, I haven't lost too much because I work for myself. So I think that's also the particular reason why I feel like I have to speak up the way that I do because I have less to lose than a lot of folks. And I recognize that that puts me in a particular position where, you know, I have a responsibility to speak up, you know, and I think even if you are going to lose something, I mean, we do live under capitalism, so you have to be able to eat and I understand that. But yeah, we have to be willing to lose opportunities. You know, and then I wonder, like, you know, I've made these covers of popular songs and like the Taylor Swift cover, for example, has like over 8 million views and so many people have tagged Taylor Swift and it's like, well, has Taylor seen this? People are begging her to speak out, like, well, wait, I don't think she will. But I would love to see her speak out. Same goes for Beyonce. I don't have any faith that that's going to happen. But it's like, you know, if you have this massive platform and you're not saying anything, what are you doing? You know, it's like, I don't know, I just feel like people are so afraid to piss other people off that they just don't want to say anything. It's like, well, sometimes you have to piss off certain people to stand with what's right. You have to be okay with that. A big theme in your music is the US's funding of the Zionist state. What does it mean to you that the US funds Israel upwards of billions of dollars each year as someone who lives in the United States? So I mean, this has been an issue that has enraged me for so long. But I think, you know, the thing that really radicalized me, like even before this genocide was, you know, in the year 2020, I didn't have health insurance. And you know, that's kind of when my own chronic condition started to show symptoms. And I just remember like, you know, being so fed up with the discourse around especially like the topic of healthcare and oh, it's too expensive and oh, it's this and oh, it's that. And then it's like, well, we can afford to go to war every time we can afford to fund genocide. And this isn't, this isn't a war. This is a genocide. But it's, I'm really tiring of the excuses for why we can't take care of people in the United States. And, you know, I can honestly say like as someone with a system, with a condition that affects the nervous system, right, that, you know, not having healthcare, it made me sicker. Like, you know, because what happened was I had to be my own, I had to be my own doctor, I had to like watch my symptoms like a hawk. And it led, it actually fed more chronic pain, you know, which if you actually learn about the science of pain and how it, it sort of develops from a state of hypervigilance actually around your symptoms, you know, I might not be here today if I were able to see a doctor in the first place. So it's, I have a particular rage around what the United States spends money on and it's, there's so much more than just healthcare. I mean, you know, it's, it's, I'm at an age where a lot of my friends and you know, people I know are having children and it's so difficult to have children in the United States in a way that it isn't in other countries because other countries actually take care of their people and they have leave and things that like just just make sense for a population to thrive. And, you know, so when I see the United States like funding this genocidal apartheid state and just literally putting profit over people and ruining lives quite frankly, it just, I can't even describe the rage that I feel. And yeah, that's it's part of why I focus on that issue so much because it's really deeply personal to me. And you know, it's affected me on a great kind of mass level. I think if there's anything, if there's anything I would like to highlight, you know, just especially as a person who can't always protest, right? Because again, I just never know how I'm going to feel that day. I never know if I'm going to have the strength to stand there for four hours and listen to speakers in the cold and you know, I'm a spoony. It could cost me my spoons if you know that term. So, you know, like, we can all show up however we know how to show up. And it's going to look different for everybody. But whatever you have, whatever your tools are, just use them.