A lot of people were wondering about the stand of Los Fastidios about Palestine, and various articles mentioned the unclear position (now corrected by the band) of the band towards zionists.
Here, we reproduce the band’s recent communique, clarifying everything.
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[Originally posted in Spanish at REVUELTA RADIO, by Matapay]
LOS FASTIDIOS – The truth behind the lies – from the horse’s mouth; recently, some ill-informed haters have been attacking Los Fastidious online – particularly in Scotland by twisting half-truths into out-and-out lies. In essence – contrary to those lies.
Los Fastidios are not fascists – they are anti-fascists – openly and loudly and at every gig. They are not pro-Israel – they are pro-Palestine and have raised funds for Palestine, Gaza, and other suppressed peoples every year for a very long time.
When informed about the lies, the band said:
“If you know Los Fastidios, you see the band has been involved since 1991 in many solidarity events for all the people in the world suffering injustices, oppression, and war. In every concert, we scream from the stage against any wars, screaming we must stay united and fight the power, the system, and not the people.
Since the 90s, we have done a lot of gigs in support of Palestine, Chiapas, Mapuche, Kurdistan people, and all the people needing support and solidarity.
For many years, we have collaborated with an organization based in Genova (Italy) called Music For Peace (connected with Gaza), and we play for them every year with two benefit shows for collecting essential goods for Palestine, Sudan, and Ukraine people suffering the wars. In 2024, our shows helped to collect more than 6 tons of essential goods, which arrived in Gaza last April. Last November, our concert in Stroud (UK) raised £1650 for Medical Aid For Palestine.
We are shocked to know that some people decided to attack us, questioning our anti-fascist and internationalist position, just because 7 years ago, we played a show in Tel Aviv for local antifascist people (people connected with Palestine groups). We decided to go to Tel Aviv after many years of being in contact with these local Antifa people; we decided to go there only when we were sure which people we would play with. They are a minority in the country, and we think it is vital to support our comrades everywhere they are. This means, for us, internationalism is solidarity.
They showed us the images of the demos they did in the streets in support of the Palestinian people. We met some comrades from Palestine. We met their comrades like us, like you, with the same values and attitude. But they must pay only for the reason they were born there.
They showed us the images of the demos they did in the streets in support of the Palestinian people. The official BDS says the bands do not have to play for government events, and we didn’t play for a government event. We played for the local antifa punk scene, enemies of the government. We played a day gig and paid attention to the organizers to everything we did, so we didn’t break the boycott. We also asked the BDS, who confirmed we didn’t break the boycott.
We entered that country with tourist visas; we were hosted in private houses. We paid attention to everything we did. In our concert that night, there were antifa Jews, Antifa Arabs from Israel, and Antifa people from Palestine, all united under the Antifa/Antiracist flag. In our concert that night, the people were screaming against the government, against Zionism.
Why should we regret what we have done?
What is the problem with having relations/contacts with people from Israel who disapprove of their government’s policy?
We respect this person; they are exposed for their opinions.
Living in that country and being against the government is not easy. It is not like being an activist in Italy or the UK.
About our concert in Tel Aviv, BDS wrote to us and said:
“For you and us, the guidelines are clear, and you have respected them. The people who criticize you don’t understand that you went to Tel Aviv respecting every point of the guidelines, avoiding funding, reception, and contact with the authorities responsible for the oppression of the Palestinians. Fortunately, even in Israel, some do not approve of the government’s policy. These dissidents are few, but they exist and must be supported without discrimination. BDS Italia, on the other hand, has often organized events in Italy with Israeli activists who harshly criticize the policies of the Israeli government and mobilize in solidarity with the Palestinians. I hope I have reassured you! Thanks again for your activism and good work. BDS”
As we have always done, we confirm that we will not accept professional invitations to Israel, nor funding from institutions linked to its government, until it respects international law and universal principles of human rights.
We condemn forever every military action against civilian populations everywhere in the world, including the continued massacre of innocents in Gaza. We stand forever together with all the oppressed peoples from the east to the west of the world against war and apartheid.
For us, every military conflict means war, and we loudly scream against all wars in every concert we play. The people who know Los Fastidios know this. We have always respected the BDS and will continue following their guidelines.
We fully support the right of self-determination of the Palestinian people and the right of return in Palestine for the Palestinian people.
We are a band involved in social causes, and our music and solidarity actions have always spoken for us.
Our band is about bringing unity to people around the world. Los Fastidios is part of the solution, not the problem.
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