Richard Gere: Numerous stars at “Together for Palestine”

Numerous top-class stars came together in London on Wednesday evening to set a sign of solidarity at a “Together for Palestine” concert in the Ovo Arena Wembley. Hollywood stars such as Richard Gere (76), Benedict Cumberbatch (49) and Florence Pugh (29) were on stage together with music stars such as Bastille, Jamie XX, James Blake, Paloma Faith or Saint Levant.

Under the artistic direction of Brian Eno (77) and the Palestinian artist Malak Mattar, a total of 69 artists, activists and celebrities were there to collect donations for Gaza. Guy Pearce, Louis Theroux, Ramy Youssef, Amelia Dimoldenberg, Charithra Chandran and numerous others were also on the stage. The event marks the largest charity event with more than 12,000 visitors for Gaza.

Richard Gere surprised the audience when he set his prepared speech about the doctors in Gaza aside and instead spoke of a “caravan of love and compassion”. His words went beyond the script and touched the hearts of those present deep. The “Guardian” describes how the teleprompter operator tried to keep up with the unforeseen explanations, but finally gave up.

Together with the playwright Amer Hlehel, Benedict Cumberbatch presented a poem by the Palestinian poet Mahmud Darwisch. During the recitation, Cumberbatch paused and skipped a line that spoke of “the dead of Gaza, who spoke to heaven with a smile”. The “Guardian” reports that he left this passage in order to maintain respect for the feelings of the audience. Florence Pugh also read a poem by Mahmud Darwisch and.

As the newspaper reports, despite prominent participants, the event, above all, consciously focused on Palestinian perspectives. Artists such as Adnan Joubran, Nai Barghouti and Faraj Suleiman brought their authentic voices directly from Gaza to the arena, while drama stars such as Guy Pearce and Florence Pugh strengthened the emotional depth of the evening with readings and speeches.

With ticket sales, merchandising and online donations, over £ 1.5 million (around 1.7 million euros) were collected, which go entirely to organizations such as Taawon, the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and the Palestine Medical Relief Society.