Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong Dons Palestinian Flag in Malaysia

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Green Day famously attacked President George W. Bush with its 2004 album “American Idiot.”

Now, the aging rockers are sidling up to the Palestinian cause, and their timing couldn’t be worse.

During the 2000s, the group criticized President Bush’s policies on the Iraq War. Over time, they broadened their focus and began supporting contemporary progressive movements.

During the 2016 presidential election, it fiercely criticized Donald Trump. In the 2020 campaign, it endorsed President Joe Biden. It also backed Kamala Harris’ unsuccessful effort to prevent Trump from remaining in the White House.

They leveraged the “American Idiot” album’s legacy at every step.

They’ve been noticeably quiet regarding the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack that resulted in the brutal killing of hundreds of innocent Jews and capturing of many more. Moreover, based on a reliable Google News search, it appears they didn’t express any opinions against Hamas’ inhumane assault on the Nova Music festival.

U2 and Madonna strongly denounced the attack. On October 7th, musician John Ondrasik (of Five for Fighting) has consistently spoken out against the actions of Hamas.

Green Day asserted its unique sound after taking a stance in support of the Palestinians during Israel’s intense response, as Hamas militants persistently refused to release the captives who were eventually discovered to have suffered abuse.

Several died in captivity.

On a Wednesday, the band performed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, when an audience member tossed a Palestinian flag onstage. Frontman of Green Day, Billie Joe Armstrong, grabbed it and adorned himself with it as he continued to play.

It’s hardly the first time the band sided with the Palestinian cause.

In the song “Peacemaker” from their album “21st Century Breakdown,” Armstrong sings: “Give me Gaza, hey, hey … Death to those at the end of the serenade.” However, during Green Day’s performance at the Corona Capital Festival in Mexico in November 2024, Armstrong changed the lyrics of another song, “Jesus of Suburbia,” to express solidarity for Palestine. The original lyrics are “From Anaheim to the Middle East,” but at the concert, he sang, “From Palestine to the Middle East.

What’s different now? Timing.

On the day after their performance in Malaysia, the Hamas administration returned the bodies of four Israeli prisoners, among them a four-year-old and a baby nine months old. According to Israeli reports, the brothers were allegedly strangled by their captors as suggested by a postmortem examination of their remains.

Hamas officials farcically allege, without evidence, that the boys died from an Israeli attack.

It gets even worse.

Hamas arranged a macabre festival, timing it with the exchange of hostages. The Palestinians rejoiced atop the deceased’s corpses, with loud music filling the air.

Here’s how the far-Left CNN described the scene:

In recent weeks, Hamas took advantage of a handover ceremony to spread anti-Israel messages. However, the sight of four black coffins carried by masked militants instead of living hostages sparked strong criticism in Israel. Unlike previous weeks, Israeli television networks chose not to broadcast the ceremony live.

In another instance, Hamas had provided a false body; they mistakenly returned the wrong corpse to Israel, which belonged to the mother of the deceased siblings. This mistake was rectified the day after.

Is it possible that Green Day will denounce the recent actions of Hamas? Given past events, it seems unlikely that they will do so.

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2025-02-22 07:03