The pro-Israel censors are starting to lose

For decades, Israel’s greatest advantage in the West was not simply military or political support. It was narrative power. Israel and its supporters enjoyed enormous influence over the boundaries of acceptable discussion about Palestine: which violent incident received attention, whose security mattered the most, which historical context was relevant and, crucially, what criticism of Israel could be allowed in public. That power has not disappeared. But the extraordinary controversy surrounding Macklemore’s removal from Ed Sheeran’s US tour shows how rapidly it is eroding. The fact that the American rapper was dropped from the tour after he spoke about Palestine on stage meant that the old system worked. A powerful billionaire objected.