‘Can you imagine?’ Bono pays tribute to victims of festival attack in Israel
The man of peace addressed violence.
Bono called out a new version of “Pride (In The Name of Love)” at The Sphere on Sunday night. The song paid tribute to the hundreds killed by Gaza militants at the Nola Festival outside Re’im in southern Israel over the weekend.
In the light of what’s happened in Israel and Gaza, a song about non-violence seems somewhat ridiculous, even laughable, but our prayers have always been for peace and for non-violence…
But our hearts and our anger, you know where that’s pointed. So sing with us… and those… pic.twitter.com/S1zfCMNtzz
— U2 (@U2) October 9, 2023
“In the light of what’s happened in Israel and Gaza, a song about non-violence seems somewhat ridiculous, even laughable, but our prayers have always been for peace, and for non-violence,” Bono told the sold-out crowd of about 20,000. “But our hearts, and our anger, you know where that’s pointed. So sing with us, and those beautiful kids at that music festival.
“It was a festival of music and peace. Can you imagine?”
The lyrics specific to the tragedy: “Early morning, October 7th. The sun is rising in the desert sky / Stars of David, they took your life / But they could not take your pride.”
Released on the 1984 album, “The Unforgettable Fire,” the song was dedicated to the memory of Martin Luther King Jr.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
