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Boy George releases staunchly pro-Israel song mocking genocide accusations

British pop singer Boy George highlights Hamas atrocities in new song defending Israel from accusations of genocide in the Gaza Strip.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

British pop star Boy George has released an explicitly pro-Israel song defending Israel’s military response to the Hamas-led Oct. 7 invasion, drawing praise from Jewish organizations and a torrent of criticism from pro-Hamas activists.

The Culture Club frontman posted the reggae-influenced track, “We Will Dance Again,” on X and Instagram on Sunday with the single-word caption “#Shalom.” The song, also titled “Od Nirkod” in Hebrew, had not been released on major streaming services as of Monday.

The title draws on a slogan adopted by survivors of the Nova music festival massacre, where Hamas-led terrorists murdered hundreds of people and abducted dozens during the Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel.

In the song, Boy George rejects the characterization of Israel’s military campaign as genocide, describes it instead as a war launched in response to an attack and accuses Israel’s cultural critics of ignoring Oct. 7.

The singer refers to the murders and reported sexual violence committed during the attack and criticizes musicians who have waved Palestinian flags or joined campaigns condemning Israel. The song declares, “I stand with the Jews,” before expressing hope that Israelis will once again be able to dance without war.

Parts of the track are performed in Hebrew.

The release marked Boy George’s most direct defense of Israel since the war began and went further than his earlier statements, which focused largely on opposing antisemitism and supporting his Jewish friends.

Reaction was sharply divided.

Stop the Hate UK, a British Jewish organization combating antisemitism, thanked the singer for supporting “Jewish joy.” The official Instagram account associated with the Nova festival responded to the song by repeating its title: “We will dance again.”

Other supporters praised Boy George for taking a position at odds with much of the entertainment industry, where numerous musicians have perpetuated false claims that Israel has committed genocide, backed cultural boycotts or demanded Israel’s exclusion from international events.

Anti-Israel social media users, however, flooded his accounts with criticism. Some accused the singer of justifying Palestinian deaths, while others attacked the quality of the song and questioned why he had become such an outspoken defender of Israel.

“He has sold his soul, so disappointed,” one critic wrote in a response highlighted by Euronews.

Others invoked Boy George’s Irish family background and argued that he should identify with Palestinians.

Boy George did not immediately issue a separate response to the backlash.

The song comes after months of increasingly public statements by the 65-year-old singer in support of Jewish communities.

Ahead of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, Boy George rejected demands that he withdraw because Israel remained in the competition. He appeared at Eurovision representing San Marino alongside Italian singer Senhit, although the entry failed to advance from the semifinal.

Asked at the time whether he would support an Israel boycott, Boy George said he had maintained close friendships with Jewish people since his teenage years.

“Are people asking me as a principled human being to turn my back on my Jewish friends?” he said. “It’s not going to happen. It’s never going to happen.”

He said he felt closely connected to Jewish people but was not necessarily politically aligned with the Israeli government.

Boy George later said his position did not mean he lacked sympathy for Palestinians or supported every Israeli government action. He described his stance as a personal commitment to friends and communities he believed were facing hostility.

That position became more pronounced following an April stabbing attack in Golders Green, a heavily Jewish area of London. Boy George, who was nearby at the time, said Britain’s Jewish community needed to know that it had public support.

Boy George and Culture Club have performed in Israel despite pressure from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. During a 2017 concert in Tel Aviv, he appeared in an outfit decorated with Stars of David and told the audience that Israel remained “in my heart.”

He also recorded “Rainbow in the Dark,” an English- and Hebrew-language collaboration with Israeli artist Asaf Goren, in 2020.

Boy George has displayed Hebrew and Jewish symbols since the early years of Culture Club. He sometimes wore a Star of David and appeared in the video for the band’s breakthrough hit “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?” wearing clothing bearing a rough Hebrew rendering of the group’s name.