Shawn Mendes accuses Israel of ‘genocide,’ says he has been ‘educating’ himself

At a concert in Lisbon in August 2025, he said the situation in Gaza was breaking his heart but also warned that turning that pain into hatred toward Jewish people as a whole was wrong.

By JFeed

Canadian pop star Shawn Mendes has accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza, telling his roughly 68 million Instagram followers that he had been “educating” himself about the conflict.

“FREE PALESTINE. There is a genocide happening before our eyes. The senseless killing in Gaza must stop,” the 28-year-old singer wrote in a post on Thursday.

“I’ve been working on educating myself and learning as much as I can to understand where and how I can make a difference, and I am asking you to do the same,” he added.

Mendes urged fellow artists to follow his lead. “My friends and fellow artists, I know it can feel scary to speak up; I feel it now as I type this,” he wrote. He listed three organizations he said he had donated to: the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, Watermelon Pictures and the Woven Futures Fund.

For all his talk of educating himself, the statement made no mention of Hamas, the October 7 massacre, or the hostages taken from Israel. Pro-Israel critics quickly pointed out the omission.

The post marks a sharp shift in tone for Mendes. At a concert in Lisbon in August 2025, he said the situation in Gaza was breaking his heart, but also warned that turning that pain into hatred toward Jewish people as a whole was wrong.

Israel has consistently rejected the genocide accusation, saying its military operations in Gaza targeted Hamas, which launched the war with its October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel that killed some 1,200 people.

Mendes is the latest in a growing list of musicians to publicly take up the anti-Israel cause, following rapper Macklemore, whose “Free Palestine” tour has drawn international attention.