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Dearborn’s mayor issued an open invitation to Macklemore to perform a concert in the majority-Muslim Michigan city on Monday after the rapper was kicked off of Ed Sheeran’s stadium tour for his speech onstage calling for a free Palestine.

“Hey [Macklemore], if they don’t want you performing in their stadiums, you’re always welcome in Dearborn,” said Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud in a post on social media on Monday evening.

Hammoud offered for the city government to sponsor the show. “Come put on a show here. We’ll make it a free concert, sponsored by the City, and help make it one of the best around,” he said.

“We stand with you and for a free Palestine,” Hammoud concluded. Hammoud is one of many pro-Palestine figures and groups who have come to Macklemore’s defense after the rapper was banned from Sheeran’s tour.

“Privately owned sports stadiums should never threaten to ban musicians because they dare to oppose a genocide, and publicly owned stadiums entities cannot engage in such censorship without violating the First Amendment,” said the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in a statement on Monday.

Macklemore Booted From Ed Sheeran’s Tour Over Solidarity With Palestine

“We call on Mr. Sheeran and the tour promoters to reverse course. They should pursue legal options or reschedule his tour rather than give in to bullying by billionaires who care about free speech as much as they care about slaughtered Palestinian children,” the group said.

“All solidarity with” Macklemore, said Irish hip hop band Kneecap. “Today Israel is killing children, as they do every day.” One of Kneecap’s members was charged with terrorism earlier this year due to the band’s advocacy for Palestine.

Hammoud’s invitation came after Macklemore........

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