Palestinian Singer Mohammed Assaf's Song "Dammi Falastini" Deleted from Spotify and Apple Music

Earlier Sunday, Arab music fans and subscribers of Spotify and Apple Music found that both music platforms had removed Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf's top hit "Dammi Falastini" (My Blood is Palestinian).

According to Assaf, he received emails from both services stating that the song had been removed due to "incitement."

Some Arab news websites have reported that the song was removed because it was believed to incite antisemitism.

The song's page on Spotify's web player is now greyed out, and it has been deleted from Apple Music.

From his side, Assaf believes according to his statements to Arab media that the song was removed under the pretext that the song incites against the Zionist enemy aka Israel. He added that it brought him great honour that his songs express the Palestinian people's resistance against the occupation.

"Even if they delete this song, it exists in the memory and conscience of every Palestinian and every honourable free person defending the right of the Palestinian people to obtain their freedom and independence” The singer from Gaza added.

I do not know how the 2015 song is accused of inciting antisemitism when it celebrates Semitic people. Palestinian people regardless of what some people try to spread worldwide are Semitic people. “Yes, the conflict is Semitic people against Semitic people over Semitic land in a nutshell”

Here is the popular hit song from YouTube.

The lyrics of the song were written by Jordanian writer Soliman Assaf, and the Dabka music that makes you want to dance even if you're not from the Levant was composed and remixed by Wael Al-Sharkawy.

Here is the English translation of its lyrics to the patriotic song hit.

Keeping my oath, following my religion

You will find me on my land.

I belong to my people; I sacrifice my soul for them

My blood is Palestinian, Palestinian, Palestinian

My blood is Palestinian.

We stood for you, our homeland.

With our pride and Arabism

Al-Quds land called us.

(As) The sound of my mother calling me.

Palestinian, Palestinian

My blood is Palestinian.

Keeping my oath, following my religion

You will find me on my land.

I belong to my people; I sacrifice my soul for them.

My blood is Palestinian, Palestinian, Palestinian

My blood is Palestinian.

O mother don't worry

Your homeland is a fortified castle.

Which I sacrifice my soul for

And my blood, and my veins

Keeping my oath, following my religion

You will find me on my land.

I belong to my people; I sacrifice my soul for them.

My blood is Palestinian, Palestinian, Palestinian

My blood is Palestinian.

I'm Palestinian, a son of a free family.

I'm brave and my head is always up.

I'm keeping my oath to you, my homeland.

And I have never bowed to anyone.

Palestinian, Palestinian

My blood is Palestinian.

Keeping my oath, following my religion

You will find me on my land.

I belong to my people; I sacrifice my soul for them.

My blood is Palestinian, Palestinian, Palestinian

My blood is Palestinian.

https://lyricstranslate.com

 “Dammi Falastini” was not only a top hit in Palestine, but it also became like a national anthem for the younger Arab and Palestinian generations thanks to TikTok. It also went viral online, especially during Israeli military operations and escalations against the Palestinian people.

The song was so popular that the Israeli Army produced a terrible copy on TikTok in Arabic under the title “Dammi Israeli” (My Blood is Israeli). The copy plagiarized the same music and lyrics but with a few modifications.

The Israeli Army’s cover was a fiasco and created a negative backlash. The IDF media machine did not spread the pathetic cover

Now back to the song and its lyrics, I do not see any real incitement or insult to other people. The song is simply a patriotic anthem about the Palestinian people and their struggle for freedom. It is a song of hope and resilience, and it does not promote violence or hatred.

Many Palestinians and Arabs expressed their anger following the decision of both Spotify and Apple Music. Apple Music does not have an Arab subsidiary like Spotify Arabia.

To confront the growing anger online, Spotify Arabia published a small tweet on Twitter in Arabic, saying the following:

لقد كنا وما زلنا ندعم أعمال وفن الفنان محبوب العرب محمد عساف. ونتطلع إلى أن نستعيد محتواه المفقود على منصتنا قريبًا. لنستمتع ببعض من أفضل أعماله معًا على قائمة This is Mohammad Assaf.https://t.co/pAJRuuVB2H @MohammedAssaf89 pic.twitter.com/xSo7FVqvNi

— Spotify العالم العربي (@SpotifyArabia) May 21, 2023

"We were and still support the work and art of popular Arab idol Mohammed Assaf. We are looking forward to restoring his missing content on our platform soon. Let’s hear some of his best work together on the “This is Mohammed Assaf” Playlist."

Spotify Arabia's tweet was met with further criticism online, as many people felt that it was not an adequate response to the song's removal. 

Some people accused Spotify Arabia of trying to sweep the issue under the rug, while others said that the company was not taking the concerns of Palestinians and Arabs seriously. 

The mother company of Spotify Arabia, Spotify, has not yet commented on the removal of the song, the most famous and popular Palestinian song in the past two decades I believe. 

The removal of "Dammi Falastini" is a reminder of the challenges that Palestinian artists face in trying to share their work with the world. It is also a reminder of the importance of freedom of expression and the right to artistic freedom.

I hope that both platforms rethink their decisions because if we are going to search on their podcast services, we will find endless hours of true Islamophobic/Arabophobic/antisemitic/fascist talks running wild in all languages.

I urge both platforms to reconsider their decision and restore "Dammi Falastini" to their streaming services.

This song is a symbol of hope and resilience for the Palestinian people, and it should not be censored.

The removal of "Dammi Falastini" is a reminder that freedom of expression is under threat. We must all stand up to censorship and discrimination, and we must demand that Spotify and Apple Music do the same.