Country singer Zach Bryan wore a “Free Palestine” shirt during his concert at Robert Kraft’s Gillette Stadium on Friday night — a month after the Jewish NFL owner barred Macklemore over his anti-Israel statements.
Brian, 30, died Friday night in Foxboro, Ma. He wore a black T-shirt emblazoned with white 3D letters that read “Free Palestine” when taking the stage for his sold-out show in Israel.
Below was a picture of a pine tree, separating it from the rest of the message, which read, “An Appeal to Heaven.”
A “pine tree” flag and “appeal to heaven” are references to an American Revolutionary campaign associated with George Washington’s command of the Continental Army.
The National Park Service said of the flag and slogan, “Some American colonists embraced the idea that God could be called upon to help protect their natural rights.”
The “Revival” singer was not alone as several of his band members also wore Palestine-branded clothing.
Guitarist Noah Le Gros wore a green Palestine football jersey on stage with Bryan, later sharing a photo of himself standing in the shirt in front of Kraft Sports and Entertainment signage.
Friday’s concert began Kraft’s two-night run at the stadium as part of the concluding leg of their “With Heaven on Tour”.
Bryan’s public “Free Palestine” promotion comes just a month after Macklemore made anti-Israel statements during the opening performance of Ed Sheeran’s “Loop” tour at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on September 4 and 5.
The “Thrift Shop” rapper wore a black and white keffiyeh around his neck and called for “Free Palestine” as he focused on the war and giving freedom to “every single human being.”
Several NFL owners, who were scheduled to host Sheeran’s tour, threatened to shut down the show because they did not want the rapper’s political speeches at their venue.
Tour promoter Messina Touring Group assured the group of owners that Macklemore, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, would not share any anti-Israel messages during the second night at MetLife.
The rapper did not follow orders and continued on, with footage of Gaza and anti-Israel protests displayed on screens behind him on stage.
“Liberate Palestine. I want these words to be clear so that people from Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten them. This next song was inspired by the bravery of the Columbia University students who led a camp movement that united the entire world, opening hearts – including me,” Macklemore said.
Macklemore was removed from the remainder of the tour after stadium owners led by Kraft threatened to cancel Sheeran’s concert.
Sheeran’s Gillette show was later canceled due to bad weather.
Craft and Sheeran, who have a long-standing relationship, spoke out about the troubled rapper and agreed to donate money to Palestinian relief efforts.
“Earlier today, before Macklemore challenged me to match his donation, Ed called me and asked me to match his donation of $2 million to help in the field to help fight this humanitarian crisis,” Kraft said in a statement in September. “Ed now plans to reach out to other site owners and our goal is to continue working together to build bridges.”