Bob Geldof has revealed that he is "constantly asked" to organise a "Live Aid for Palestine" but he won't do it because “pop music doesn't do that anymore”.
His statements came during a speech he gave at the Live Aid 40th anniversary special, which was broadcast on BBC Two on Saturday.
Geldof, who has Jewish heritage, is renowned for his philanthropy, most notably the legendary 1985 concert which raised over £100 million to try and ease famine in Ethiopia.
In more recent times, as attention has turned towards the Gaza War, he said people are always asking whether he will organise an equivalent to support humanitarian efforts in the war-torn territory.
In response, though, he said: "I'm constantly asked why not do a Live Aid for Palestine… But the thing is pop music doesn't do that anymore.
"Pop music back then was the spine of society, it defined what we were and where we could go. That's being supplemented by social media these days so a concert wouldn't work."
Geldof also suggested that, while the original Live Aid had a practical goal in terms of supporting humanitarian efforts in Ethiopia, a new version for Gaza would not be effective in ending the war that is the root of the issues in the Strip.
He went on: "The point about a concert is you need to posit and end that's achievable. The end to Palestine, my answer always is, is the two-state solution.”
Geldof's Jewish links come from his grandmother, Amelia Falk, who was a British Jew. He has never put too much emphasis on his Jewishness in public life, though.
Indeed, he once said: “I was a quarter Catholic, a quarter Protestant, a quarter Jewish and a quarter nothing...The nothing won.”
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