‘You say genocide, I say war’: Boy George releases pro-Israel song, We Will Dance Again

Boy George performs on stage in Hamburg this month. Photograph: Tristar Media/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Boy George performs on stage in Hamburg this month. Photograph: Tristar Media/Getty Images ‘You say genocide, I say war’: Boy George releases pro-Israel song, We Will Dance Again Culture Club singer sings ‘I stand with the Jews / I don’t feel brave, I just need to behave like a human’, in song defending Israel’s response to Hamas attack Boy George has released a new song entitled We Will Dance Again, which voices support for Israel’s military action in Palestine. Posted on X and Instagram with the Hebrew title עוד נרקוד alongside its English translation, the song features a pop-reggae backing. The opening lyrics are: “You say genocide, I say war / When you’re attacked, that’s what the army’s for / Does it get ugly? You bet it does / When I know you wanna kill every last one of us.” Boy George cites the attack by Hamas at the Nova music festival in October 2023 , saying the civilians killed there were “murder[ed] … for the crime of dancing”. A total of 344 civilians and 34 security personnel were killed and 44 people were taken hostage. The overall Palestinian death toll since the war started is more than 73,000 . The title phrase We Will Dance Again, repeated for the song’s chorus, has been used by Israelis to express hope and solidarity in the wake of the 7 October attack, and was used as the title of an acclaimed documentary about it. Elsewhere in the chorus, Boy George asserts: “There will be no war / But if you’re ever confused / I stand with the Jews / I don’t feel brave, I just need to behave like a human.” He also criticises the pro-Palestinian movement, including musicians who have condemned Israel: “You condemn the Jews, with selective memory / Musicians holding flags, mouthing like sheep / Propaganda fuelled by the internet feels so weak.” Musicians who have supported Palestine include Stormzy, Damon Albarn, Clairo and Brian Eno, the latter of whom conceived an all-star charity single, Lullaby, which vied for Christmas No 1 in 2025. Boy George, who is not Jewish, has recently voiced support for Jewish communities. In an interview with the Telegraph, when discussing his admiration for Jewish peers in the 1980s during his time fronting Culture Club, he said: “Over the years it’s been a really personal thing. It doesn’t mean that I don’t have compassion for Palestinians, it doesn’t mean that I agree with what’s going on in Israel, but I am always going to defend the people that I love. I have a lot of Jewish friends and there would never be a situation where I’d turn my back on them.” He also voiced his support after the knife attack in Golders Green in April which left two Jewish men injured , saying: “We need to make our Jewish community know we support them.” His new song marks an intensification of his support for Israel, having said earlier in the year that he didn’t have an opinion on the country. View image in fullscre