Bono Awarded US Presidential Medal of Freedom and Writes About Gaza for The Atlantic

Following his visit to the White House to receive the Presidential Medal of Honour from Joe Biden – among the other recipients were Hilary Clinton, Magic Johnson, Lionel Messi. Denzel Washington, George Soros, Michael J. Fox and Vogue editor Anna Wintour – Bono has written a far-reaching opinion piece for The Atlantic magazine. The Presidential medal is the US's highest civilian honour, presented to individuals who have made "especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavours."

In the Atlantic article, titled The Gorgeous, Unglamorous Work Of Freedom: Notes From An ‘Actualist’ On What Liberation Requires, the U2 man talks about the 1960s Ireland he grew up in (“We were mad for freedoms we didn’t have: political freedom, religious freedom, and most definitely sexual freedom)”; his political awakening, which happened at an event in Trinity College (“U2 had our first proper go at activism at an anti-apartheid concert at Trinity. Later we answered the call of Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu to take up the cause of freedom again”); and his setting up of ONE and (RED) to address the HIV/AIDS crisis (“We were following the African activists who were leading the resistance to this nasty little virus in the form of groups such as TASO in Uganda, TAC in South Africa, unsung heroes like Zackie Achmat who refused to take his own ARVs until they were available for all”).

He also talks for the first time via the media about the situation in Gaza.

“Israel’s prime minister for almost 20 years, Benjamin Netanyahu, has often used the defence of Israel’s freedom and its people as an excuse to systematically deny the same freedom and security to the Palestinians – a self-defeating and deadly contradiction, which has led to an obscene levelling of civilian life that the world can visualise daily on their cell phones,” Bono reflects. “Freedom must come for the Israeli hostages, whose kidnapping by Hamas ignited this latest cataclysm. Freedom must come for the Palestinian people. It does not take a prophet to predict Israel will never be free until Palestine is free.”

The U2 frontman recalls meeting Joe Biden 25-years ago and his assistance in advancing the campaign for developing-world debt cancellation – and the way he personally now sees what he describes as the fight for freedom.

"It's what the fight for freedom needs today: faithful, stubborn, unselfish effort. For many years I quoted that line of Martin Luther King, Jr.: 'The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.' I now know it does not. It has to be bent. And that’s how the walls will finally come down: in Ukraine, in Sudan, in Gaza, across the Middle East, in every part of the world where health and humanity are at risk. Lincoln spoke of a 'new birth of freedom.' I think he meant that freedom must be re-won by each generation. That is a fine call to action for a new year."

Back in Ireland, the singer’s acceptance of the Presidential Medal of Honour on the same day that President Biden announced an $8 billion arms sale to Israel has drawn considerable ire from a number of musicians and activists, including Steve Wall, Mary Coughlan who organised the Irish Artists For Palestine concert in Dublin’s 3Olympia Theatre, Fiachna Ó Braonáin of Hothouse Flowers and Kneecap manager Daniel Lambert.

A posthumous award to Bobby Kennedy and medals for Hillary Clinton and Liz Cheney also featured in what was one of Joe Biden’s final acts as President of the United States.

Meanwhile, you can read Hot Press Editor Niall Stokes’ thoughts on Gaza – “The indiscriminate bombardment of people, buildings, infrastructure, farming land, water sources and even aid convoys by Israel is a deliberate campaign of genocide,” he writes – at here

Irish Artists for Palestine were named as Movement of the Year in the recent Hot Press Annual.