Growing Australian boycott & protest campaign sees response by Infected Mushroom

Israeli psytrance duo Infected Mushroom’s Australian tour is being met with calls to boycott and protest their events by musical and activist communities in various cities around Australia.

The duo are set to appear at Home The Venue this Friday on Gadigal Land/Sydney to begin the tour, which also sees them appearing in Gimuy/Cairns, Arakwal Land/Byron Bay, Meanjin/Brisbane, Kaurna/Adelaide, Boorloo/Perth and Naarm/Melbourne over the next three weeks.

The current political climate is having a real and understandable impact on political activism within dance music scenes around the globe. Whether against large-scale promoters like Sonar or Boiler Room over their ownership, or artists Roi Perez or Skazi, Israel’s genocide in Gaza is continuing to have an impact on dance music.

Read: Sónar founders cut ties with festival amid Superstruct/KKR ownership controversy

Infected Mushroom are no strangers to controversy in Australia, having been part of the story around Earth Frequency Festival’s “ethical artists policy” in July of this year. At the time, the duo were reported to have refused to sign the document, which acted as a pledge of support for a series of statements in support of First Nations sovereignty and against racism and prejudice in all its various forms.

In a public statement shared at the time, they said that “unfortunately, Earth Frequency Festival chose to bring politics into a dance festival environment influenced by political agenda and driven by social media vitriol, hate and racial division that ultimately has divided the community and some of our fans. The core values of any music event should not involve politics. It should be a place to celebrate life, friendships and community through music. And ultimately, just have fun.”

In a joint statement yesterday between the duo, the promoter of their tour, Hardware Corporation Pty Ltd and Earth Frequency Festival, said that “Infected Mushroom had chosen to “sit out” EFF due to division between the festival’s community due to divisive exchanges on both sides.”

Earth Frequency Festival, in that same statement, later shared that they “wish Infected Mushroom all the best and we understand their decision to sit this year out, given how the broader discussion unfolded.”

That appearance at Earth Frequency was set to happen this weekend.

Organisers of protests across the country have shared a variety of reasons to boycott the duo, including claims that they:

1. Have publicly supported “every major assault on Gaza in recent years - including Israel’s current genocidal war.”

2. The cover of their 2023 single, ‘Dance Forever’, featured an Israeli flag blanketing all of historic Palestine.”

3. One half of the duo, Amit Duvdevani’s claims that supporters of Palestine are “brainwashed”.

4. A regular collaborator Skazi’s comments that his fans should “dance on the ruins of Gaza”.

5. Continued donations by the duo to the Tel Aviv Foundation, which has ties to the IDF, along with Tribe of Nova, whose co-founder launched an intelligence platform that supplies intelligence to the Israeli military.

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Mixmag ANZ posed a series of questions to Amit Duvdevani, one half of the duo, in response to these allegations and the growing calls to boycott and protest their shows.

Those questions included:

1. "...do the duo dispute any of (these) claims?”

2. "Secondly, does Infected Mushroom understand the calls for boycott of and protest of their shows?”

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In his response, Duvdevani shared a series of rebuttals, including that “Infected Mushroom has never participated in any political activity”, as well as explaining that ““Dance Forever” was created by Israeli artist Omer Adam and produced by us, in memory of a woman murdered during the unprovoked Nova Festival massacre by Hamas”, and also that “we are not responsible for statements made by other artists or public figures” in relation to statements made by regular collaborator Skazi.

Throughout this statement and the joint statement shared yesterday, Infected Mushroom points to what they see as a necessary separation between music and politics, that they themselves have been “focused entirely to music — not politics”, and that “music unites, politics divides.”

The statement does not directly address alleged donations to the Tel Aviv Foundation or Tribe of Nova, nor Duvdevani’s previously alleged claims that supporters of Palestine are “brainwashed”.

At no point within the statement shared to Mixmag ANZ is the word ‘Palestine’ used. Within the joint statement published yesterday, Infected Mushroom and Hardware Group only refer to Palestine when speaking about the Northern Rivers For Palestine group.

In their call to action, Free Palestine Melbourne claims that “Infected Mushroom are not merely Israeli artists - they have actively supported the genocide.”

Amit Duvdevani’s statement is available in full at the base of this article.

Protests are set to be organised on dates coinciding with Infected Mushroom’s tour. Organisers of the protests and calls to boycott are also sharing petitions to venues where the duo are booked to play.

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Statement shared by Amit Duvdevani, Wednesday, October 22, 2026.

It is disappointing to see the focus shift away from our art and music, which have always been our true voice. This turn of events is not only misleading but profoundly saddening to us. We have a long happy relationship with Australia and our fans out there and one of our favorite bands is Midnight Oil. Such incredible music has come from your country.

The questions below are premised on lies, distortions and misinformation. For more than 30 years, Infected Mushroom has been focused entirely to music — not politics. Our mission has always been to unite people through sound, creativity, and shared experiences on stage. It is heartbreaking that, after three decades of building global community through music, we find ourselves targeted with hate and misrepresented simply because we were born in Israel.

The recent allegations circulating online are completely false and deliberately spread by those seeking to discredit us hence why we, Hardware and Earth Frequency posted our statement clarifying facts. This campaign reflects a broader global trend of silencing Israeli artists — a direction that neither fosters understanding nor paves the way toward genuine peace.

Infected Mushroom has never participated in any political activity. Like anyone, we stand with our families and friends in Israel during difficult times, while continuing to hope for peace and coexistence for all people in the region. Our message remains clear and consistent: music unites, politics divides.

“Dance Forever” was created by Israeli artist Omer Adam and produced by us, in memory of a woman murdered during the unprovoked Nova Festival massacre by Hamas — a tribute to a victim of terrorism, not a political statement.

We are not responsible for statements made by other artists or public figures.

The ongoing spread of misinformation about us has crossed into harassment, and we will not continue to tolerate it. We are actively seeking legal recourse against those responsible for defaming us and spreading these false claims.

You are free to ask questions and present facts — transparency and dialogue in a non-confrontational and diplomatic fashion are always welcome. However, we hope that the hateful attempts full of antisemitism and misinformation will come to an end.

Infected Mushroom will continue doing what we have always done — bringing people together through music.

For further information, please refer to the joint statement issued by Earth Frequency Festival (EFF), Hardware, and Infected Mushroom.