Roger Waters criticizes Radiohead's Israel show again in new interview
Adding to the seemingly never-ending drama, Roger Waters, in a new interview with Russia Today, has accused Radiohead of supporting Israel’s government by playing that show in Tel Aviv a few weeks back. Waters discussed an array of topics, such as Trump, Putin, and most notably, his stances on Israel. The full interview can be watched below.
Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke stated on Twitter that the band doesn’t “endorse [Israeli PM] Netanyahu any more than Trump, but we still play in America.” Waters directly responded to Yorke’s comment in the new interview:
Thom Yorke is wrong about not endorsing the policies of the Israeli government by playing there. Spokespersons of that government have said how excited they are, that this is the best thing that’s happened to their hasbara, which is the explaining to the rest of the world what a wonderful and precious democracy Israel is. And willy-nilly, when they cross the picket line, they are making a public statement that they do endorse policies of the government, whatever they say, because that is what will be reported in Israel and that is what gets reported around the world. That is why Radiohead are being so soundly criticized by anybody with progressive ideas about human rights, because they have taken that step.
Waters went on to justify the discrepancy between playing in Israel under Netanyahu, and playing in the US under Trump:
The people of the United States have not got together as a civil society and asked performers from the rest of the world not to come and perform in the United States, because they are an occupied people and there is an organized resistance against the occupying army. This is something that they started that they have organized, and they have made an appeal to all artists, writers, musicians, actors, directors, anybody in the rest of the world to observe the picket line, which they have drawn.
Waters comments on Israel have Nassau County officials trying to get his September 15 show at Nassau Coliseum cancelled due to his stances, which “offends the sense of decency held by [their] residents.” This is a currently ongoing issue, so stay tuned for updates.
In related news, Roger has announced the release of a Pink Floyd Dark Side-era memoir, titled IN THE PINK (not a hunting memoir).
