At the beginning of our conversation, Roger Waters himself described the gap between the critical acclaim for his music and songwriting and the scathing rejection of his activism as “a wall of silence”.
As a BDS activist, Waters has discouraged other artists from performing in the country. While he donated a high sum of money for cultural and humanitarian projects in Gaza for many years, since 2006 he has supported the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, in which activists have called on politicians, companies, artists, scientists, and athletes to cancel or discontinue any appearances, investments, or cooperation with Israel. At the same time, however, Roger Waters has faced accusations of anti-Semitism in Germany. Waters’s music is widely considered legendary: his current world tour is one of the most commercially successful in the history of pop. During his show at the city’s Olympiahalle, Waters had attacked Dieter Reiter, the mayor of Munich, for a press release in which he accused the musician of spreading anti-Semitic sentiment. Two days after his last concert in Germany, the founder member of Pink Floyd sat down for a talk on the seventh floor of Munich’s Bayerischer Hof Hotel.
A neon red text was displayed before one of his concerts in Berlin, which read “Resist the attempted silencing of Julian Assange.At 75, Roger Waters is one of the wealthiest and most influential musicians of his generation.
Waters has also expressed support for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. It is seen as public approval for the status quo." It's the fact they're willing to perform in Israel that is important. It went on to read that while Cave may repeatedly say that he opposes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “it matters little whether or not artists endorse Israel's government. "When international artists of your stature, despite the appeals of Palestinians, continue to turn up on Israeli stages, the government which promotes these crimes takes heart: whatever it does, it seems there will be no penalty," the letter said. Last year he was among the signatories of an open letter sent to fellow musician Nick Cave, urging him not to perform in Israel. Waters is a long-standing supporter of Palestinian rights and vocal critic of Israel’s conduct in the occupied territories. The mayor's spokeswoman said that an official letter forwarded by Waters' legal team is currently under review by the city's legal representatives. Schertz countered the claims, insisting that Waters' criticisms were directed squarely at the state of Israel and not Jewish people as a whole. The mayor went on to note: “It is, therefore, all the more important to me to clarify unequivocally in advance of the concert that Roger Waters' anti-semitic sentiment is neither welcome nor unchallenged in Munich." Waters' lawyer in Berlin, Christian Schertz, said his client wants the city to retract the statements made in a press release, which characterized him as an anti-semite, according to DPA.Įarlier this week, in the lead up to a concert at the Olympianhalle, Munich mayor Dieter Reiter released a statement saying that the city is not likely to rent the venue to Waters for future events as a result of his “increasingly unacceptable antisemite comments.” Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters Boycotted Over Palestine Support Roger Waters, the former vocalist and co-founder of Pink Floyd, has demanded that Munich City administration retract claims that he is an anti-semite.