jews get "far-reaching antisemite" Roger Waters banned from Frankfort concert

[yankeedoodle]

'Antisemitic' Roger Waters banned from appearing at Frankfurt concert
The Pink Floyd bassist has been uninvited from the state-sponsored event
https://www.thejc.com/news/world/antisemitic-roger-waters-banned-from-appearing-at-frankfurt-concert-3AtME7Hlbob1Kz8Ii2tjvW?reloadTime=1677529075084

Pink Floyd's Roger Waters has been denied a stage by the German city of Frankfurt because of his alleged antisemitism.

The city administration of Frankfurt am Main and the state of Hesse has officially blocked Waters, 79, from performing at a major music festival in May, because of his alleged anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

It has instructed the organisers of the Main metropolis fair to "terminate the contract" immediately.

In a statement, the administration said bassist Waters was considered "one of the most far-reaching antisemites in the world" and slammed his persistently anti-Israeli rhetoric at public appearances.

Waters had, for example, repeatedly compared Israel with the racist oppression of the apartheid regime in South Africa.

And between 2010-2013, during his "The Wall Live" tour, a balloon in the shape of a pig with images of the Star of David appeared at more than 200 concerts.

Waters has also often supported the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which strives to isolate Israel politically and culturally.

The city of Frankfurt am Main holds a 60 per cent stake and the State of Hesse 40 per cent in Messe Frankfurt GmbH, a trade fair company which owns the historic Festhalle, the concert venue where Waters was due to play on 28 May.

"I welcome the cancellation. Otherwise, the damage would be much greater," said city mayoral candidate Uwe Becker.

He referred to how in November 1938, 3,000 Jews from Frankfurt were sent to the Festhalle by the Nazis before being deported to death camps. On the square in front of the Festhalle, a memorial plaque honours them.

Fellow mayoral candidates Manuela Rottmann, 50, and Mike Josef, 40, also supported the decision.

"Freedom of art is a precious asset. But with openly antisemitic appearances in a place with this history, a line was crossed," said Rottmann.

Last year, some of Germany's top government officials responsible for combating antisemitism called on German music venues to cancel the German leg Waters' tour.

Mr Becker said in November 2022 that Mr Waters had "developed more and more into a hateful opponent of Israel.

"For years, Mr Waters has been using his reputation to agitate against the Jewish state in a defamatory way and to question its legitimacy.

"Waters is a bad example of aggressive, Israel-related antisemitism and he should therefore not be given an artistic platform in Hesse."

[abduLMaria]

The Germans are remarkably ignorant.

It was the Jews that demanded that "Germany be made an Example of".

The fire-bombing of Dresden etc. - all those deaths can be laid at the feet of the Jews.

So the Germans are protecting the same Crime Gang that Destroyed Germany in WW2 - and continues to destroy the World today.

[yankeedoodle]

There's no doubt Munich will figure out some way to ban Roger Waters.

Weeks after the city of Frankfurt canceled a Roger Waters concert over his anti-Israel activism, the mayor of Munich says he cannot find legal standing to do the same.

"We do not currently see any legally secure possibility ... to reverse the decision already made," said Mayor Dieter Reiter, according to Deutsche Welle.

Munich says it can't block Roger Waters concert over his anti-Israel activism
https://www.jta.org/2023/03/23/global/munich-says-it-cant-block-roger-waters-concert

Weeks after the city of Frankfurt canceled a Roger Waters concert over his anti-Israel activism, the mayor of Munich says he cannot find legal standing to do the same.

"We do not currently see any legally secure possibility ... to reverse the decision already made," said Mayor Dieter Reiter, according to Deutsche Welle. "I do not want to have him [Waters] here, but now we're going to have to endure it."

Waters, the former Pink Floyd bassist, is suing the Frankfurt municipality after the city blocked him from performing in May at the Festhalle, a venue that was also the site of the deportation of 3,000 Jews during the Holocaust.

"The background to the cancellation is the persistent anti-Israel behavior of the former Pink Floyd frontman, who is considered one of the most widely spread antisemites in the world," the  city said in a statement.

Waters has for years been a vocal leader of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, calling on fellow artists to avoid performing there. He has in recent months defended Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which led to cancellations of some of his concerts in Poland.

Deutsche Welle reported that the Munich City Council is looking into ways to show solidarity with Israel and Ukraine on the date of his show in the city in late May.

Munich Jewish Community President Charlotte Knobloch criticized Munich authorities, saying they have "missed a chance to follow through with deeds on their many declarations of intent against antisemitism."

[yankeedoodle]

Israel Makes Dialogue Impossible to Achieve Palestinian Justice: On Roger Waters' Interview with Meron Mendel
https://www.palestinechronicle.com/israel-makes-dialogue-impossible-to-achieve-palestinian-justice-on-roger-waters-interview-with-meron-mendel/

Recently, I came across an online post made by well-known musician and pro-Palestinian activist, Rogers Waters, on his Facebook account. What was interesting about it for me was that it had no caption.

The post itself was a link to an article featuring an interview he did with the German news outlet, Der Spiegel.  [see below]

I thought this was interesting for at least two reasons. First, the lack of a caption. Waters typically shares posts, even the less political and more musical, with some kind of description speaking to why he did so.

It's not surprising. Waters, refreshingly (and no pun intended), shoots from the hip. In an age where many—especially online—hide behind images and digital representations they've created of themselves, he remains honest, transparent, and open about what he does when he does it.

Secondly, the interview is on the heels of the Municipality of Frankfurt deciding to ban Rogers from performing in the German city, on account of the false charge that he's "antisemitic" for being an avid supporter of Palestinian rights, including his own involvement in the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement—non-violently aiming to pressure Israel to stop its systematic and violent oppression of the Palestinian people.

Waters however is suing the Municipality. He should be lauded for this not only for the courage it involves but because if he wins it'll establish an important precedent, sending a message to other misguided governments around the world: censoring pro-Palestinian artists is both wrong and impermissible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A1YW1QJjY0

And if you do so on the baseless grounds that being pro-Palestinian is "antisemitic" you should be further disciplined. It's at once slanderous and tries to suppress the truth of the unnecessary suffering of the Palestinian people, at the hands of Israel, by dishonestly framing such a revelation as hateful.

Nobody should get away with that, all the more so as it ultimately aims to intimidate others into being silent about unnecessary suffering. In turn, Israel is able to easily carry out its inhumane crimes against the Palestinian people with impunity, which unfortunately it has enjoyed too long. 

For the two reasons described, I was particularly curious about what I'd find in the Waters interview, leading me to read it only shortly after he posted it. Waters, true to form, held his own throughout the interview itself. He did not once, unlike too many others who are criticized for taking a pro-Palestinian stance, apologize for any of the Palestinian solidarity work he's undertaken over the years, nor the moral or political views he holds underlying it.

I must confess it brings me joy to see Waters like this, whether reading his words or hearing him speak. His candidness and care for humanity, specifically the Palestinian people, recalls for me a good pub mate you don't have to be shy around and, frankly, gives a damn about doing serious good in the world so other "blokes", as Waters might say in his endearing British slang, don't have to experience awful, inhumane evil.

The man has a heart.

On the other hand Waters' interviewer, Meron Mendel—director of the Anne Frank Educational Centre—feels manipulative. For the most part, he doesn't seem to genuinely want to know the details and arguments behind what Waters believes about Palestine but—through lines of questioning that unfairly suggest Waters is antisemitic and that Israel, unknown to Waters, is actually a democracy—seeks to delegitimize Waters for being a rightful proponent of universal human rights, necessarily extending to all Palestinians (not only Palestinians who live in Israel and is part of the "proof" for Mendel that Israel is a "democracy").

Moreover, Mendel appears to be purposely avoiding any real or deep discussion of that since it would entail of course talking about what such rights necessarily mean, namely dismantling the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine and the structures that uphold Israeli apartheid—in their entirety.

This, to name only some of its manifestations, includes heavily restricting Palestinian movements, denying them proper medical care, keeping them trapped in the open-air prison that is Gaza (now over 15 years), preventing their having fair legal recourse (in a judicial system that does not routinely discriminate against Palestinians) after their homes are illegally demolished.

Rather than critically exploring this with Waters, Mendel is adamant about misframing BDS as counterproductive as it is at odds with "dialogue". Part of that involves this exchange between Waters and Mendel:

Mendel: When I was 14 or 15, there was a project that brought Israeli Jews and Palestinians together. And we learned from each other. Today, the peaceful dialogue has fallen silent. Why? Because of BDS. But without dialogue, there will be no peace.

Waters: Do I understand you correctly? You say that the boycott movement has destroyed the peace process?

Mendel: Yes, they have made all initiatives for dialogue impossible. Because dialogue and boycott do not go together.

Waters: We have an organization here, BDS, that campaigns for equal human rights for all those who live between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea – I'm just talking about the geographical space. Because people live there who are deprived of their basic human rights. BDS is an attempt to draw worldwide attention to this problem. And you are telling me that this would destroy the peace process? How is that possible?

Reading this, especially Waters' relatable and wholly understandable disbelief at Mendel, I had something of an epiphany: so-called "progressives", against BDS but for peace between Palestinians and Israelis, often fetishize dialogue.

Similar to Mendel they do so by over-idealizing dialogue as the best solution to political problems. The naive reasoning behind it is that eventually, through the rational exchange of ideas and points of view, people can agree on how to fix such problems. In the process, we avoid more confrontational or "radical" politics, such as resistance efforts that disrupt structures of power (e.g. the state).

I remember as a philosophy instructor how I'd teach similarly. Drawing from the likes of Socrates I'd illustrate how when people come together, no matter how different they are, they can "figure stuff out" through patient deliberation and conversation, where no one loses their cool and people respectfully pose and answer questions.

The Waters' interview allowed me to more clearly see how naive this is and that, in real life (outside the philosophy classroom), dialogue regularly leads nowhere. So as to avoid sounding altogether cynical, this is not to dismiss the value dialogue has.

It is but one communicative means through which we can learn from one another, build community and sustain healthy relationships. But in certain circumstances dialogue is a waste of time because our interlocutor—the person with whom we're speaking—is in denial of reality. We see this with Mendel's refusal to accept that Israel is not a democracy.

That is not mere opinion but fact, based on material evidence documented the world over, such as by leading human rights bodies like the United Nations and Amnesty International, showing all the ways that Israel systematically disadvantages (and violently) the Palestinian people. It does not do the same to Israelis for the crude but simple reason that they are not Palestinian.

Additionally, Israel has proven by its own actions that no dialogue with it will lead to Palestinian justice. Whenever there has been an attempt to do that, such as through the Oslo Accords (1993) and Camp David Summit (2000), Israel does not want to acknowledge fully what it's doing: eliminating, however gradually, the existence of Palestine.

It should be clear by now that though Israel may technically believe in dialogue it doesn't care, in that process, to work with Palestinians to ensure, one, they are no longer deprived of human rights by Israel itself and, two, are compensated by Israel for all the criminal theft, oppression, brutality, etc. the state has forced them to endure.

BDS can help achieve this. It's but one (non-violent) means by which to exert pressure on Israel, such as through undermining its economy, to end its woeful mistreatment of Palestinians. That's a necessary starting point if Palestinians and Israelis are ever to live together, as equals, in a true democracy.

Like Waters, that's what I think many of us in solidarity with Palestine would like to see. Dialogue, for the time being at least, won't primarily get us there. Israel is too proud and too morally corrupt to engage in any discussion of the colossal harm it does to Palestine.

So long as that's not on the table, there's really nothing for Palestine and Israel to talk about. 

DER SPIEGEL INTERVIEW – MARCH 2023
https://rogerwaters.com/der-spiegel-interview/

March 21, 2023
Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters has supported the boycott of Israel for years. That is why the city of Frankfurt cancelled one of his concerts. In London, he now met Meron Mendel, the director of the Anne Frank Education Centre, who has just published the book "Talking about Israel".

Roger Waters, 79, is responsible for "the golden years of Pink Floyd". That's what it says on posters with which the Englishman is currently advertising "his first farewell tour". There is still a dispute about his concerts in Hamburg, Cologne, Berlin and Munich. In Frankfurt am Main, the city's magistrate has declared that the concert in the Festhalle will be "immediately cancelled extraordinarily for good cause". This is because Waters supports the BDS movement, which wants to achieve a change in Palestinian policy by boycotting Israel. But he does not want to be accused of hostility towards Jews. That is why he will sue Frankfurt – and wants to talk.

Meron Mendel, 46, is Israeli, German and director of the Anne Frank Educational Centre. During the dispute about anti-Semitism at the Documenta in Kassel, he appeared in public for the first time – as a Jewish intellectual who knows how to differentiate. He has just published "Talking about Israel. A German Debate", a book on the subject. An ideal discussion partner for Roger Waters.

Waters and Mendel met for an hour at the Rosewood Hotel in London last week.

SPIEGEL: Mr Waters, the magistrate of Frankfurt am Main has cancelled your concert planned for 28 May in the Festhalle. It wants to send "a signal against anti-Semitism". Does that surprise you?

Waters: No, they've been babbling about it since at least 2018. I read what the Frankfurt magistrate had to say. Of course he is wrong.

SPIEGEL: Of course?

Waters: Yes, of course. I am not an anti-Semite. I have never been an anti-Semite and I will never be one. I have stressed that on many occasions. It is bizarre that my career should now be attacked on the basis of allegations made by the Israel lobby.

SPIEGEL: Can you understand that there are statements and artistic choices that suggest such an assessment? A flying pig, for example, is a highlight of your shows – there was a Star of David on it.

Waters: And therefore I am supposed to be an anti-Semite? The flying pig is part of every show where I play the song "In the Flesh". This particular pig flew ten years ago as a prop for "The Wall" concerts. In the statement of the magistrate of Frankfurt it says that I gave 200 shows in which a Star of David was supposed to be on it. That is nonsense. I researched it again, there were less than twenty concerts, and only five of them in Europe. Because as soon as people complained about it, on social media after a show in Belgium, I said: Okay, I can understand why some people, some religious Jews, are upset.

SPIEGEL: And then?

Waters: And then I immediately removed the Star of David from that pig. But I stand by my original decision to use it. It was one of many symbols for dogmas of all kinds. Religious dogmas like Judaism, Christianity and Islam. And commercial symbols representing capitalist dogma. In addition to the Star of David, the crucifix and the crescent moon, the McDonald's logo, the dollar sign and the Mercedes star were also on display at these shows.... No company complained, no Christian, no Muslim. Only the Israel lobby. At the time, the ADL took a close look ...

Spiegel: The Anti-Defamation League, based in New York, an organisation that campaigns against the defamation of and discrimination against Jews.

Waters: They decided that there was no anti-Semitism here.

Mendel: I have been in the Israeli peace movement for 30 years and an opponent of the occupation of Palestine ever since. I wonder why you still cannot admit that your pig action not only hurt religious feelings, but that linking the Star of David to symbols of capitalism reproduces classic anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. And I wonder why you criticise Israel so vehemently but do not apply the same standards to Vladimir Putin or Bashar al-Assad.

Waters: You sit here and tell me you are against the occupation.

Good, we have something in common there. Are we against the occupation for the same reasons? My reason is that the occupation contradicts the very idea of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Paris 1948, according to which all people should have universal and equal human rights? Even those who live in Palestine or Israel – call it what you will?

Mendel: Of course.

Waters: Well, I have the impression that the Israeli government does not believe that.

Mendel: Yes, that's true.

Waters: Then we have no disagreement.

Mendel: I have been wondering for years how to get the majority of people in Israel to think in terms of human rights. Israel is not perfect, but it is a democracy ...

Waters: Aha, a dissent! Everyone knows that Israel is not a democracy. A democracy needs equal rights for all citizens. And Israel doesn't have those. It is a state in which a certain group, the Jewish people, have supremacy, and Jewish citizens enjoy rights that are denied to their fellow citizens. The government says so openly.

Mendel: You must not ignore the fact that the founding of Israel as a Jewish state took place against the backdrop of the pogroms in Europe and the Holocaust – Israel is the only home for Jews worldwide. And you must have noticed that in the last five or six weeks hundreds of thousands of Israelis have protested against this government.  And they are not backing down today. You and I, we may have the same opinion about the current Israeli government ...

Waters: Okay, good. That's a start!

Mendel: And there is no perfect democracy. But the last coalition government involved an Arab party. Israelis themselves fight each other on the political stage. You say yourself, when you talk about other states in the world, that there is not only black and white. Why should it be different in Israel? Maybe Israel is something in between, and you could recognize that.

Waters: We are getting off topic.

Mendel: May I tell you how I came to the peace movement?

Waters: Please do.

Mendel: When I was 14 or 15, there was a project that brought Israeli Jews and Palestinians together. And we learned from each other. Today, the peaceful dialogue has fallen silent. Why? Because of BDS. But without dialogue there will be no peace.

Waters: Do I understand you correctly? You say that the boycott movement has destroyed the peace process?

Mendel: Yes, they have made all initiatives for dialogue impossible. Because dialogue and boycott do not go together.

Waters: We have an organization here, BDS, that campaigns for equal human rights for all those who live between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea – I'm just talking about the geographical space. Because people live there who are deprived of their basic human rights. BDS is an attempt to draw worldwide attention to this problem. And you are telling me that this would destroy the peace process? How is that possible?

Mendel: BDS is against any rapprochement. I will give you an example. Rami Aman, a Palestinian peace activist from Gaza, took part in a Zoom conference with activists from Gaza and from Israel. BDS activists denounced him on Facebook and informed the military arm of Hamas. One day later, Hamas arrested him, put him in prison for two months and tortured him there. Since then, Rami Aman has not been active. I could give you many more examples of people in Israel and Palestine who dedicate their whole lives to peace and understanding between the parties – and are opposed by BDS. That is my problem with this movement.

Waters: I don't know anything about this case, so I can't comment on it.

Mendel: Let's talk about principles. One of my principles has always been to talk to people.

Waters: Well, that's a good thing.

Mendel: Then you also agree that there are Jews in Israel who really want peace with the Palestinians?

Waters: I know that there are. My friend Gideon Levy from the newspaper "Haaretz", for example. If it's about the peace movement in Israel, you have to ask him. He lives there, I don't.

Mendel: But Gideon Levy is not here, so I ask you. BDS punishes these people instead of strengthening them.  Liberal and progressive forces don't have it easy in Israel. And if they want to come to Europe and America, they are boycotted there.

Waters: The mandate and task of BDS is first and foremost to empower the Palestinian people. But since you bring it up: I also know peace activists in Israel who are supported by BDS.

SPIEGEL: Mr Waters, you are not a politician. Doesn't your music have to do with communication? And also with empathy?

Waters: Of course it does. Everything I have created over the past 60 years expresses my desire and need to empathize with other people. That's exactly what it is.

SPIEGEL: Then I ask, not as an Israeli, but as a German whose grandfather fought against your father in the Second World War, why this opportunity to communicate does not apply to Israelis, why they have to be boycotted.

Waters: Well, let's go back to the beginning. I played in Israel and there was not a single Palestinian there. I played in a field of chickpeas near Neve Shalom ...

SPIEGEL: ... a peace village between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Waters: Yes, that was in 2006. That was when I first saw with my own eyes what was going on.... I was there.

Mendel: Why were there no Palestinians there?

Waters: Because they are not allowed free movement even if they want to see a pop concert.

Mendel: Palestinians from the occupied territories I can understand. But weren't there Palestinians from Israel there?

Waters: Maybe. How many will there have been? I don't know. I didn't go around asking everyone.... But I remember saying to that young audience there, "You are the generation of young Israelis who must make peace with your brothers and sisters, the Palestinians." Before I said that, 60,000 fans were screaming at the top of their lungs: "Pink Floyd! Dark Side of the Moon! Roger!". After my plea for peace, there was absolute silence.

Mendel: This is a great moment! This is exactly what these people need!

Waters: The mood tipped from frenzied enthusiasm to: "This guy is nuts".

Mendel: Isn't that a great opportunity? There are maybe 50,000 people, mostly Israelis, and Roger Waters tells them, "You are blind! You have to make peace!".

Waters: Well, they didn't do it, did they?

Mendel: It would be megalomaniacal to believe that a rock star alone could fix it. But who knows, maybe you made one or two concertgoers think back then?

Waters: Maybe but since then things have got worse and worse. And why? Because too many people in Israel are racist and don't want peace with their neighbours. You, Mr Mendel, seem to be an exception to the rule. May I ask you a question?

Mendel: Of course.

Waters: How can it be that a monster like the radical settler Bezalel Smotrich is finance minister today? Well? Somebody must have elected him!

Mendel: Hundreds of thousands are demonstrating against him.

Waters: If the people of Israel want peace, let them choose peace. Let them admit that this experiment was a mistake and give the people back their stolen land and the human rights they are legally entitled to. That is all. It's not complicated.

SPIEGEL: And that's why you ask colleagues like Nick Cave or Radiohead not to play there?

Waters: That's right. Musicians like those you mentioned would probably agree with Professor Mendel, and advise me: "Go to Israel, talk to students in the cafés. We can have disagreements and talk about it and everything will be fine." No, everything won't be fine talking to students won't help. The fact in the occupied territories is: if you are Jewish, you have rights. And if you are not Jewish, you don't have them. It's as simple as that. I would like to know from you, as a journalist from SPIEGEL, whether you believe that the Bundestag – especially the SPD, CDU, and the Greens – believe in the idea of human rights in general and especially for all those living in the occupied territories? And, more importantly, do you think that the German people as a whole are interested in universal human rights?

SPIEGEL: I can speak neither for the parliament nor for the people. But my impression is that both a majority in the Bundestag and the Germans as a whole are quite interested in universal human rights. But ...

Waters: But? But what? But not for the Palestinians?

SPIEGEL: The Germans, as you know, have a special relationship with the Jewish state for historical reasons.

Waters: I know that.

SPIEGEL: And the situation in the Middle East is very complicated. Germany should have an interest in refraining from anything that could make the situation even more dangerous than it already is.

Waters: More dangerous for whom?

SPIEGEL: For the state of Israel.

Waters: Ah, the Jewish state of Israel! Are you saying that the German people are only in favour of human rights when they concern Jewish Israelis, not Palestinians? Because if that's the case, then it's not "complicated". It's just wrong. Human rights should be enjoyed equally by all.

Mendel: Can't you empathise with Israel's certain concerns? Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. All around it are states that are hostile to Israel. Wouldn't it be helpful to get Israelis to engage in dialogue?

Waters: Meron, you sound like a very old, very, very broken record. That's why I'm making movements here like I'm pulling my hair out. No, it's not complicated! Either we believe in equal human rights or we don't. You can't say: "Of course, the Rohingya in Myanmar! Of course, the blacks in South Africa! But in Israel? No! Jews live there...", there is the Jewish state, it's complicated.

SPIEGEL: Mr Waters, you get quite loud sometimes.

Waters: Well, I am a passionate man, and this issue grieves me deeply. That's why I'm in the firing line, that's why my career could be on the line. Because I'm one of the few people in my business who stands up for what he believes in – whatever happens. For all I care, they can try to cancel every concert I do in Germany. I will fight them in court. It's a tragedy for Germany that they even try. Because the message to the world is: We Germans don't care about human rights and freedom of expression.

Mendel: We agree that human rights are not only violated in Israel and Palestine, but also in China, Russia or Myanmar?

Waters: Of course we agree on that!

Mendel: So Israel is the only place on earth where you wouldn't play? What's helpful about that?

Waters: My refusal to break out of the BDS picket line is disrupting the racist status quo in Israel. That's what helps. You know the word that we were never allowed to use, but are now allowed to use because it is used all the time, and that is: apartheid. Pointing out that there is apartheid in Israel is as helpful as when it was in South Africa-. It definitely helped to end apartheid there.

Mendel: Unlike in South Africa under the apartheid regime, in Israel all citizens are equal under the law. What is happening in Israel is structural discrimination and racism against the Arab population. And these problems must of course be fought! The concept of apartheid also gives the false impression that there is a racist ideology at the heart of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. This is not the case. This reading ignores that Israel is an attempt by Jews to create a place of safety from anti-Semitism. But to my actual question: Can you understand my discomfort if you were playing in Moscow, in Tehran or Damascus – but not in Israel?

Waters: I just explained it to you. The people of Russia or Iran or Syria have not organised a BDS movement and asked me not to break the picket line. They are not listening! Why am I not playing there? Because there is a picket line organised by BDS. I was asked by the Palestinian people, by every man, woman, child, "Please, please, Roger Waters, creator of this beautiful music, don't play in Israel!". If you do, you will help normalise apartheid! So please don't do it!"

Mendel: Suppose I were to introduce 500 Palestinians to them? And these Palestinians would ask you to play in Israel? So that you can point out the human rights violations in the occupied territories to your Israeli audience?

Waters: I have already been asked by the whole of Palestinian civil society to respect the boycott. So your 500 Palestinians have already spoken.

Mendel: You know that many Palestinians are afraid to speak out against BDS. If they do, they end up in Hamas prison. I'm amazed that for you the situation is always so simple and clear when it comes to Israel. Why is it suddenly complicated when Putin invades Ukraine? As a Jew and a peace activist, I wonder if you are my ally – or an anti-Semite. I'm not sure about that.

Waters: I am sure that your Judaism has nothing to do with it. I don't want to talk about Russia and Ukraine today. That is a completely different topic. Maybe some other time. Such a conversation would obviously also touch on many questions about human rights.

Mendel: Human rights are the most important thing of all for me, whether in Israel or elsewhere. As an Israeli, I am particularly concerned about the violations of these rights in Israel, in the occupied territories. But the question is: How can we end this occupation?

Waters: I am making my contribution by not singing "Another Brick in the Wall" in Tel Aviv. So can we please stop even thinking about that? Because it's not going to happen. I'm not going to break the picket line, end of story. The cause of my oppressed brothers and sisters in Palestine is more important to me than the needs of Israeli fans of my music in Israel.I will be there in a heartbeat when human rights apply to all in Israel and the occupied territories. How ironic that the Israelis want to get me to play in Israel – and the Germans are trying to ban me in Frankfurt. That's crazy!

Mendel: I don't speak for "the Israelis", but only for myself. As someone who advocates dialogue and not boycott. Neither of us would have come if we thought the ban was a good idea.

SPIEGEL: We think it's a mistake to ban concerts on that basis.

Waters: I'm very happy to hear that. I would be very, very happy to see that printed in SPIEGEL.

Mendel: Now if the Ukrainian people would ask you not to give concerts in Russia ...

Waters: Which Ukrainian people? One part is for Russia, the other part is for Ukraine.

Mendel: The elected government of Ukraine ...

Waters: The elected government of Ukraine was removed in an illegal government coup in 2014.

SPIEGEL: In a revolution.

Waters: Well, yes. We're talking about the Maidan. You call it a revolution, I call it a coup. Let's leave it at that. I don't have any concerts planned in Russia.

Mendel: So you won't give any concerts there as long as the war goes on?

Waters: That's none of your business.

SPIEGEL: But it might interest many of your fans in Germany.

Waters: I don't want to be dragged into this discussion by you. You are Israeli, yes? And you are a journalist from SPIEGEL, right? And I came here to talk about the cancellation of my concert in Frankfurt.

SPIEGEL: That's what we did.

Waters: Yes, we did. And I thank you for this opportunity to beat my drum. You say, "It's complicated!" and I say, "It's not complicated!". Give equal human rights to the peoples in the holy land. That is my final word.

SPIEGEL: Mr Waters, Mr Mendel, thank you for this interview.

[yankeedoodle]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQL7C9LQ4dE

[bRoger Waters seeks injunction to overturn censorship by Frankfurt
"The antisemitism that these people who canceled my show are talking about is my continual, incessant criticism of the government of the state of Israel." -- Roger Waters.
https://mondoweiss.net/2023/04/roger-waters-seeks-injunction-to-overturn-censorship-by-frankfurt/?

Roger Waters plays Oslo tonight, and his "This Is Not a Drill" tour has five dates next month in Germany, where the show is stirring controversy because it features pro-Palestinian statements. The city of Frankfurt shut down his May 28 date there, alleging antisemitism in the artist's support for Palestinian rights.

So the rocker went to court in the Hesse state. "We demanded an injunction from a court three days ago, and they have until this Friday to respond to it," Waters said last night on a webcast with journalist Katie Halper.

Waters said he welcomes the battle over "antisemitism," so as to bring more attention to Palestinian rights.

"I am bloody well biting back," Waters told Halper. "They claim I'm an antisemite, which I'm obviously not... The antisemitism that these people who canceled my show are talking about is my continual, incessant criticism of the government of the state of Israel. It has nothing to do with the Jewish people or the Jewish religion. That's what it is, and that's why I'm so happy to be in the ring with these assholes... I've been desperate for someone to do something where I could get into at least being able to have a say about it, so the kind frankfurters of Frankfurt have done that and I'm actually really pleased."

Waters calls the cancellation "unconstitutional" and said that he is fighting for human rights, including the right to speak. Politicians have no right "to intimidate and bully artists and their fans with performance bans," he says.

Halper has organized a petition calling on the German government to uncancel the concert and says that more than 30,000 have signed the petition, including Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, Julie Christie, Noam Chomsky, Susan Sarandon, Alia Shawkat, and Glenn Greenwald. Also Eric Clapton and Nick Mason and Tom Morella of Rage Against the Machine. (Waters is a friend of our site, and a few of us have signed on too.)

The Toronto Sun reports that Waters was shut down for "anti-Israel behaviour," notably his support for BDS:

Frankfurt City Council ... said in a statement: "The background to the cancellation is the persistent anti-Israel behaviour of the former Pink Floyd frontman, who is considered one of the most widely spread antisemites in the world.

"He repeatedly called for a cultural boycott of Israel and drew comparisons to the apartheid regime in South Africa, and put pressure on artists to cancel events in Israel."

Waters's support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign (BDS) targeting Israel is the issue. "Germany has passed some of the most comprehensive anti-BDS legislation in the West. In 2019, the country's parliament designated the BDS movement as anti-Semitic," The National writes.

Waters called out the Israel lobby"

"The conflation of anti-Semitism with criticism of Israeli government policy is and has always been crazy, but it is the only weapon that the Israeli lobby has. And that's why they use it indiscriminately, because they have no platform to stand on."

Waters also told The National that "apartheid" has entered the discourse, and that shows we're winning:

"The fact is we are winning the argument. You couldn't use the word 'apartheid' back in 2005 to talk about Israel [vis-a-vis] Palestine, and now you can't talk about Israel without using the word 'apartheid'. That's huge."

Waters has been selling tickets to the May 28 concert.
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Waters discussed his stance with Der Spiegel last month, in a dialogue with an Israeli, Meron Mendel, and repeatedly stated that he refuses to cross the BDS picket line to play in Israel. Because he witnessed apartheid himself:

Waters: "Let's go back to the beginning. I played in Israel and there was not a single Palestinian there. I played in a field of chickpeas near Neve Shalom ...in 2006. That was when I first saw with my own eyes what was going on.... I was there.

Mendel: Why were there no Palestinians there?

Waters: Because they are not allowed free movement even if they want to see a pop concert.

Mendel: Palestinians from the occupied territories I can understand. But weren't there Palestinians from Israel there?

Waters: Maybe. How many will there have been? I don't know. I didn't go around asking everyone.... But I remember saying to that young audience there, "You are the generation of young Israelis who must make peace with your brothers and sisters, the Palestinians." Before I said that, 60,000 fans were screaming at the top of their lungs: "Pink Floyd! Dark Side of the Moon! Roger!". After my plea for peace, there was absolute silence....

Since then things have got worse and worse. And why? Because too many people in Israel are racist and don't want peace with their neighbours. You, Mr Mendel, seem to be an exception to the rule. May I ask you a question?

Mendel: Of course.

Waters: How can it be that a monster like the radical settler Bezalel Smotrich is finance minister today? Well? Somebody must have elected him!

Mendel then called on Waters to go to Israel to speak to those Israelis, but Waters declined:

My refusal to break out of the BDS picket line is disrupting the racist status quo in Israel. That's what helps. You know the word that we were never allowed to use, but are now allowed to use because it is used all the time, and that is: apartheid. Pointing out that there is apartheid in Israel is as helpful as when it was in South Africa-. It definitely helped to end apartheid there.

Mendel: Can you understand my discomfort if you were playing in Moscow, in Tehran or Damascus – but not in Israel?

Waters: I just explained it to you. The people of Russia or Iran or Syria have not organised a BDS movement and asked me not to break the picket line. They are not listening! Why am I not playing there? Because there is a picket line organised by BDS. I was asked by the Palestinian people, by every man, woman, child, "Please, please, Roger Waters, creator of this beautiful music, don't play in Israel!". If you do, you will help normalise apartheid! So please don't do it!"

Here is some eloquence.

Mendel: Suppose I were to introduce 500 Palestinians to them? And these Palestinians would ask you to play in Israel?

Waters: I have already been asked by the whole of Palestinian civil society to respect the boycott. So your 500 Palestinians have already spoken.

[yankeedoodle]

Court overturns cancellation of Roger Waters concert
The city of Frankfurt has been ordered to stage the Pink Floyd co-founder's event despite claims of anti-Semitism
https://www.rt.com/pop-culture/575290-frankfurt-roger-waters-concert/

A German court has overturned a decision to cancel a concert by English rock legend Roger Waters in Frankfurt. Regional officials had argued that allowing an "anti-Semite" to perform at a venue linked to the Holocaust would offend the local Jewish community.

The ruling by Frankfurt's administrative court on Monday said Waters had the right to access the Festhalle Frankfurt concert hall for an appearance scheduled for May 28 as contracted, German media reported.

It overturned a decision by the organizers of the Messe Frankfurt trade fair, who had refused to host the musician in late February.

German officials had justified the decision by branding Waters as one of the "world's most influential anti-Semites," claiming he should not appear at a venue associated with the persecution of Jews by the Nazis. In November 1938, Festhalle Frankfurt was used to detain more than 3,000 Jewish men, who were rounded up during the Kristallnacht pogroms in the city, before being sent to concentration camps.

The 79-year-old rock icon is a well-known critic of Israel and a supporter of Palestinian rights. He has been using his musical platform to advocate for these causes, but denies allegations of anti-Semitism.

His critics cite Waters' support for the BDS movement, a campaign to boycott Israel modeled on the international movement against Apartheid South Africa, which the Israeli government claims denies the Jewish nation's right to exist.

The Frankfurt court acknowledged that the 'This is Not a Drill!' tour performances include some imagery borrowed from the Nazis, and that showing those symbols at the venue may be considered "tasteless." But they do not glorify Nazism and cannot be legally banned, it added. The German authorities may appeal the ruling.

Waters' tour also includes concerts in Munich, Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne, where some legal challenges have also been mounted.