By Gunnar Schupelius
Roger Waters is a great musician. But if he doesn’t want to give up his disgusting agitation against Israel and the Jews in this state, then he’s more of a hate preacher who should be boycotted, says Gunnar Schupelius.
Roger Waters (formerly Pink Floyd) goes on a tour of Germany (“First Farewell Tour – This is not a drill”). On May 17th and 18th he will fill the Mercedes-Benz Arena. Advance sales are on.
16 Jewish organizations are protesting against this. In an open letter, they accuse Waters of fueling hatred of Israel and discriminating against Jewish artists because of their origin.
They demand that Berlin cancel the performance, as has already happened in Frankfurt am Main. Waters is not allowed to appear there on May 28th in the Festhalle, as planned.
The allegations made in the open letter are entirely justified. In his politically charged events, Rogers Waters has always liked to put the State of Israel on a par with the despotisms of this world, against which one must defend oneself, he calls on his audience to do so.
In the past, the highlight of his show was the famous inflatable pig with the Star of David, which circled over the audience, was symbolically shot down by Waters with a submachine gun and then dismantled by the concert guests.
Even outside of the show, Waters makes no secret of his hatred of the Jewish state, he obviously means it seriously. Speaking to the Middle East Media Research Institute, he said Zionism was “an ugly stain” that “should be removed.” In the style of the Palestinian terrorist groups, he summarily denied Israel’s right to exist.
In an interview with the political magazine CounterPunch, he compared Israel’s policy towards the Palestinians in the West Bank to the Holocaust. He also passionately supports the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which aims to destroy Israel economically.
It is not known whether Waters wants to shoot the pig with the Star of David again this year. What is certain, however, is that he has not discarded his fanatical hatred of everything Israeli.
What he says in this context is no longer covered by the freedom of art and opinion, it can rather be seen as hate speech and extreme anti-Semitism.
And of course there shouldn’t be such agitation in Berlin, that’s perfectly clear. It is part of our self-image that Jews in this city and in this country will never be bothered again. We have a hard enough time asserting this claim against immigration from the Middle East, which is always bringing in new hatred of Jews.
Roger Waters is a great musician and a favorite of his audience. He could easily do without this disgusting rush in his legendary show. You have to impose that on him. And if he doesn’t want to do without it, then he’s not an artist, but a hate preacher who should be boycotted.
Sorry, Mr. Waters, but this is Germany and not Iran.
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