Roger Waters, a prominent supporter of Palestine and the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel, has criticized Radiohead members Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood for their stance on the Israel-Palestine issue. In an interview with American journalist Abby Martin for The Empire Files, Waters discussed Yorke's clash with a pro-Palestinian protester during a Melbourne show in October. Waters admitted he was not surprised by Yorke's actions and recalled a previous exchange of emails with Yorke regarding Radiohead's decision to perform in Tel Aviv in 2017. In an open letter to Radiohead that year, Waters and other signees argued that "by playing in Israel, you'll be playing in a state where, UN rapporteurs say, 'a system of apartheid has been imposed on the Palestinian people.'" Yorke countered that "playing in a country isn’t the same as endorsing its government."
Waters detailed his email exchanges with Yorke, where he expressed his disappointment and frustration. He described Yorke as "a complete prick" who is "very, very deeply insecure" and incapable of having a meaningful conversation. Waters also addressed Jonny Greenwood's belief that "silencing Israeli artists for being born Jewish in Israel doesn't seem like any way to reach an understanding between the two sides of this apparently endless conflict." Waters dismissed this as "complete bullshit," asserting that the situation is not a conflict but a genocide, and that Yorke and Greenwood are supporting it.
Waters has faced accusations of anti-Semitism for many years, including from his former Pink Floyd bandmate David Gilmour, who stated he will "absolutely not" play with Waters again. Gilmour's wife, Polly Samson, called Waters "anti-Semitic to his rotten core" and accused him of being a "Putin apologist and a lying, thieving, hypocritical, tax-avoiding, lip-synching, misogynistic, sick-with-envy, megalomaniac." In response, Waters issued a statement refuting these claims as "incendiary and wildly inaccurate."
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