Former Pink Floyd bassist and notorious anti-Israel activist Roger Waters continues to attack Israel.
In an interview with Nathan Guttman of Kan 11 News on the sidelines of an event in Washington, Waters once again repeated his calls for a boycott of Israel.
“If any of you are watching this now, Jewish or non-Jewish Israeli citizens who demonstrate against the policies of your government, good luck to you! I’m really proud of you. Keep up the good work,” he said.
Waters rejected Guttman’s assertion that he boycotts all Israelis and not just those who are against the government.
“No, no. The idea that I’m somehow punishing innocent people by not performing in Israel is ludicrous. You should know better than to ask me a dumb question like that,” he stated.
Waters, who has verbally attacked and pressured many artists who chose to perform in Israel over the last several years, took aim at Madonna for performing during the Eurovision Song Contest which took place in Israel three years ago – even though she used a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flag while performing on stage at that competition.
“Clearly, singing for yourself in Tel Aviv next week suits the racist apartheid Israeli government’s agenda,” he charged. “To pretend that you care about that, but you don’t care about Palestine, is absurd and doesn’t make any sense. That’s why I accuse her of being a hypocrite, which she is.”
Commenting on the war in Ukraine, Waters also did not spare criticism of US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that both of them are “gangsters”.
“I would hold Putin more at fault than Biden, but Biden is at fault as well,” he said.
Waters has in the past compared Israel to Nazi Germany and released a giant balloon pig bearing the Star of David during a concert in Belgium. Concert-goers said the Jewish star was among several symbols representing various corporations and fascist movements.
He has called Zionism an “ugly stain” that must be removed.
In defense of his actions, Waters argues that BDS “isn’t about music – it’s about human rights.”