Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood refused pressure from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement to cancel his tour with Israeli musician Dudu Tassa, and criticized their call as “unprogressive”, The Jewish Chronicle reported.
BDS had threatened Radiohead, following a performance of its guitarist with Tassa at Tel Aviv’s Barby Club on May 26, which concert-goers said also included calls for peace. Greenwood’s appearance came the day after being seen at protests in Tel Aviv, calling for the release of the hostages in Gaza and for new elections in Israel.
BDS had accused Greenwood of “artwashing Israel’s genocide”, writing on X, “We call for peaceful, creative pressure on his band Radiohead to convincingly distance itself from this blatant complicity in the crime of crimes, or face grassroots measures.”
Tassa and Greenwood, who have been collaborating and releasing music since 2008, are scheduled to perform together at European festivals this summer, a year after they released a joint album of Arabic love songs.
Responding to the boycott calls, Greenwood wrote on X, “I think an artistic project that combines Arab and Jewish musicians is worthwhile. And one that reminds everyone that the Jewish cultural roots in countries like Iraq and Yemen go back for thousands of years, is also important.”
“Others choose to believe this kind of project is unjustifiable and are urging the silence of this – or any – artistic effort made by Israeli Jews. But I can’t join that call: The silencing of Israeli filmmakers/musicians/dancers when their work tours abroad – especially when it’s at the urging of their fellow western filmmakers/musicians/artists – feels unprogressive to me, not least because it’s these people that are invariably the most progressive members of any society,” he added.
The guitarist pointed out that Tassa’s grandfather was perhaps the best-known Iraqi composer, and was one of the legendary Al Kuwaity brothers whose songs are still featured on Arab-wide radio stations, “though sadly their heritage as Jews is never mentioned any longer,” he said.
Greenwood also wrote, “No art is as 'important' as stopping all the death and suffering around us. How can it be? But doing nothing seems a worse option. And 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."
BDS has long urged musicians to call off shows in Israel or cancel collaborations with Israeli artists. While a number of politically active musicians have heeded to the pressure, a range of others have rejected the boycott call.
In 2017, before a Radiohead concert in Tel Aviv, dozens of artists, including notorious anti-Israel activist Roger Waters, sent a letter to the band urging its to cancel the concert in order to “pressure Israel to end its violation of basic rights and international law.”
Thom Yorke, the band’s frontman, fired back at the boycott calls, calling them “an extraordinary waste of energy”. The band went ahead with the Tel Aviv show.