If they were not, then the assumption is that they would be acceptable. The problem with viewing the Waters controversy through the lens of the antisemitism debate is that it becomes a zero-sum game: whether his words were antisemitic or not. So who is right? Is Waters guilty of antisemitism? Waters vociferously denies antisemitism, complaining that defenders of Israel "routinely drag the critic into a public arena and accuse them of being an antisemite". In response, Waters has been accused of antisemitism by firebrands such as Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and more measured voices such as Karen Pollock of the Holocaust Educational Trust. This comes on the back of Waters' long history of pro-Palestinian activity, including supporting a cultural boycott of Israel. Among other things, he has claimed that the "parallels with what went on in the 1930s in Germany are so crushingly obvious", that the Israeli rabbinate views Palestinians as "sub-humans", and that the "Jewish lobby" is "extraordinarily powerful". This time it's Roger Waters, the Pink Floyd vocalist, who has fanned the constantly glowing embers of controversy. "I’m not sure there are any much harsher regimes around the world, actually, if you look at it,” he added.I t's happening increasingly often: a prominent public figure makes a vituperative criticism of Israel, accusations of antisemitism follow and then come emphatic denials. Recently the Greater Miami Jewish Federation issued a statement condemning Waters’ "vile messages of anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism and hatred” after he compared Israel to Nazi Germany and said that he thinks that it is impossible to have a dialogue with “a population that have largely been under a state of living in propaganda 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all their lives since they were born.”Īddressing the issue during a Facebook live appearance, Rogers also said that Americans are only pro-Israel because they “have been living in this constant state of hasbara created by AIPAC and the Israeli lobby in the United States – all of them, their whole life."
#ROGER WATERS ANTI SEMITE VERIFICATION#
The question of whether Waters’ scheduled performance would, therefore, violate the lease was, at my request, submitted for verification to the County Attorney.” In so doing, it became clear that the lease of the Nassau Coliseum requires compliance with all laws. "Upon hearing that Roger Waters, notorious front-man for the BDS movement and virulent anti-semite was to preform two shows at Nassau Coliseum, a County sponsored facility, I researched the implications of that show under the passed Legislation. There is no room for hatred in Nassau,” he explained. "My intent in sponsoring this piece of Legislation was simple: embrace the BDS movement and Nassau will not do business with you. The Nassau Coliseum, where Waters is scheduled to perform, may be bound by a 2016 anti-BDS law that "bars companies from doing business with Nassau County if they participate in economic warfare against Israel,” Howard J. An Orthodox Jewish lawmaker from Long Island has said that he believes that an upcoming concert by pro-BDS musician and former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters may run afoul of a local ordinance.