British rock band Radiohead has no intention of listening to Roger Waters and will go ahead as planned with a concert in Tel Aviv later this summer.
“I have engaged in a correspondence with some of Radiohead and they seem to have decided that they’re going to go ahead and do a concert in Tel Aviv, So there’s very little more that I can say on the matter,” Waters confirmed during an onstage interview with New York Times music critic Jon Pareles.
As Breitbart Jerusalem reported, Pink Floyd’s Waters, along with dozens of other artists, had called on Radiohead in a letter organised by Artists For Palestine UK to cancel the July 19 concert. He told the band to “think again” about heading to Tel Aviv and playing in a country “where a system of apartheid has been imposed on the Palestinian people.”
Now it appears the band has no intention of canceling.
Radiohead also has backing from other members of the industry, with the Creative Community for Peace (CCP) offering its unconditional support for the band. In a statement released to Breitbart Jerusalem, CCP said:
“We applaud Radiohead for joining their peers and using their art as a way to bring people together. On their US tour, Radiohead chose two Israeli acts — one Jewish and one Arab — to open for them, sending the powerful message to the world that coexistence is entirely possible, and music can be a catalyst for making it happen. Radiohead are sure to continue to foster this message when they perform in Israel in July.
“Unfortunately, artists continue to be subjected to tremendous pressure from some of our peers in the entertainment community. Rather than expend this energy to divide, we hope that one day these groups and individuals will band together to unite. We invite them to sit at the table with us and work side by side to be sure no one is silenced.”
The band made its original announcement of the gig in Feberuary. As Breitbart Jerusalem reported, the band’s upcoming summer tour is intended to promote their latest album.
Radiohead played three shows in Tel Aviv in 1993 when they were still a struggling band with only a single album under their belt.
“Creep,” the most famous song from their debut album, gained wide radio play in Israel and the country was one of the first places outside the UK where the band won recognition.
Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: Follow @SunSimonKent or e-mail to: skent@breitbart.com
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