Roger Waters remains defiant toward Frankfurt’s city council, which canceled his May 28 show in the German city. The city council’s reason was due to past comments Waters made they deemed were anti-Semitic.
Waters said in a statement via Instagram he still plans to go to Frankfurt on May 28. He said, in part, “Frankfurt council were legally required to respond to Roger Waters interim injunction by midnight April 14. Did they? Nobody knows … Not that it matters much! We’re coming anyway! Because human rights matter! Because free speech matters!”
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When Waters’ concert was first canceled in February, Frankfurt City Council issued a statement saying, in part, “The background to the cancellation is the persistently anti-Israel attitude of the former Pink Floyd frontman, who is considered one of the most far-reaching Anti-Semites of the world. He repeatedly called for a cultural boycott [of] Israel and drew comparisons to the apartheid regime of South Africa.”
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The show was scheduled to take place at the Festhalle Concert Hall. Prog noted, “The city council share a 60% ownership of the venue along with Hesse’s state government, and sought legal permission to shut down the show … The statement also noted the historical significance of the venue, Festhalle, being the site where 3,000 Jewish men were held under arrest in 1938 ahead of their deportation to concentration camps following Kristallnacht, the violent anti-Jewish demonstrations which saw Nazis destroy Jewish-owned stores, buildings and synagogues.”
In March, Waters received support from many of his peers and other entertainment figures who signed a Change.org petition that took issue with referring to Waters as an Anti-Semite. The petition noted, in part, “Waters’ criticism of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is part of his long-term advocacy on behalf of human rights across the globe … The officials vilifying Waters are engaging in a dangerous campaign that purposely conflates criticism of Israel’s illegal and unjust policies with antisemitism.”
The petition further noted, “This conflation perpetuates the antisemitic trope which presents Jews as a monolith who blindly support Israel. Some of Israel’s loudest critics are Jews. But those who weaponize antisemitism are fine contributing to it.”
This petition was signed by a number of big names in music. Among them were Eric Clapton, Peter Gabriel, Nick Mason, Tom Morello and Brian Eno. Notable actors and comedians have also signed this petition. Among them were Susan Sarandon, Julie Christie, David Cross, Alia Shawkat and Lady Bunny.
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