No mincing words here.
Waters’ commitment to freedom of expression doesn’t extend to performers who dare to share their talents with the people of Israel
“Roger Waters is an entertainer who hates the Jewish State of Israel. He is a major promoter of the anti-peace Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement. This extreme anti-Israel campaign has never helped a single Palestinian as it is designed only to demonize and denigrate the lone democracy in the Middle East and the only society in the region where freedom of speech and artistic expression flourish,” charged Rabbis Marvin Hier and Abraham Cooper, Dean and Founder and Associate Dean of the leading Jewish Human Rights organization. “His words and actions have been condemned by the full spectrum of Israelis—from the Progressive Left to followers of Likud on the Right,” Hier and Cooper noted.
Waters, who in the past has used a pig with a Star of David as props for his concerts, has vilified other performers for the “crime” of performing before Jews, Christians and Muslims in Tel Aviv and elsewhere in the Jewish State. “Waters’ commitment to freedom of expression extends only to those who agree with him and does not apply to anyone who wants to share their talents with the people of Israel”, added Mark Weitzman, the Center’s Director of Government Affairs.
“At this time, when Israelis are being butchered by Palestinian terrorists, it is indeed unfortunate that he was invited to Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theater this Friday to what he would block others from doing in Israel.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center therefore calls on New Yorkers to give Roger Waters the reception he deserves: an empty hall. We urge people who may have been unaware of his hate-filled boycott campaign and bought tickets for his performance, to vote with their feet and instead stand in solidarity–outside of the theater– with the innocent victims of terrorism in The Holy Land,” Center officials concluded.
This is not the first time the Wiesenthal Center has taken aim at the inflatable pig lover (lover of inflatable pigs, not that Waters is inflatable and a pig lover. Although he is full of hot air). In 2013, Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Wiesenthal Center called Waters a Jew hater. In response, Waters invoked the “Some of my best friends (and grand kids) are Jewish” defense. The Center subsequently blasted Amnesty International’s selection of Waters to present the ‘Ambassador of Conscience’ award.
I suspect the size of Waters’ ego will necessitate a response from him. Stay tuned.
