Cultural Peers Should Condemn his Bigotry and Increase Their Appearances in Israel


"The Simon Wiesenthal Center first called out Waters when he affixed a Star of David on a floating pig during his tour of European cities. Now, in a venomous new interview he confirms his status as one of the most virulent haters of the Jewish state anywhere," charged Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading Jewish human rights NGO. "He accuses Israel of being an apartheid, racist, murdering regime, comparing it to Nazi Germany's genocide of European Jewry during World War II."

In Waters' own words:
"The situation in Israel/Palestine, with the occupation, the ethnic cleansing and the systematic racist apartheid Israeli regime is unacceptable. So for an artist to go and play in a country that occupies other people’s land and oppresses them the way Israel does, is plain wrong. They should say no. I would not have played for the Vichy government in occupied France in the Second World War, I would not have played in Berlin either during this time. Many people did, back in the day. There were many people that pretended that the oppression of the Jews was not going on. From 1933 until 1946. So this is not a new scenario. Except that this time it’s the Palestinian People being murdered…Anybody who looks at the situation will see that if you choose not to take up arms to fight your oppressor, the non violent route, and the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions(BDS) movement … is a legitimate form of resistance to this brutal and oppressive regime."

Waters also dismisses fears Israeli fears over the threat of a nuclearized Iran as "a huge bucket of crap that they are pouring into the mouth of a gullible public… It’s a diversionary tactic."

He also confirms his ongoing activism in the BDS movement, acknowledging that he wrote singer Cindy Lauper to cancel a Tel Aviv concert.

"The Wiesenthal Center calls on his peers in the entertainment world to condemn Waters' slanders and to show through their continued appearances to Israel that they share our contempt for this bigot," Rabbi Cooper concluded.

Rabbi Cooper can be reached in Israel through Monday at +972-524-316-448 or 1-310-210-9750, join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent direct to your Twitter page or mobile device.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).