Roger Waters Denies Anti-Semitism Charge
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Wednesday, 06 October 2010 |
Written by James Conlon
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Vocalist, bassist and all-out rock legend Roger Waters has denied using Anti-Semitic images on his recent live tour.
A campaigning group, the Anti-Defamation League, has accused the singer of using anti-Semitic images on ‘The Wall’ tour. They singled out a particular backdrop for the song ‘Goodbye Blue Sky’, which depicted aeroplanes dropping bombs in the shapes of Jewish stars of David, intermingled with dollar signs. Many have been keen to point out that the star of David was one of many religious and corporate images used in the backdrop.
In a statement on his official website, Waters strongly refuted the claims: "The point I am trying to make is that the bombardment we are all subject to by conflicting religious, political, and economic ideologies only encourages us to turn against one another, and I mourn the concomitant loss of life...There are no hidden meanings in the order or juxtaposition of these symbols."
Waters has not been known to shy away from political activism, and in 2009 he used a tour of Israel to declare his criticism of what he believed was a land-grabbing tactic being utilised by the West Bank.
Abraham Foxman, The Anti Defamation League's national director, claims that Waters symbolic juxtaposition was "dredging up the worst age-old anti-Semitic stereotype".
"While he insists that his intent was to criticize Israel's West Bank security fence, the use of such imagery in a concert setting seems to leave the message open to interpretation, and the meaning could easily be misunderstood as a comment about Jews and money." Foxman declared in an official statement.
"Of course Waters has every right to express his political views about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through his music and stagecraft, However, the images he has chosen, when put together in the same sequence, cross a line into anti-Semitism."
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