Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Roger Waters and the Uproar Over Claims of Anti-Semitism

You read the headlines, and the authors seem so damn sure of themselves. They leave little room for doubt. Unless, of course, you do something crazy, such as...well, think for yourself, or something. Also, looking at the facts would pretty much be enough to dispel such ridiculous rumors that a prominent musician is this vehement anti-Semite, foaming at the mouth with his rabid hatred of Jews.

Here's the recent "breaking" news that seems to be spreading like wildfire just lately: Roger Waters, a well known pacifist who has consistently spread an anti-fascist message now for many decades, has now allegedly established himself as anti-Semitic, a "Jew-hater". At least, that is, if you believe those outraged and offended by the display of the Jewish Star of David on the inflatable pig that Roger Waters has flown in his concerts for decades, first with Pink Floyd, and since during his solo career.

Here is one recent such headline, which was a response to a concert by Waters in Belgium this past Saturday:

"Anti-Semitic display at Roger Waters concert" 

The article is by Eldad Beck of Ynet news.com, and leaves no room for doubt as to how to interpret this straight away and without delay, right? And you can bet, surely, that there will be plenty of people who will immediately take this position as their own, regardless of their own ignorance of Waters or Pink Floyd, or anything really more in depth than such ridiculous headlines and stories meant to attract as much attention as possible.

Here's how this article begins:

"On Saturday night, Israelis were among those who attended a British musician and former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters’ concert in Belgium. Even as Waters is a known activist pushing for the boycott of Israel, Israelis were still amazed to see that the show included a blatantly anti-Semitic display."

The article concludes later like this:

“I came to the concert because I really like his music, without any connection to his political stance toward Israel,” Alon Onfus Asif, an Israeli living in Belgium, “And I had a lot of fun, until I noticed the Star of David, on the inflatable pig. That was the only religious-national symbol which appeared among other symbols for fascism, dictatorships and oppression of people. Waters crossed the line and gave expression to an anti-Semitic message, beyond all his messages of anti-militancy.

In the last few years, Waters has become one of the leading activists for the boycott of, and sanctions against Israel. He had planned to publish a letter calling on musicians not to perform in Israel, but recently said he was reconsidering his position in order not to hurt people he knew who would be affected by the issue. By this he hinted at the possibility that artists who boycotted Israel might be hurt by pro-Israel organizations." 

Again, absolutely no doubts expressed in this interpretation of what it all meant. According to this article, Roger Waters is spreading a clear message promoting hated of Jews, because of the "blatantly anti-Semitic display". 

If you knew nothing about Waters or Pink Floyd, you might be forgiven if you took this as the gospel truth, and assumed that, indeed, there was no other way to interpret what all of this meant. Nor is Elad Beck the only one that seems so damn sure that this knee jerk reaction that completely lacks any more nuanced possibilities is the only way to look at it. Not even close, actually.

Here's another headline critical of Roger Waters:

"Former Pink Floyd Member’s Offensive Move at a Concert That Has Some Calling Him a ‘Hater of Jews’" by Sharona Schwartz of The Blaze, July 25, 2013 

Okay, so maybe this is just for the headlines. Maybe what's inside has more intelligence or balance to it?

Maybe?

Well, look at just how much space the viewpoint that Waters is a bigoted anti-Semite gets:

Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the human rights group Simon Wiesenthal Center called it a "grotesque display of Jew-hatred," telling the Jewish news site The Algemeiner, "With this disgusting display Roger Waters has made it crystal clear. Forget Israel, never mind 'limited boycotts promoting Middle East Peace.' Waters is an open hater of Jews."  

On the Wiesenthal Center's website, Cooper posted a statement saying "Waters deployed a classic disgusting medieval anti-Semitic caricature widely used by both Nazi and Soviet propaganda to incite hatred against Jews."  

"The video is beyond shocking. The only books this bigot should be getting should be with the Mullahs in Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood," Cooper added.

As TheBlaze reported in March, Waters told a pro-Palestinian website that "the Israeli government runs an apartheid regime in Israel, the occupied territories and everywhere else it decides."

No doubt that Rabbi Abraham Cooper was a huge fan of Roger Waters beforehand, and is merely expressing disillusionment from the standpoint of a disappointed fan, right? I mean, he can't just be some prominent religious figure with an agenda, a chip on his shoulder the size of the West Bank, and a bone to pick about anyone even remotely critical of Israel or their controversial policies towards Palestinians, right? 

On NBC's Today Show yesterday (July 30, 2013), they too had a piece weighing in on the Star of David that was displayed on the pig, and whether or not it could be interpreted as a symbol of anti-Semitism. It showed a clip from the concert, showing the pig flying around, and then showing Waters himself in a costume meant to invoke memories of fascist dictators. He had a machine gun in his hand, and was firing (obviously not real shots) into the crowd. To their credit, they did make it clear that it is unfair to judge or interpret all of this from a twenty second clip. Unfortunately, I was not able to find a clip of this news report to add here, but will continue to try to do so in the future. Maybe it's just my computer. If you are interested in seeing the news piece, which included a lively debate between two men, one Jewish and one Muslim, with the Jewish man actually being the one to take a pro-Waters position (I did not want to add to much about this, as I cannot presently remember either of their names, and obviously cannot find the video clip, at least for the time being), then you can click to the following link: http://www.nbc.com/news-sports/today-show/

The Anti-Defamation League also expressed anger over the display by Roger Waters, although it showed a bit more of a nuanced interpretation than some of those earlier ones, not automatically dismissing Waters as an anti-Semite, although they were still fairly harsh in the manner of their interpretation. Here is a piece from the article "ADL Slams Roger Waters For Star of David Bombs In "Wall""   by John Del Signore in Arts & Entertainment of Gothamist.com, on September 29, 2010. Please note the date, just as proof that this is not new or breaking news :

Abe Foxman at The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has fired off a press release declaring it anti-Semetic. "It is outrageous that Roger Waters has chosen to use the juxtaposition of a Jewish Star of David with the symbol of dollar signs. 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."   

For analysis, we turn to Gothamist's in-house Rabbinical scholar Ben Yakas, who tells us, "The order he put everything in is unfortunate, but I don't think it was necessarily a direct 'Jews and their money,' anti-Semitic thing. It's too vague for that. He has crosses and crescents and fuel company logos all raining down together. It's just a bad juxtaposition. What's more offensive is the song; it's almost a rip off of Ruby Tuesday's chorus!"


Well, I will have to listen to that particular song with "Ruby Tuesday" in mind in order to judge for myself whether or not it is a rip off of the Stones. 

As to the larger question, about whether or not Roger Waters is anti-Semitic, and spreading a message of hatred?

Ridiculous. 

For once, FOX News actually seemed to take a less certain position about it all, and did not automatically jump the gun and label Waters an anti-Semite. They did say this:

The 69-year-old founder of the band Pink Floyd has long been outspoken on issues surrounding politics in the Middle East. In 2009 he vehemently opposed the Israeli West Bank barrier, calling it an "obscenity" that "should be torn down.” That same year, he pledged support to the Gaza Freedom March, and he has played a prominent role in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.    

That much is true. Waters has been an outspoken critic of Israel, and it's policies towards the Palestinians. In that, he is hardly alone, for that matter. Nor is such a position so ridiculous or without credibility that it should not be taken seriously. In fact, it is mostly only in the United States that any criticism of Israel or Israeli policies towards the Palestinians is automatically equated with anti-Semitism. 

Some might find the way that Waters chose to express his views on the shocking side. But remember that he is an artist, and sometimes purposely tries to shock people, to wake them up out of their wall of indifference or intolerance. To challenge themselves, and look at their own prejudices. To try and do that in regards to Israel, or those who unquestioningly support Israel no matter what. Because, whether or not people want to hear the arguments, it is important to stimulate some discussion about a subject that is often considered taboo by many. It is considered this because there are some people out there that never, ever criticize Israel and, even worse, harshly criticize anyone who dares to question the wisdom of Israel's traditional policies towards the Palestinians and the tendency by Israel to drag its feet regarding a two state solution. People who hold such positions often tend to stifle debate about a hot topic by simply labeling any critics of Israel as anti-Semitic, and it is an absolutely outrageous and despicable tactic to take. Israel, like any and every country out there, is flawed. It makes mistakes, and it is more than fair to at least seriously examine and, yes, question, the wisdom or innocence of Israel's foreign policies, particularly in regards to the Palestinians.

Roger Waters put the Star of David on a pig, and that much can indeed prove shocking to some, obviously. But here's the thing: Israel put the Star of David on the national flag. When they then practice policies that many find shocking in the degree of intolerance and violence that these policies practice and promote, then they open themselves up to criticism. How could it be otherwise? Why do they then act so surprised by criticism? And how easy is it (and unfair, I might add) for those who take an automatically pro-Israeli position to simply label any critics of Israel as anti-Semitic? It is a low tactic unworthy of anyone with a sense of true justice or decency, frankly.

Let us not forget that while South Africa was under the rule of a white minority government during the days of apartheid, Israel was, de facto, among South Africa's closest allies. There was good reason for this, much like there is good reason that comparisons with the situation in the occupied territories keeps getting compared to the situation in South Africa during the days of apartheid. just because some might not like to hear such a position, does not detract from the credibility of it.

I personally saw Roger Waters perform "The Wall" twice in 2010. I saw the Star of David on display (although admittedly, I do not remember it on the pig specifically). It was on display, as well as the Cross and the Crescent, as well as numerous corporate logos. The interpretation that I got from it was that Waters was critical of big money corporations, as well as religious intolerance that tends to fuel the fires of hatred, all the while pretending to have a more enlightened position, and claiming intolerance by any critics. Religion, much like pretty much anything else, can be used to promote personal prejudices. Such is the case with the Westboro Baptist Church, for example. Or Pat Robertson. Or those fine folks who considered themselves Christians while promoting racial segregation in the American South, or in South Africa (and there were plenty). Such is the case in many predominately Muslim nations that openly do promote true anti-Semitism, as well as intolerance of any other religious or political viewpoints other then their own. Or the tendency among many extremists in each of the fundamentalists in the big three religions of the West to relegate women to second class citizen status.

Those who blindly and intolerantly promote pro-Israel often seem to use religion to promote their own prejudices, as well. To criticize this intolerance is certainly not tantamount to being anti-Semitic or a Jew-hater. It is to try and open everything up for debate, and to take a more courageous position of being open to criticism in order for the right to criticize what one feels to the depth of one's heart is wrong, wrong, wrong.

I have been a big fan of Roger Waters for a long, long time, and let me be clear about this: I have no doubt whatsoever that he is not anti-Semitic. No doubt. What is he, then? Why would he use such symbols in as apparently a shocking manner during one of his concerts? It is because he is offended. He is offended by the lack of humanity and decency in brutal policies practices by a bullying regime. That much is clear when he clearly criticizes neo-Nazis in "The Wall". That much is clear when he is highly critical of American foreign policy, stretching back decades now. And it is clear now, as he is criticizing Israeli policies, as he has also consistently done for a long time, as well.

Let me be clear about another thing, as well: I am still a big Roger Waters fan. In fact, I was watching "The Wall" from Berlin, back in 1990, while writing this piece. It is one of my very favorite concerts. my brother got it for me as a Christmas present in 1990, and for a year or two, I watched it so much, that it wore out the video tape. Yet, I still love watching it from time to time, as it conjures up some pleasant memories from the late eighties and early nineties. It reminds me of the amazing revolutions that spread like wildfire across Europe, that broke the back of a brutal, and intolerant, regime in the former Soviet Union, an occupying force in it's day. Waters was critical of the mindset not only of Eastern intolerance back then, but of that existing in the West, as well.

Not only will I not criticize him for his choice of display, but applaud his efforts to stimulate debate on a topic that needs to be debated, now more than ever. You may or may not approve of what he chose to express, or how he chose to express it. But then again, it has people talking, doesn't it?

And that, to me, is proof that it worked, at least on some level, in the spirit that Waters surely had intended.


The following are the articles that I used in writing this blog entry:

"Anti-Semitic display at Roger Waters concert" by Eldad Beck of Ynet news.com,  Published:  07.24.13, 20:35 / Israel Culture

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4409388,00.html

"Former Pink Floyd Member’s Offensive Move at a Concert That Has Some Calling Him a ‘Hater of Jews’" by Sharona Schwartz of The Blaze, July 25, 2013

http://news.yahoo.com/former-pink-floyd-member-offensive-move-concert-calling-132826168.html


"Roger Waters under fire for seemingly anti-Semitic stunt: Floating a pig balloon stamped with the Star of David at Belgium concert" By Hollie McKay  Pop Tarts  Published July 25, 2013   FoxNews.com

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/07/25/roger-waters-under-fire-for-seemingly-anti-semitic-stunt-floating-pig-balloon/#ixzz2acQLIu4H 


"ADL Slams Roger Waters For Star of David Bombs In "Wall""   by John Del Signore in Arts & Entertainment of Gothamist.com, on September 29, 2010. Just to prove that this is not new or breaking news.

http://gothamist.com/2010/09/29/adl_slams_roger_waters_for_star_of.php

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