VOICE OF THE JEWISH NEWS: Roger Waters’ dark side
This week's editorial reflects on an email Roger Waters wrote in which he suggested inscribing the appalling racist slur “Dirty Kyke” on an inflatable pig at his concerts.
Roger Waters has unquestionably left a mark on the music industry. Or rather, one might argue, a stain.
He has a track record as long as a sieg-heiling arm for making statements seen as antisemitic and utilising fascistic imagery, a theme prevalent in his work since the release of his Pink Floyd-era magnum opus, The Wall.
He has always flatly denied being anti-Jewish, despite repeatedly making wild and wicked claims such as referring to Israelis as “Nazis” and calling for Zionism be “removed”.
In July, after comparing the fate of Anne Frank to the apparently accidental death of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the US State Department accused him of “having a long track record of using antisemitic tropes to denigrate Jewish people”.
This week’s revelations are the most incriminating yet. For many they will be proof of his genuine mindset.
Following a forensic investigation in the United States, for which it must be applauded, Campaign Against Antisemitism has found that, ahead of a 2010 concert, Waters wrote an email to colleagues in which he suggested inscribing “Dirty kyke”, a notoriously contemptuous term for a Jewish person, on an inflatable pig.
This week’s revelations are the most incriminating yet. For many they will serve as the smoking gun when it comes to determining his true mindset.
Thankfully, his lighting director made him see sense and this sick epithet was never used. He also planned to shower the audience with confetti resembling swastikas and Stars of David.
Waters is set to take the stage at the Palladium next month. This prestigious London venue now has a big decision to make about whether it rolls out the red carpet to someone who, for all his genius, has had his dark side exposed to sunlight as never before.
Watch the documentary The Dark Side Of Roger Waters HERE
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