Re-The Roger Waters Documentary

The reason I spoke up is because Roger's attacks on Israel have too often employed timeworn antisemitic tropes and we are living in a time where there has been an increase in antisemitism worldwide. 

When he says the State of Israel views him as an "existential threat" there is an implication that he is advocating for its destruction. Too often he refers to Tel Aviv as an evil entity; some sort of phantom puppet master that rules Washington and the west and controls the world's media etc etc. His rhetoric is too close to that of right wing extremists past and present. 

Are we Jews sensitive to this kind of language? Absolutely. And I think we have very good reason to be.  

Too many people think Jews should just "get over" the Holocaust. But it's not that long ago that a major power was intent on wiping us off the face of the earth - and succeeded in exterminating well over half of us. For Jews, the land of Israel represents safety. It is the one place on earth where we were never again going to be victims of antisemitism. 
 
In this way, Zionism has become an essential part of the modern Jewish identity. For Roger to say that he is anti-zionist but not antisemitic is naive. It denies how we Jews view ourselves. Anti-Zionist means anti Israel as a country. 
 
By now, we have learned that it is minorities themselves who are best qualified to identify the bigotry against them. And it is time that the Jewish community was heard on this. In my opinion, Roger needs to show some humility and listen to us. You can challenge Israeli policy, and nowhere does that happen more vociferously than in Israel itself and amongst the Jews of the diaspora, but if your language directly or by implication promotes the eradication of the world's only Jewish state, then that is absolutely antisemitism in my book.

Bob Ezrin

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Thank you for sending this…I had not seen it.  Disturbing, for sure.

I used to think that Roger Water's antisemitism was a complicated thing to assess.  Was he simply a progressive that believes that the Palestinian people have been mistreated by the government of Israel or did it go beyond that.  I personally think that it goes way beyond that - I do think he's an antisemite.  Why?  Because he says a lot of overtly antisemitic things and routinely uses so many antisemitic tropes in the way he articulates his views to the outside world (both in interviews and his concerts).  It completely disqualifies and discredits him when he says "I'm not an antisemite".  (This is my view, not an official ADL view.)

I grew up loving Pink Floyd's albums (Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall) and, quite frankly, still do, transformational music.  But I'll never support him by buying any of his music or go to a Roger Water's concert.  It's similar to never playing golf at a course with Trump's name on it - just a personal choice not to support people like this.

Jonathan Greenblatt talks about counsel culture vs. cancel culture as a way to describe what the ADL believe is the right way to deal with people who do and say antisemitic and hateful things.  Can we bring them in and educate them so that they alter their behavior and beliefs?  If we can, it's part of how we heal what has become a very divisive world.

Best,

Ben Sax
Chair of ADL Board of Directors

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About fifteen years ago, I witnessed Roger Waters get thrown out of Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, Long Island. The owner put him into a car, said he wasn't welcome there and to go home (Bridgehampton).

What caused Peter Honerkamp (the owner) to throw him out? Simply this: he was in the cups, got loud and started to rant about the Jews. He certainly upset the whole place. But he didn't stop there, he was spouting QAnon-type nonsense. Fortunately, Peter (who happens to be Jewish) had quite enough and Roger got rogered and was sent home.

I heard later that Roger Waters was hardly welcome in any establishment in the Hamptons, which has a considerable Jewish population. I heard it from his mouth. He's a f*cking pig, absolutely trayf.

Rich Arfin

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Although I'm sympathetic to Palestinians as a people and not a fan of the behavior of governments in general, I'm not sure that ol' Roger is making his alleged point by example.

When I was young, in a nearly 100% caucasian community, I heard a lot of "I'm not a racist" immediately preceded or followed by the N word and all the qualifications that came with it. It was confusing to me; it you weren't of that mindset, what's with expressing it epithetically? Turns out, of course, they were thinking in racist terms.

It's probably not the best idea to ask bigots if that's what they are. You ask the parties being targeted first, I'd think. Of course, not all people think alike, but Ezrin is eloquent and fair-minded which contextualizes this affair for people weary of being singled out pretty neatly.

And I rarely trust the judgement of musicians who have been overtly indulged as well as wealthy most of their lives...that stuff frequently breeds an unhealthy sense of self-importance that comes from an unnatural isolation. 

It reminds me of our current political climate, which is abominable: perhaps it's our own fault for paying attention (and electing) these awful people. We give people these platforms whether we understand that or not.

I can't vote for Mr Waters on this one.

peas,

Paul Santo

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F*ck him.....you know if the avowed anti semitites  think you're an anti semite you just might be one....

Michael Rosenblatt

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I was there in 2009 when it all went down as it was my client who was his lighting director (whom I believe you know).  Waters always was and will be an antisemite.  Truly, he hates the jews because our industry is predominantly jewish and that the "jews" control his income.  One more time, "stupid is as stupid does"…

Marty Tudor

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The only opinions that should matter are the opinions of those who are offended.  

Marty Winsch

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Thanks for posting this and I certainly won't be hearing Pink Floyd in the same way again!  What  a dangerous misguided man!

John Glatt

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The music at the time was exceptional. I still spin the records now and then. 
 
But I'm just not sure what happens to some when they just grow old and want to have a larger than normal voice that music concerts and the internet provide. 
 
I know for me, now in my 71st spin around the sun, I've tried to understand all people and their beliefs. Sometimes though it's just a farking struggle….
 
Will Eggleston

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Wow. A narcissistic bully. Imbecile. He is the pig. Hate influencer. I can't understand how he believes his bullsh*t. How can someone who is so brilliant be such an as*hole?

kestan

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Disgusting Hit Piece 

Taken purposely out of context. 
And dumb. Rogers uses a thing called irony. Hello. 
It's common among artists also to use context to make a point. 


Bob , You purport Back in the day, that the rock stars stood for something but Not today. That's true. 
Jimmy Hendricks , Neil Young were anti Vietnam war . Pink Floyd were also.

Is being anti war being anti American? 
Actually yes. Today you are a 'Putin puppet' if you are anti-war.

And you are an antisemite if you oppose the occupation of Palestinians. By the way those last sentences contain irony. A la Roger Waters. 

Propaganda rules today. 
And we westerners can't see it. 
Rogers father fought the Nazis. 
His principals haven't changed. 

Today we arm literal nazis in Ukraine. And applaud them in the Canadian parliament. 

Yeah and Roger is the hypocrite.

Michael Brunnock

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Wow….pretty damning. I wish they had interviewed more than two people though. Maybe people are afraid to speak out against him?

Carl Nelson

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I think the world is a better place with Roger Waters in it and my belief will never change. I don't believe that Roger Waters believes he is antisemite. I think that he believes he's attacking everyone equally. But where there's this much smoke, there's fire. Do the right thing, Roger. Please. 

I saw Roger Waters in Chicago last year (the same show heavily featured in the doc). I came out feeling entertained and had love of all people in general, with the exception of runaway capitalists, fascists and war-mongers. I never noticed anything antisemitic at the show but then again I'm not Jewish. I'm an atheist. 

Dave Warner

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Thanks for the link. It was out of character for you to provide this without comment but you picked your moment brilliantly.

My wife and my children are Jewish. Because my kids have an Irish last name, they heard lots of anti-semitic remarks in school. Then, with the dawn of the MAGA era, the slurs made below the radar in the past now seem to be shouted proudly like badges of honor. That is scary.

Personally, I agree with Roger Waters' opinion of Benjamin Netanyahu and his political party. Too often, I have been accused of anti-semitism because of my opinion that the far right political faction in Israel is wrong. The existential threat to Israel right now would appear to come from within. Just like the USA. I do not like being told that I need to shut up about Israeli politics because I am not Jewish.

However, any sensible adult should easily navigate the gap between criticizing Israeli politics and attacking Jews as a people. Roger Waters is so far out of line that there can be no debate. His insensitivity is over-the-top and indefensible.

As far as I am concerned, Roger Waters is now in a box with rock star as*holes like Ted Nugent and Morrissey.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

Mark McLaughlin

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Thanks for this.

"Functionally, he's a duck."

Ezrin lays it all out. Makes the perfect case. Its ironic that Waters goes to such lengths to promote anti-fascism...only to fall back on fascist tactics and tropes.

He simply doesnt realize who he's empowering. 

Its pure freudian projection on Water's part. 

Bill Seipel

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Wow, the comments...a shanda.

Steve Tipp

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Thanks for posting this Bob!  Why do we continue to give this pig a platform.

Robert D'Angelo

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Bob Ezrin deserves some type of prize.  It's no question in my mind that Waters is showing all the classic antisemitic tropes.  Kind of like, where is the Candid Camera?  I appreciate when Ezrin says:  "To say that you can challenge Zionism without challenging Jews as a people, that's just naive.  It's uninformed and it's insensitive."  We need more Jewish unity and togetherness, so when is there a better time of year than Sukkot which is happening right now!  The Sukkah is a like giant hug and welcomes all humans inside.  Chag Sameach, Bob!  

Rachel Loonin Steiner

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This documentary challenges the long-held assertion by the Left that only right wing people can be anti-semites. Seems there's an entire institutional, scholarly, academic curriculum that has fundamentally decided that Left-wing anti-zionism has nothing to do whatsoever with anti-semitism. 

The documentary is useful and relevant because it rigorously identifies the blatant jew-hatred of Roger Waters. Only someone who is seriously gluttonized by Leftist ideology would dare to defend Waters as being solely an anti-zionist. He's a mean, sinister person, with an agenda. When he hung that pig on his stage with a Star of David many years ago, it was abundantly clear that this man was seriously disturbed.

Leon Mayeri

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I have a hard time separating my appreciation for his artistry from his loathsome aspects.  Do my best to just listen to Gilmour.   

Clayton DuBose

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Nothing but a hit piece, and not a very good one at that.

Gary Ferenchak

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Doesn't Roger Waters have anything better to do? What is this guy's problem? You can't say the things he has said and then say you're focus is supporting the cause of the Palestinians. That's a dog whistle.

I have been a Bob Ezrin fan since "Love It To Death" and then "Solsbury Hill" This is the first time I have seen Bob Ezrin, or heard him speak. Bob Ezrin is a mensch. Bob Ezrin is the star of this documentary.  Viva Bob Ezrin!

Cheers,

Thomas Quinn

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I've had this discussion with a lot of people who like Pink Floyd (to be utterly honest, I've always found them wildly overrated, a musical freshman year dorm room blacklight poster, with the exception of the occasionally gorgeous? Gilmour solo), and I really think the veil came off when Waters started publicly supporting Putin.  There are a lot of people who in good conscience have real problems with the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, but if issues of sovereignty and self-determination are what you care about, then there is no version of that philosophy that jibes with support of what Putin is doing in the Ukraine.  

I'm sure a lot of people might feel inclined to defend Waters to resist eliding criticism of Israel with antisemitism, but the problem is that sometimes criticism of Israel happens to be a convenient cover for antisemitism, and I think sometimes you have to look at the rest of someone's political "portfolio" that way to get a sense of what's driving what.  If you support the BDS movement but are mum about commerce with the relatively long list of other states committing notable abuses (Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, increasingly India, the many countries that criminalize homosexuality, sometimes capitally, etc.), the targeting starts to look questionable - when your moral outrage becomes very idiosyncratic and selective, it starts to suggest that it's motivated by...something else.  

Ezrin's a thoughtful guy and actually knew the man, so he's probably right that Waters doesn't consciously consider himself antisemitic, but that's also not the measure - he's loudly and consistently put himself out there in a way where he certainly looks, feels, sounds and acts like someone who is, and it's time to finally call it all out for what it seems to be.

Jeff Leven

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The very best part of it is i watched on Twitter after David Gilmour shared it. 

Alan Paul
Author -
Brothers and Sisters, Texas Flood, One Way Out, Big in China
Friends of the Brothers band

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He's gone off the deep end and he's become someone to simply ignore - it's a shame but it happens. He's been sounding more like the wild-*ss Kennedy, not worthy paying attention to.

Jim Gilmore

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F@ck Roger Waters 

John O'Connell (Catholic)

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Just about everyone in this video made me ill.   Making the pledge  "Never Again to Anyone" a reality requires having a backbone in real time.  Of those witnesses featured, there wasn't a spine among the lot of them.  I know this, because Mr. Waters --like Mr. West-- still has his teeth.  Sickening. 

Charles J. Sanders, Esq.

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Hi. As a Jew, I think Roger's response seems reasonable. I don't believe he is anti-Jewish.

"Roger Waters answers the Campaign Against Antisemitism"

https://rogerwaters.com/roger-waters-answers-the-campaign-against-antisemitism/

David Arnold
Houston, Texas

(Note: If you click through and read Roger's screed, be sure to click on the hot links and ask yourself if the resulting articles actually say what Roger says they are saying.)


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