In a statement, the Israeli Community of Lisbon (CIL) “makes public its deep displeasure with the musician’s visit to Portugal, a country that knows how to avoid extremism and hate speech.
Roger Waters, one of the founding members of Pink Floyd, is opening his European world tour “This Is Not A Trill” in Lisbon, billed as the 79-year-old musician’s “first farewell tour”. The concert is scheduled for March 17 at the sold-out Altis Arena, with a second show scheduled for the following day at the same venue.
CIL president David Botelho was quoted in the statement as saying, “Perhaps many people who will go to the Altice Arena on March 17 and 18 don’t know or lack knowledge and understanding. Roger Waters, a musician who goes to a concert, listens to the music and enjoys the music. Ignoring and addressing – both – what Roger Waters thinks and says about the Jewish people and Israel.”
“The event producer who invited Rogers Waters most likely did not consider the anti-Semitic dimension of the artist – only business – when inviting him to perform in Lisbon for two consecutive days. That would have been important. It would be questionable if they were cooperating with the musician’s thinking,” the statement said.
The CIL insists that it does not condemn “those who act out of ignorance” and does not judge “without knowing the reasons”, adding: “The German city of Frankfurt recently canceled a concert by the musician. [The next one was scheduled for May 28 at the Festhalle – the site of mass anti-Semitic atrocities in 1938, when more than 3,000 Jews were arrested.”
“In view of the well-known attitudes supporting extremist anti-Israel and anti-Semitic movements and Roger Waters’ public anti-Semitic speech, public ownership of this specific location is still unthinkable and unimaginable. (by the municipality and the state of Hasse) could have a different outcome than this one. The Israeli community in Lisbon congratulates the German public institutions for their decision.
Frankfurt personally rejected the “anti-Semitic conspiracy theories” that Waters had spread on social media.
CIL also recalls that “before Frankfurt, Poland had actively promoted the cancellation of Roger Waters’ concert.
Both concerts in Krakow, Poland, were canceled because of Roger Waters’ stance on the war in Ukraine. The musician blames Ukrainian “radical nationalists” for starting the conflict and criticizes NATO and the West for arming the Ukrainian army.
In September last year, at the urging of fans, Roger Waters wrote an open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he didn’t want the world to end in nuclear war because he had children and grandchildren. of his brothers and sisters around the world.
“Your invasion of Ukraine surprised me; it was a brutal and belligerent aggression, provoked or not,” he said at the time.
“He vehemently rejects a worldview based on intolerance, hate speech and racism,” the CIL said.
Roger Waters’ “This Is Not A Drill” tour was supposed to take place in 2020, but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The musician started the new show in July last year, along with an extensive tour of North America that will end in Mexico in October.
In a press release, the musician describes the tour as “an innovative, cinematic rock ‘n’ roll extravaganza,” featuring “dozens of the best songs from Pink Floyd’s golden era and some new songs.
