Former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters said in a May 13 interview with the Russian state-funded RT that Palestinians in Gaza have a “moral obligation to resist the occupation” against Israel.
The RT host told Waters that the Israeli position on the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem involving the potential eviction of six Palestinian families is that the land was owned by Jews until Jordan occupied the area from 1948-1967. Water responded, “Next thing you’ll be telling me is rockets rain down from Jerusalem or some sort of equally nonsensical story.” He then compared the Gaza Strip to “a barrel full of fish and the Israelis are shooting into it… they are murdering the inmates of an open prison.”
Waters argued that some of Gaza’s “inmates” are trying to fight back and “occasionally they have resorted to sending homemade rockets across the walls of the prison that contain them, and you can’t blame them for that. In fact, they have a moral obligation to resist the occupation by a foreign power of their land.”
The host interjected that there have been “a lot” of missiles fired into Israel, which Waters dismissed as a “small amount” and contended that they haven’t resulted into any casualties yet. To date, Hamas has fired more than 3,200 rockets into Israel; 10 Israelis have been killed, including a five-year-old boy. According to the Israel Defense Forces, 439 of the rockets that Hamas and Islamic Jihad have fired into Israel “misfired and crashed into Gaza, causing around 20 Palestinian casualties.”
Later in the segment, Waters was asked to respond to accusations that he’s antisemitic. Waters replied that those lobbing such allegations “have no argument to make.” He claimed that he is simply criticizing Israel’s “genocidal, apartheid, racist policies” and “has nothing to do with disliking Jewish people.”
Israellycool blogger David Lange, who first brought the video to light, wrote, “Note how [Waters] laughs at the idea that Israel is actually under constant rocket fire, and lies that there have been no Israeli casualties, while stating that the Palestinians [sic] have a moral obligation to be firing the rockets at Israeli civilians. It is almost as if he is sorry more Israelis have not been killed.”
The Simon Wiesenthal Center tweeted, “We all have a moral obligation and moral right to denounce @rogerwaters’ serial Jew-hatred and support for #terrorists #DefendIsrael.”
We all have a moral obligation and moral right to denounce @rogerwaters' serial Jew-hatred and support for #terrorists #DefendIsrael https://t.co/NXIzuhPh6Z
— SimonWiesenthalCntr (@simonwiesenthal) May 16, 2021
Creative Community for Peace Director Ari Ingel said in a statement to the Journal, “It’s not surprising that Roger Waters, a man who has used his platform for years now to sow division and foment hatred, while often espousing antisemitic views, would make these comments. As Jews and Arabs endure the worst violence in years, people in his position should be calling for de-escalation and using their voices to further peace. Instead, he is throwing his support behind a U.S. and European designated terrorist organization that denies even the most basic rights to its citizens. Calling on Hamas to commit a war crime by sending thousands of rockets into civilian populations in Israel that do not distinguish between Arab and Jew, child and adult, is outrageous, dangerous, and has real-life consequences.”
Sussex Friends of Israel also tweeted that Waters’ comments can be translated into “Kill Jews, it’s ok!”
Translation: Kill Jews, it’s ok!
Roger Waters: Palestinians Have a 'Moral Obligation' to Fire Rockets into Israel https://t.co/7Y5djsVg29
— Self Declared Zionists (@SussexFriends) May 15, 2021
This article has been updated.
