Jewish Nonprofit Coalition Urges BMG to Sever Ties with Roger Waters

A diverse coalition of 15 prominent Jewish nonprofit organizations released last week an open letter calling on Bertelsmann Music Group, one world’s largest media and publishing companies, to “reconsider” its relationship with Roger Waters, the former Pink Floyd frontman who has stirred controversy over the years for behavior that many Jewish groups would consider antisemitic.

The letter was organized by Creative Community for Peace, a nonprofit organization that uses the arts to combat the cultural boycott of Israel and fight antisemitism, and sent to BMG after Waters performed at a May concert in Germany wearing a “Nazi-like” uniform and compared the death of a Palestinian journalist to the incarceration of Anne Frank. BMG has represented Waters’ publishing interests since 2016.

The coalition of signatories is concerned that Waters is contributing to the spread of antisemitism at a time when violent incidents toward Jews have been on the upswing around the world.

“For over a decade, Roger Waters has peddled and promoted Antisemitism and leveraged his immense platform to spread his hateful views to millions worldwide,” said Ari Ingel, director of Creative Community for Peace.

“As we witness the continued rise of antisemitism, his words and actions are unacceptable. Our letter demonstrates the Jewish community’s concern that corporations cannot sit idly by while their business partners promote hate. We hope BMG reflects on their historical role with antisemitism and reexamines their relationship with Mr. Waters,” Ingel continued.

In addition to Creative Community for Peace, the letter was signed by American Jewish Committee; Anti-Defamation League; Australia & Israel & Jewish Affairs Council; B’nai B’rith International; Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, Canada; Community Security Trust; Conference of European Rabbis; Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; Conseil Représentatif des Institutions juives de France; European Jewish Congress; Simon Wiesenthal Center; South African Jewish Board of Deputies; World Jewish Congress and Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland.

Waters’ performance in Germany may have run afoul of the United States and European Union’s campaigns to combat antisemitism, according to the letter. The letter cites a statement from the U.S. State Department made after the incident that says Waters’ performance “contained imagery deeply offensive to Jewish people and minimized the Holocaust.”

“The artist in question has a long track record of using antisemitic tropes to denigrate Jewish people,” continued the State Department.

The performance was not the first time that Waters has drawn the ire of Jewish groups for his alleged antisemitic conduct. As Creative Community for Peace’s letter notes, Waters in the past has accused U.K. Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer of being controlled by Jews, flown at his concerts pig-shaped balloons adorned with the Star of David, suggested Israel bears responsibility for the death of George Floyd and called for the destruction of the State of Israel.

“We believe that artists, given their massive influence in the world today, have a unique and important responsibility to speak out against bigotry,” said the letter. “Mr. Waters has repeatedly shown that he’s determined to do the opposite – and would instead use his voice, his platform, and his public microphone to fan the flames of hatred.”

BMG has had its own checkered past with antisemitism. In a report from 2002, the publishing and media giant was found to have benefitted significantly from Nazi rule during the Third Reich. An independent commission found that BMG published antisemitic material and Nazi propaganda during the war. According to the report, BMG became the German army’s largest supplier of books—many of which contained antisemitic material.