“By pressuring musicians to boycott Israel, Waters makes things worse, by shutting down the free flow of ideas,” the video continues. “It’s too bad that Roger Waters doesn’t understand that peace can only be achieved through dialogue and engagement. BDS will not bring peace. BDS is not the answer. More dialogue, more respect, more music is.”The video was produced in response to calls to hold demonstrations outside the Verizon Center, the venue where the concerts were held.
“This is a sort of welcoming party for Waters,” Ron Halber, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, said of the video, according to The Washington Post. “We want him to know when he arrives in DC that the sort of hateful language that he’s peddling and the myths he engages in are going to be met with fierce resistance.”Most recently, the former Pink Floyd front man went head-to-head with lead singer of Radiohead Thom Yorke, who defended his band’s decision to perform in Tel Aviv.Rogers drew accusations of antisemitism when a concert he held in Belgium in 2013 included an inflatable pig emblazoned with the Star of David and symbols of dictatorial regimes.