When Rock Subculture Propagates Hatred

English rock veteran Roger Waters, the former Pink Floyd bassist, is becoming increasingly notorious for his anti-Zionist positions veering sharply into antisemitism.

On August 24, the singer-songwriter posted a video on social media which garnered 254K views on X. In the message addressed to United States Vice President Kamala Harris, he urged the Democratic presidential nominee  to stop what he called a genocide in Gaza. Waters accused Israeli leaders of extremism and collusion with American Christians, even going so far as to accuse Israelis of wanting to dominate the world for eternity. The exaggerated statements elicited encouraging comments from his followers.

A month earlier, on July 2, Waters, 80, was a guest on broadcaster Piers Morgan's “Uncensored Show”. The 90-minute interview, marked by palpable tension, provided a deeper insight into Waters’ worldview. Although he tried to shrug off accusations of antisemitism, his comments throughout the show revealed problematic sentiments. A particularly contentious moment came when Morgan read a tweet from Polly Samson, a former Pink Floyd lyricist, describing Waters as “antisemitic to the core” and a “Putin apologist.” In response, Waters simply laughed and denied all the accusations against him (48:20).

It was a few days before the United Kingdom general election. Waters readily admitted his aim in doing the interview was to encourage people to vote for MPs with more radical positions. He cited the examples of the independent Andrew Feinstein and communist revolutionary Fiona Lali (26:12). According to Waters, the soon-to-be Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer was a “bought man” (25:38), without specifying by whom. However throughout the conversation he implied that he was alluding to Zionists.

The artist expressed his deep emotion about the situation in Gaza, claiming that he cries about it every morning (20:17). A long exchange on the Israel/Gaza War followed, during which Waters made openly anti-Zionist statements. His declarations contained antisemitic elements and echoed a clutch of conspiracy theories. The conversation ended with the war in Ukraine. Waters was evasive and ambiguous on recognizing Vladimir Putin as a war criminal (56:48), revealing a pro-Russian position. He also discussed the case of Julian Assange, ardently defending the WikiLeaks founder (01:01:06) while minimizing Assange's problematic links with various conspiracy theories.

October 7 Denial

Speaking about Gaza, Waters first used the term “Zionist lobby”, then corrected himself by talking about a very powerful “war lobby” (14:46). Despite lacking any academic or professional background in Middle East affairs, Waters was interviewed and presented himself as if he were an authority on the subject. His condemnation of the October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel by Hamas remained equivocal (39:53). He focused instead on what he called “the extermination of the Palestinian people by Israel” (25:14), preferring to contextualize the terrorist murders of Jews as an attack emerging after 75 years of struggle for the “liberation of Palestine” (39:13). Waters justified Hamas’ actions as legitimate resistance, veering directly into apology for terrorism, stating: “They have a right to fight back against the oppressor” (39:13).

The fate of Israeli hostages was completely ignored,  raising questions about Waters’ selective conception of human rights. Meanwhile, Israelis were accused of  inventing facts. “Wouldn't it be great if we could have an actual real investigation”, he said, to debunk “all the filthy disgusting lies that the Israelis told after October 7?” (34:52).  When Morgan pushed him to provide examples, Waters cited “burning babies and women being raped” (34:58). Despite Morgan's insistence that “the truth is that women were indeed raped”, Waters remained firm in his denial, repeating: “There is no evidence of that.” (35:10)

Even when Morgan attempted to present him with evidence from the United Nations official investigation, Waters refused to listen. Yet the facts are damning and irrefutable: the UN confirmed in March 2024 that Hamas terrorists had perpetrated sexual violence on October 7. Moreover, during interrogations by the Israeli army, a Hamas terrorist confessed to raping an Israeli woman during the massacre, as did his father and cousin. Amit Soussana, held hostage in Gaza for 55 days, also testified in the New York Times about the sexual assaults she suffered in captivity.

Evidence also exists regarding allegations of burned families, The Siman Tov family, including three children, perished in the fire of their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. Johnny Siman Tov had sent a message to his sister Ranae Butler: “They're here. They're burning us. We're suffocating.”

Waters' approach shows troubling similarities with Holocaust denial. Whatever evidence is presented - testimonies from victims, perpetrators, journalistic investigations, official reports - he systematically rejects them. Deniers accuse witnesses, “the system” or the “American-Zionist alliance” of fabricating evidence. Throughout the interview with Morgan, Waters was no more precise in his denunciation, except that Israelis were lying. He also went further, accusing IDF helicopters of killing Israeli civilians, stating: “They definitely attacked their own people” (38:39). This conspiracy theory has been widely refuted.

In the face of such stubborn denialism and fabrication, there are two possible explanations: either Waters is extremely misinformed, or he is consciously engaging in a propaganda enterprise similar to Holocaust denial. In either case, his position raises serious ethical and factual questions.

The Denial of Jewish History

Although Waters categorically rejects the antisemite label, in the Morgan interview he admitted to having little serious knowledge of the subject (31:45). His discourse contained several problematic elements containing antisemitic rhetoric, even if he does not recognize it as such.

Firstly, Waters denied the ancient history of Jews in their ancestral land, a position that goes against widely accepted historical and archaeological evidence. Morgan responded by noting that ancient Egyptian writings mention Israel as early as 1213 BCE and that religious literature references the Israelites as early as 1500 BCE. The broadcaster went on to emphasize the belief held by millions of Jews that Israel is their holy land, similar to the belief held by many Palestinians (Morgan could have more accurately referred to history rather than belief). (28:58). Waters replied: “Everything you're saying might be fascinating for historians and Jewish scholars and scholars of other religions, but it's completely irrelevant to the genocide currently happening in the West Bank and Gaza. The Israelis should say, “Zionism is a failure. Sorry. And we're going to let you live your life in your country”. Maybe some will stay, maybe all, but with equal rights. I will bring this conversation back to these two things: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the genocide that the State of Israel is committing against the Palestinian people. And I don't care about your history books from Egypt. I'm not saying you're wrong. I haven't read them. And frankly, I don't care.” (31:42). Waters’ blatant denial of Jewish history is widely recognized as a form of antisemitism, aiming to  de-legitimize the historical link of Jews with the land of Israel.

Secondly, Waters accused Israelis of having “stolen” the land from Palestinians (39:33). This simplistic claim not only ignores the historical complexity of the region but also implicitly assimilates all Jews to thieves. It is crucial to note that those who came to the Mandate of Palestine were not “Israelis” - the State of Israel did not yet exist - but Jews often fleeing persecution in Europe and elsewhere. By amalgamating these Jewish immigrants with “land thieves”, Waters perpetuates an ancient antisemitic stereotype.

Not only did Israelis take land that was not theirs, according to Waters they should apologize for this alleged theft (18: 22) and leave the land to settle in the US or Eastern Europe (18:38). This all for forced displacement of an entire population is not only unrealistic but also profoundly problematic from an ethical point of view. Waters advocates for the creation of a new state called Palestine, thus ignoring the millennial existence of a Jewish land and the right to self-determination of the Jewish people.

Past controversies involving Waters reinforce these concerns. After a concert in Berlin in May 2023, where Roger Waters wore an outfit featuring a swastika-like emblem, the Berlin police announced they were investigating him for “incitement of the people” due to the prohibition of Nazi symbols, flags, and uniforms in Germany. Among the critics was U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt, who described the concert as “Holocaust distortion”. Testimonies from his close associates and his own statements have been interpreted as antisemitic by many observers. Moreover, according to the definition of antisemitism by the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance), adopted by the United Kingdom and many other countries, Waters could be considered antisemitic. The IHRA definition includes denying the Jewish people the right to self-determination and accusing Jews collectively of being responsible for the actions of the State of Israel as examples of antisemitism.

“We do need education”

“We don't need no education”, Pink Floyd sang ironically in The Wall. Today, we can affirm: “We do need education” if we don't want to erect a mental wall around us. Roger Waters seems to have enclosed himself in an ideological bubble that leads to a form of thought just as harmful  as the one he claims to fight.

What is worrying is not so much Waters' persona as the extent of his media influence. As the venerated member of an iconic rock group, he uses his position to propagate anti-Zionism, antisemitism and conspiratorial ideas. People who are gullible enough to believe October 7  never happened or was exaggerated are also gullible enough to think that because someone is famous it makes them an authority. The impact of his statements is considerable: in just four days, the video of his Morgan interview was viewed 1.3 million times on YouTube.

At a time when hatred towards Jews, as well as physical and verbal attacks, are unparalleled in the UK and around the world, the media bears a significant responsibility not to propagate this hatred. Waters was ostensibly invited on to Morgan’s highly-watched program as a member of Pink Floyd, but the interview went beyond discussing upcoming gigs or releases. Although Morgan pushed back on a few points, it was not enough. Waters stated vague and unverified facts, which were not sufficiently challenged. He was allowed to spread antisemitism, making him another brick in the wall of hate.

The popularity of Waters and his conspiracy-mongering about Jews and Israel underlines the urgency of critical education in the face of simplistic and potentially dangerous discourses. The wall that the rock star has erected around his thinking should alert us to the need to remain vigilant and open to dialogue, rather than locking ourselves into extreme positions without nuance.