Radiohead’s Thom Yorke says he would ‘absolutely not’ perform in Israel
By Sophie Tanno, CNN
(CNN) — Radiohead singer Thom Yorke has said he would no longer perform in Israel after the band came under scrutiny for playing in Tel Aviv in 2017.
In an interview with British newspaper The Sunday Times, conducted before the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was agreed, Yorke said he would “absolutely not” perform in Israel.
“I wouldn’t want to be 5,000 miles anywhere near the Netanyahu regime but Jonny has roots there,” he told the publication, in reference to Radiohead’s lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood.
CNN is reaching out to the Israeli prime minister’s office for comment.
Greenwood told the Sunday Times he “politely” disagreed with Yorke.
“I would argue that the government is more likely to use a boycott and say, ‘Everyone hates us — we should do exactly what we want.’ Which is far more dangerous,” Greenwood said.
Greenwood said the only thing he is ashamed of is dragging his bandmates “into this mess.” He added, “But I’m not ashamed of working with Arab and Jewish musicians. I can’t apologize for that.”
Radiohead came under fire for performing in Tel Aviv during its “A Moon Shaped Pool” world tour, which ran from 2016 to 2018. At the time, the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) organization urged Radiohead to boycott Israel over its conduct in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Last year, Yorke took off his guitar and left the stage during his solo concert in Melbourne, Australia, after being heckled by a pro-Palestinian protester.
Radiohead will soon start their first tour in seven years, playing shows across Europe in November and December. Asked by The Sunday Times if he was concerned this tour could be targeted by protesters, Yorke responded, “Are you f**king joking?”
“But they don’t care about us. It’s about getting something on Instagram of something dramatic happening,” he told The Sunday Times.
Yorke said he didn’t believe Israel should be allowed to participate in the Eurovision song contest, but added, “But I don’t think Eurovision should do Eurovision. So what do I know?”
Eurovision is a major annual international music competition featuring countries from the European Broadcasting Union. Israel has been competing in the contest since 1973 and calls for its exclusion have intensified in the wake of the war on Gaza.
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