Roger Waters accused of repeated antisemitism in new documentary

Roger Waters, one of the co-founders of Pink Floyd, has recently faced accusations of being repeatedly anti-Semitic. According to reports, he allegedly made offensive comments about "Jew food" and even created a song about his agent that included the derogatory term "fucking Jew".

The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) has conducted a probe into Waters where they interviewed his former colleagues. These individuals reported multiple instances where Waters made offensive remarks regarding Jews.

The CAA released messages from Waters wherein he suggested adding an anti-Jewish statement to an inflatable pig that would hover over his gigs. These messages, which date back to 2010, also featured an idea to "bombard" attendees with confetti shaped like swastikas, stars of David, dollar signs, and other icons.

During a performance in Berlin last May, Waters donned an attire that was strikingly reminiscent of a Nazi uniform. He took up the role of Pink from the rock opera The Wall and wore a black leather trench coat with a red armband featuring two crossed hammers, instead of a swastika.

Waters has continuously maintained that he does not hold any anti-Semitic beliefs. He explained that the show was an expression of his strong opposition to fascism, discrimination, and unfairness in any manifestation or form.

During the tour, Waters made a comparison between the death of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and Anne Frank's death, by displaying them together.

According to Norbert Stachel, a former saxophonist for Waters, the musician exhibited discriminatory behavior towards Jewish people on multiple occasions. Stachel recalled an incident while on tour in Lebanon where Waters became angry after being served a series of vegetarian dishes at a restaurant and insisted that the waiters remove the food he referred to as "Jew food".

Stachel claimed that Waters made fun of his grandmother who was killed in the Holocaust and someone at work cautioned him to not respond if Waters made any derogatory statements about Jewish people if he wanted to maintain his employment.

The accusations were reported in a digital film by the CAA, which was hosted by the seasoned Panorama reporter John Ware.

Bob Ezrin, a music producer, stated that during his time in England in the 1970s while working on The Wall album, Roger Waters came up with a song that made reference to their agent, Bryan Morrison. The song contained a line that included the phrase "Morry is a fucking Jew" as the last line of the couplet. The details of how this song came to be are unclear to Ezrin.

He said, "I don't believe he sees himself as an antisemite. I'll bet you money that he would deny being against any group and would claim to support everyone."

Although he may not consider himself to be a certain thing, he holds a position of influence and therefore needs to recognize that his actions have an impact on others. Based on his behavior and characteristics, it can be inferred that he embodies the traits of this thing. In my opinion, he may not be officially classified as this thing, but functionally speaking, he fulfills its characteristics.

Waters has a gig scheduled at the London Palladium on the 8th and 9th of October. The representatives of the venue were reached out to for their perspective.

According to the CAA, they communicated their discoveries to the musician but received no response. The Guardian has also reached out to his agents for input.

In reaction to past accusations of anti-Jewish sentiment, Waters declared: "Throughout my lifetime, I have actively spoken out against any forms of control and tyranny, no matter where it occurs."

As a kid, I frequently heard the name of Anne Frank being mentioned in our household, especially since my parents fought against the Nazis in WWII. Anne Frank serves as a constant reminder of the disastrous consequences of letting fascism run amok. Sadly, my dad lost his life fighting during the war.