Dear Mr. Waters,
I am writing to let you know that I'm sorry. I hate to get involved in this whole Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) thing, but I'm done with you and I'm done with Pink Floyd.
As a teenager, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon was my favorite album for years... until I heard Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here. And The Wall is still the coolest musical film I've ever seen.
Although it's tough to quit you cold turkey, I don't really have a choice.
You see, Mr. Waters, I am forced to do this because you've gone from being a musical genius to a ridiculous sideshow of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic propaganda. What makes me say this?
Perhaps it's the 2010 concert when you showed images of a B52 bomber dropping bombs in the shape of Jewish Stars of David followed by dollar signs.
Or perhaps it's the 2013 interview when you used the age-old canard that the American media was under instructions not to report criticism of Israel to the American public?
Or how about the July 2013 concert in Belgium when a pig-shaped balloon painted with a Star of David was released on stage, as you sang the lyrics, "Get him up against the wall, that one looks Jewish" – while wearing a long black leather jacket with a red-and-white arm band reminiscent of a Nazi uniform?
Do you think I felt better when you responded to criticism by saying, "Some of my best friends are Jewish"?
As a Pink Floyd fan, I cannot ignore your tireless efforts to serve as the poster boy for BDS efforts to undermine the Jewish State's legitimacy – by publically castigating everyone from the Rolling Stones to Neil Young to cancel performances in Israel.
And who can forget your claim – in United Nations testimony, no less – that Hamas desires "permanent peace with Israel.” Have you not read the Hamas charter calling for complete annihilation of Israel? And how do you explain – following Israel's voluntary withdrawal from all of Gaza in 2005 – that Hamas responded by launching thousands of rockets into Israel, targeting homes, schools and buses?
Or how about your comparison of Israel to Nazi Germany, saying “the parallels with what went on in the 30’s in Germany are so crushingly obvious"?
Really? Where are the slave labor camps and the nightly massacres? Two-thirds of European Jewry exterminated by the Nazis? That’s genocide. Half the population of Darfur – 3 million people – either dead or displaced? That’s genocide. But the Arab population of the territories soaring from under one million in 1967 to four million today? If Israel is committing genocide, that’s the least efficient genocide in history.
Ignoring True Apartheid
As a public figure whose music has always preached peace, freedom and tolerance, don't you think it's absurd to shamelessly target the only functional democracy in the Middle East? Why aren't you concerned with the Assad regime's murdering of hundreds of thousands of Syrians with chemical weapons – a casualty count 10 times higher than the combined total of deaths in all the Arab-Israeli wars combined.
Where are your concerts in support of the Kurdish people who are fighting for their lives against terrorist armies in their historic homeland? Where are your unwritten op-eds championing the millions of Arab women who are treated as second-class citizens in gender-apartheid Saudi Arabia?
I won't even bother refuting your many lies, including the myth that Israel's population is as you claim "largely settled from Europe." Have you never heard of the hundreds of thousands of Jews banished from the Arab countries and forced to leave with no possessions?
You ask rhetorically if Palestinian people "have the right to vote?" The answer, as you know, is that they are still waiting for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas – on year 10 of his 4-year term – to hold new elections.
You pushed for the closing of a SodaStream plant in the West Bank. Do you even care about the hundreds of satisfied Palestinian workers who explained: "If you ask me, there should be a thousand SodaStreams in this area"?
Roger, you consistently show yourself to be less pro-Palestinian and more anti-Israel.
Double Standards
Mr. Waters, I am sick of watching you use social media to berate musicians for touring in Israel. Music is about building bridges and not erecting walls. As Alan Parsons responded to your unsolicited public criticism for playing in Israel: "Music knows no borders, and neither do I." Isn't that what you should be saying when you speak about Israel?
And yet you have no intention of stopping, having recently lashed out against Jon Bon Jovi for his concert in Israel. Bon Jovi's greatest hit – "Livin' on a Prayer" – might as well be the unofficial motto of the Jewish people who've been fighting for survival against anti-Semites (such as yourself) for 4,000 years.
"Livin' on a Prayer" might as well be the unofficial motto of the Jewish people.
As a result of your boycotting efforts, I'm forced to start my own. Even if I'd get a free ticket to your overpriced concert, I wouldn't attend because I'm boycotting you. The next time I watch The Wizard of Oz, I will refuse to synchronize it with Dark Side of the Moon... because I'm boycotting you.
I'm boycotting you for promoting the canard that Jews control Hollywood, that Jews control the media, and that Israel's sounding the alarm about a nuclear Iran is merely “a diversionary tactic” to distract from Israel’s real agenda of foisting a "colonial apartheid regime."
I'll miss you, Mr. Waters. But fortunately I'll still have the Rolling Stones,KISS, Bob Dylan and the hundreds of other artists who've played awesome concerts in Israel – in spite of your double-standard attacks on the Jewish State.
You can't always get what you want!
Signed, your ex-fan.
(56) Shimon, December 29, 2016 6:50 AM
Superbly written
First of all, greetings to my former Worcester Beit Judah fellow.
I stopped listening to Pink Floyd a long time ago. That man is a fool like many others. He should be given a life long membership in Hamas, he belongs in it.
(55) TJ Martinez, November 3, 2016 8:26 AM
Boycott Waters
I agree with your open letter. I too will boycott Waters this January in Sacramento Ca. He is such a disappointment.
(54) Anonymous, November 2, 2016 3:48 AM
Baruch HaShem!!!!
Baruch HaShem, well said, Dr. Freeman!!! Thank you!
(53) Mike, October 30, 2015 2:11 AM
Good Letter
I agree with Dr. Freedman. I too am finished with Pink Floyd. However I disagree on one conclusion. Roger Waters was never a musical genius. That title is reserved for the likes of Mozart, Bach, and Gershwin. Mr. Waters was very lucky to replace Sid Barret, who had to leave the band due to mental illness. He owes much to his bandmates, especially David Gilmore. Like his predecessor, Waters has lost touch with reality. His obsession with Nazis has turned him into one. Forget him and his outdated music. I'm into klezmer now.
(52) Anonymous, October 16, 2015 1:08 AM
Thank You, Jacob, for Stating Reality
G-D Almighty created music and it is an international language and a bridge builder. Mr. Waters needed to be confronted with facts. May he change his mind and come to the One True God, Creator of the Universe and the Author of LOVE, LIFE & TRUTH. Amen
(51) Roger Walters, October 15, 2015 10:19 PM
Wasting your time
He isn't worth it
(50) JK, October 14, 2015 8:13 PM
A true JERK
Dr. Feedman,
Loved it. It's about time someone had the courage to write this.
Thanks
(49) Anonymous, October 14, 2015 1:26 PM
Don't LIsten to Hate, He makes lots of dinero on hate
I have liked Rock Music for more than 35 years. There isn't good reason for a musician to have strong feelings leaning towards hate. He isn't the most talented of rockers but def one of the nastier ones. Hate makes money. So he thinks he won't me losing much.
Those who don't make as much money as he does could find fault with him. Be grateful for what you have Mr. and shut up.
(48) Maxine Kalnitz, October 13, 2015 11:47 PM
I can't not comment on Mr. Palko's comment
Wow - excuse me Mr. Palko!! What should you makes you think you should get a benefit from Israel? How about the fact that we all should be able to exist peacefully with one another in this world and have our own beliefs and religion? Israel is one tiny speck in this world - it is people like you that spread this disgusting anti-semitism. Why do you live in America based on freedom of speech, color and religion if you do not believe in it? Go crawl under a rock with Roger.
(47) RICHARD, October 13, 2015 3:05 PM
SO WORTH BOYCOTTING THE BOY-COTTER
I have been boycotting his music whenever it comes up on the radio - I had no idea of the extent of his Jew hatred until I read this. thank you
Anonymous, October 16, 2015 5:16 PM
Not enough to just boycott
He and the radio station won't know that you are boycotting. Jews have to call radio stations, concert halls, etc., and say they they are not buying tix to the show or his records. When the sponsors know that his Jew hatred is no more acceptable that anti black, asian or any other type, they will stop booking him
(46) Phil, October 13, 2015 1:48 PM
Education
Roger Waters took his "we don't need no education" a bit too seriously.
(45) Myopinioncounts, October 13, 2015 3:13 AM
Another Ridiculous Rant
Anyone who has an opinion is free to speak their minds, while I will not stand behind waters on this topic and it's painful to watch, I also will not condemn him for taking a stand on something that he clearly is passionate about. While its clear to me that he is struggling to get his message out using what's left of his star power or whatever, I'm inclined to simply ignore it. If he truly has a point, time will tell. It's easy to pile on people who take a stance on something, its a much bigger challenge to stand for something and be clear about your points. I believe this is where mr. Waters is failing. Clearly he is upset, and when people are upset, more times than not, the message is not pure. All this combined with today's social outlets, and a media hellbent on molding a story from hashtags, you get what we have here last week. "Which is the way they want it" Waters did this to himself, I pray he doesn't let his demons destroy anymore of his amazing contributions to music. Whatever happens, I remain a fan.
Anonymous, October 16, 2015 5:19 PM
Waters is doing more than speaking his mind
Waters is part of the BDV movement against Israel. He's actively trying to dismantle Israel. This is more than just speaking his mind. He told Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones not to play in Israel and Jagger told him to get lost. He told Bon Jovi not to play in Israel and Bon Jovi told him to get lost and years ago he told Paul McCartney not to play in Israel and he told Waters and Pink Floyd to "go to hell".
(44) Anonymous, October 13, 2015 1:32 AM
Excellent !!!
(43) Dave D., October 12, 2015 3:22 PM
So much ignorance
It's too bad he has all that hatred in him. I will drop him from my library as well.
(42) Shlomo, October 12, 2015 5:36 AM
Signs My Name on the Bottom
I've been meaning to write something like this, but you did a far better job. Please just sign my name on the bottom as well.
Todah Rabba.
(41) Robert K., October 12, 2015 4:33 AM
Genius of Roger Waters
Dear Dr. Freedman (assume once Fridmann, or Friedmann),
I don't know to which field is related your Dr. title, but i'm surprized about your stupefaction about Mr. (hardly fitting the title with his manners and character) R.Waters. I'm surprized you don't know that this real musical genius is after all, developing from a small street vagabond, into a hooligan teenager. Don't expect neither some basic general knowledge/ culture, nore inteligency. In nature everything is compensating , the sum of skills and shortages is kept constant, i.e. surplus of musical genius, involves serious lacks in other fields.
(40) mizbiskit, October 12, 2015 3:01 AM
Floyd, not Waters
As a few people have said, Roger Waters is not Pink Floyd. The band split very acrimoniously many years ago, and he lost rights to the name. I will certainly boycott anything by Roger Waters (I never liked him much anyway, nor his solo work), but I'm still a PF fan, especially the genius guitar music of David Gilmour. I don't know for a fact that Nick Mason goes along with Waters, and Richard Wright passed away not long ago, so Pink Floyd, even without Waters, really is no more.
As for the Nazi imagery in The Wall, that was intentional, but not for the reasons commented on. One of the concepts in the original album and film was that rock stars potentially held enormous power and could influence their fans; it was not meant to be anti-Semitic, at least not at the time, especially as Waters had lost his father in WWII (a lot of the album deals with that). It was an ironic critique that big rock stars could effectively have the power of fascist dictators; parts of The Wall also explores Britain's xenophobia. Anyway, Roger Waters is anti-Israel, anti-Semitic scum, but I still love the music the whole group made together (and after Waters left too). He is not Pink Floyd.
(39) Rachel, October 12, 2015 1:59 AM
Why bother giving him the publicity?
Seems to me that his agit-prop is to generate sales. There is no such thing as bad publicity.
(38) Hal, October 12, 2015 1:37 AM
Antisemitic Roger Waters
From now on, we will never come to one of your antisemitic concerts. You ought to spend some time in Israel and see what you are BDS this wonderful nation and people. I would like to know where you get this hatred from. Probably from the neo nazis as the skin heads. Go to Israel and become educated.
(37) Sarah, October 12, 2015 1:35 AM
limit on "Palestinian" out-igration ?
Unlike old Russia, Israel doesn't have a limit on the number of Palestinians who can leave Israel, does it? So if they are truly mistreated wouldn't they be leaving in droves? Logic does not seem to resonate with people who hate.
(36) Anonymous, October 12, 2015 12:50 AM
Make sure that Mr. Waters sees this.
(35) Bracha Goetz, October 12, 2015 12:00 AM
Outstanding!
(34) Anonymous, October 11, 2015 11:47 PM
Boycott all of the anti semites
There is no reasoning with anti Jews/Israel celebrities like Waters. Israel has Arabs voting in its elections and serving in its Knesset, unlike Arab countries that beat, kill and prohibit Jews and Christians from owning land and serving in political, such as it is, in those countries. The Palestinians have said that if they get their two state solution, the Jews can't live there. Interesting since Jews have been in Palestine for thousands of years. Since Waters, Angelina Jolie, Penelope Cruz,her husband Bardham and other promote the boycott and divestment of Israel, THEN ALL JEWS SHOULD BOYCOTT THEIR CONCERTS, MOVIES ETC. Return their economic boycott. Every dollar that Jews spend on these people goes int their anti Jewish propaganda
(33) Moishe P. Pick, October 11, 2015 11:39 PM
who cares
why are even putting him up high enough to tear him down? So he made some good music...or he didn't. Who cares? He's not important- nothing he says or does makes any difference in the world. God makes the decisions, and he decided that we'll be hated until the messiah comes. Let waters rant; we need to be busy doing hood things for each other. Peace to you all
(32) Anonymous, October 11, 2015 10:43 PM
why not talk about the Stones or Bon Jovi instead
Instead of giving BDS supporters the publicity they crave, I suggest that AISH write about the rock and roll musicians who are creative, smart, successful and who perform in Israel and really rock it.
Or let me know. I'll put something together.
(31) Menachem Ash, October 11, 2015 10:30 PM
Pink floyd
Dr freedman writes revealing article. I was also a very big fan of pink floyd but stopped listening to them for the same reason Brian wrote, though I would perhaps change his wording slightly "would God want or be happy with the fact that we are listning to pink floyd?" Or for that matter any music that comes from as it were a non- kosher source As an aside I was surprised Dr. Freedman did not make any mention of David Gilmour pink floyd was not just roger waters.
(30) Muriel Kahn, October 11, 2015 9:56 PM
Thanks for teaching and telling me about Roger Waters and his group. It is people like you who call attention to the terrible deeds and words and music being performed. please continue with your writing.
(29) Alan, October 11, 2015 8:15 PM
Pink Floyd
As a pro Israel Pink Floyd fan, I'm with you. Ironically, the line: 'I can see the writing on the wall' (from The Wall) comes from the Torah.
(28) LADave65, October 11, 2015 7:05 PM
This goes far beyond Roger Waters....
This kind of antisemitism is not unique to Roger Waters. Many, especially on the far left, have bought into the meme of the Palestinians as victims and the Israelis, with their relative prosperity and ties to the big, bad USA, as their oppressors. It doesn't matter to them what actually happens in that region. This is their narrative; the truth would just get in the way. The BDS movement is simply one manifestation of this. The only way to fight this is to expose the truth about Israel and the Jews: the good things we've done and our continued work to live in peace with our neighbors, as well as their desires to annihilate us.
Hadassah Geretz, October 13, 2015 3:11 PM
I agree
Spot on!!
(27) Lisa Locke, October 11, 2015 5:51 PM
Great article. Thank you for the information.
(26) Denis Silverman, October 11, 2015 5:50 PM
Classification
A modern day Jew hater!
(25) karen, October 11, 2015 5:27 PM
Roger Waters
This article was wonderful, well written and of course truthful
We dont need people like Waters in this world They propel hatred and violence.
and as the author said music is and should be the language of the word
(24) Paul Kurlansky, October 11, 2015 5:16 PM
the dark side of pink floyd
just deleted all the pink floyd from my itunes
(23) Larry Schnebly, October 11, 2015 5:04 PM
Aw, c'mon! Violence and boycotts and bigotry are NOT to be emulated.
Does it seem to anyone (regardless of whether you are a fan of the music) that rejecting an argument about boycotting by RECOMMENDING A BOYCOTT seems like repeating "the central lie of history...that violence is the answer to violence" ????
Step back, take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then be the BEST that is in you.
(22) dreamweaver550, October 11, 2015 5:01 PM
wow!! what he said.
The best pro Israel article I have read. Bless you!! I suggest all boycott Pink Floyd!!
(21) Gershon Hoffman, October 11, 2015 4:22 PM
Roger Waters
Death threats to Paul McCartney from Water's group but Paul told them to go to HELL and played there ANYWAY in 2010. Late wife, Linda, a Jewess of course, as is his current wife. All but one of his children are Jewish! Eric Burdon has played Israel despite Water's threats although admits he was intimidated, and Neil Young rescheduling since Hamas offensive when he was supposed to play.
(20) Wilhelm, October 11, 2015 3:44 PM
...You get what you need
You can't always get what you want but with a strong Israel, you might find, you get what you need.
(19) Christopher Moore, October 11, 2015 3:43 PM
christians are more anti-Semitic than Pink Floyd
The rabid anti-Semitism in today's christian sermons make Roger Waters look like an Oskar Schindler. So-called "interfaith dialogue" with the christians is an exercise in futility. As a Jew raised in a christian household, I can assure you: the christians hate us! The christian church blames the Holocaust and other pogroms on the Jews, citing these genocides as proof that "It (i.e. Judaism) doesn't work." I am Jewish, and I am also a fan of Pink Floyd. Roger Waters' antics disappoint me, but the christian church's antics disgust me. Please boycott the christian church in the same way you would Roger Waters, William Shakespeare, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, or any other anti-Semite!
Rachel, October 12, 2015 11:31 PM
Shakespeare
Was not an anti-Semite, to my knowledge. If you are familiar with The Merchant of Venice, you would know how much humanity Shakespeare gives Shylock. So unless you can provide other evidence, e.g. A letter or something similar, don't put the greatest writer in the English language in the same camp as a has-been rock star.
(18) HS, October 11, 2015 3:33 PM
The Dark Side of Roger Waters
Like the author, Pink Floyd was my favorite band for years growing up as a teenager in the 1970's. I wore out the grooves on my Dark Side of the Moon album and I even slept out for tickets to their concerts.
But the HATRED for the State of Israel that Roger Waters so freely espouses and advocates brought me to the point of literally stepping on my old Pink Floyd Albums and tossing them in the trash.
What spawns his virulent animosity toward Israel is beyond me but THAT is something that *I* can not tolerate.
(17) Anonymous, October 11, 2015 3:26 PM
Genius
Roger Waters is not a genius..............................................I am sorry..!
Einstein, yes.....
Bach, yes and not to forget, Gustav Mahler, yes..........
RW is apparently not an intelligent man..............................
That's it................
(16) Gary CIVINS, October 11, 2015 3:07 PM
All in All
All in all, Waters, YOU'RE another brick in the wall. In fact you are enough bricks to build a hatred bridge to ignorance. PF is dead to me. You're deepest hidden influences make you like like a kid without eyes and mouth. Go have some pudding, you've earned it.
(15) Edson A. Figueira, October 11, 2015 2:36 PM
Minha decepção com tudo...
Faço minhas as palavras dessa matéria, de agora em diante, me considero um ex fã...
(14) Lisa, October 11, 2015 12:48 PM
Anyone hear Howard Stern's reaction?
Stern said some incredible pro Isreal statements to Mr Pink Floyd!
(13) Anonymous, October 11, 2015 7:57 AM
dark disturbed music
I am also an ex-floyd fan. But the Wall is seriously disturbed and dark and the film reflects the depths of a scary dark mind. Whoever thinks his music "refelcts peace" has not listened to the messed up lyrics of the wall. Im not in any way surprised of his views.
(12) Brian, October 11, 2015 6:08 AM
Been there, done that!
I'm older than two thirds of the population... (think about it). In anycase, after falling into the Pink Floyd trance, where I (was) very happy, I unexpectedly was asked a question by an important person in my life. "Do you think God would listen to Pink Floyd"? And in the blink of the eye everything hit me! I can't claim that God spoke to me in any supernatural way, but I felt God's answer in my heart and knew my Pink days were over. Pink influenced so many wasted hours of mindless thought about nothing really, but somehow was important. Yet in an instant, God had me know, that I only need Him, that amazing music influenced by drug use and media manipulation was in fact by no means edifying, rather it was a well disguised call to arms to rise up against that which God teaches us. How very difficult it was to this day... to toss the music and the man, but I can't let a person like that, feed me music, he may be a musical genius, but if he can't give our creator, His people and any who calls on the name of God, simple respect, then how could I listen to him? 24 years ago the answer was that I can't listen to Pink Floyd and neither should you. Awesome article, good to see people comming to their senses about this wolf in sheep's clothing.
(11) Taylor, October 11, 2015 12:59 AM
Great letter
I completely support this letter. Good information too.
(10) Kim, October 10, 2015 7:41 PM
What took you so long to write this?
Mr. Freeman, you must have a very long fuse.
I also happen to like Pink Floyd's music. Likewise, I can enjoy listening to Richard Wagner without concentrating too much on his bigotry.
Pink Floyd won't get a dime from me, but I do enjoy listening to them when they come on the radio.
(9) Anonymous, October 10, 2015 6:59 PM
It's a Dark Side for a reason
Dark Side of the Moon was brilliantly conceived as it was poison to the soul. I thought so in the early 70s when it was released, listened to it again in 2010, and subsequently rejected its suffocatingly atheistic despair, but hey all the artists were in top form, who am I to judge? Valid technique reins supreme. I don't trust my soul to the care of such brilliant virtuosos anymore as Waters and Gilmore. The Tower of Babel has a house band, what else do you need to know?
(8) Barry Baldonieri, October 8, 2015 9:37 PM
Roger's rants
Roger Waters has become the poster child for P.H.I. (Preferred Human Ignorance) and relies solely on past successes for his audiences. There are two stages in life; learning and dying, and he appeals to the "second-stagers" who have become comfortably numb to the idea of having to think. He is a sad, hateful, antisemitic, has-been who has found a new way of staying in the public eye. Pathetic ... painfully pathetic.
(7) Art Wien, October 8, 2015 4:24 PM
There's one in the spotlight. He don't look right to me.
Thank you for your eloquent letter. You perfectly expressed how I feel about this creative musical genius who is so arrogant, clueless, narcissistic, and anti Semitic. Oh, how I loved and lived the Floyd music and performances for over 40 years, but despise the man and am done with him. As Paul Simon wrote, "the man sees what he wants to see, and disregards the rest". As far as I'm concerned Roger Waters is ready for the Worms.
(6) Shoshana, October 8, 2015 3:35 PM
Building bridges!
You highlight the most important thing about music- the power to build bridges. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!
(5) Leah, October 8, 2015 1:58 PM
Well said!
Great open letter. I too am a former Pink Floyd fan. As much as I loved the music, i can not listen to this raging anti-semite. There were mistaking his anti-semetic antics when he performed in Belgium. I applaud Howard Stern for also publicly denouncing him.
Roger Waters...The dark side of a buffoon
(4) Anonymous, October 8, 2015 12:41 PM
BDS
how about boycotting colleges and academic institutions in america that feed jewish students with anti-israel vitriol at a price of 40K per year? How about boycotting mainstream media (CNN, MSN, Yahoo, Reuters, Associated Press, BBC) who are thrilled to talk about Islamic Militants and their "quest for peace"
Am Yisrael Chai always wins
Barry Baldonieri, October 8, 2015 9:40 PM
Yes ... Yes ... Yes ...
AMEN ... AMEN ... AMEN ... !
Mike, October 11, 2015 9:16 PM
so true
you can get the same education for a fraction of the cost at any Israeli university. (actually it's free because of Minchal HaStudentim (they will pay tuition and even give a small scholarship)).
What more can you ask for?
*if you do opt to pay tuition it will about $1000 per year. Compare that to 40K
plus: should your child want to become a lawyer, he will only have to do 4 academic years in Israel, versus the 5-7 years in the US (a difference of 4K to 200-280K )
Not a bad deal, right?
(3) Steve, October 8, 2015 12:39 PM
Boycott Ignorance!
This guy is a the worst...that's what happens when you have Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast every morning and it fries your brain...GO ISRAEL!!!!!!!!!!1
(2) Nancy, October 8, 2015 11:51 AM
Roger Waters has made me feel extremely angry.
I like Pink Floyd's music, but I too will stop listening to them. Roger Waters comments are beyond ignorant.
(1) Arnie Freedman, October 8, 2015 11:34 AM
So well said. So correct