Robin Rowan for Church4Israel 8-12-2017
Sunday August 13th, an unwelcome Roger Water’s concert is scheduled at Bridgestone arena in Nashville. Mr. Water’s is famously known as the founder of “Pink Floyd,” a popular rock band in the 1990’s. Several prominent pro-Israel, Jewish and Evangelical Christian leaders called for protest and picketing outside the arena.
The Tennessean newspaper posted “Roger Waters shouldn’t be welcome in Nashville.” The Nashville Jewish Federation produced advertisements against the concert. A similar message and call to picket was made by a popular Evangelical leader. The calls for protest were picked up by a variety of Israel news outlets.
Mr. Waters is known for his highly offensive and false statements against Israel, which he calls a “brutal and oppressive regime,” comparing Israel to the Nazi’s and declaring Israel an Apartheid state that murders Palestinians.
Waters stated in a 2013 interview with Counterpunch;
“The situation in Israel/ Palestine, with the occupation, the ethnic cleansing and the systematic racist apartheid Israeli regime is unacceptable.”
“There were many people that pretended that the oppression of the Jews was not going on. From 1933 until 1946. So this is not a new scenario. Except that this time it’s the Palestinian people being murdered.”
In his concert tour, Mr. Waters put a Star of David and other icons on a large inflatable pig that descended from the rafters. It is reportedly destroyed by the audience at the end of the show. He also projects dollar signs with images of Nazi swastikas on background screens.
Mr. Waters is one of the most famous proponents of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) against Israel. He openly accuses Israel of committing Apartheid and in an open letter defending the concert states;
“I have often come under attack by the pro-Israel lobby because of my support for BDS, (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) which I won’t go into here, anyone interested can access a speech I made at The United Nations. The State of Israel… operates Apartheid both within its own borders and also in the territories it has occupied and colonized since 1967.”
Waters has also tried unsuccessfully to get other prominent groups such as the Rolling Stones and Radiohead to not perform in Israel.
There should be no audience for him in Nashville, a city that is home to many pro-Israel ministries and in a State very pro-Israel and stands against the BDS movement.
Laurie Cardoza Moore, founder of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations based in Nashville, issued a strong statement and call for protest against Mr. Waters who is considered the global ambassador for the BDS movement;
“In accordance with the U.S. State Department’s guidelines, the BDS movement’s activities are clearly anti-Semitic. They seek to delegitimize, demonize, and apply a double standard toward Israel, while remaining silent on real atrocities taking place worldwide.”
“The BDS movement has been hailed by Hamas which seeks the total destruction of the Jewish State. Furthermore, BDS is responsible for an increase in anti-Semitism and violent attacks on Jewish students on campuses in America and around the world.”
“Roger Waters is a global symbol of Jew Hatred that should not be welcome in Nashville or anywhere else in the United States of America… is the poster boy for BDS, it’s time to give him a taste of his own medicine and send a strong message that anti-Semites aren’t welcome in Tennessee.”
Mark Freedman of the Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee Director made a call to action;
“If you go to the concert, make your own sign and hold it up during the performance — let it clearly state that there is no room for hatred and bigotry in our great city. Inform Waters that Israel shares democratic values with our country that support human rights while Arabs across the Middle East continue to slaughter each other at an alarming rate. Tell Waters to take his pig back to the poke where it belongs.
Finally, be in touch with the officials of Bridgestone Arena and the concert sponsors, letting them know that by welcoming and supporting a Roger Waters performance sends the wrong message in a city that promotes diversity and respects people of all backgrounds and faiths.”
Church4Israel looks forward to hearing reports from the concert. Christians and Jews have strength in numbers as they unite together to stop the false propaganda against Israel.
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Robin can be contacted at Church4Israel @ gmail.com.
