Thom Yorke has said the “witch-hunt” over Radiohead’s stance on Israel and Palestine “wakes him up at night”, while his bandmates have also shared their views on the issue.
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All five members of the band have given an interview to The Times in which they have laid out their own perspectives on the controversies faced by Radiohead in recent years.
In 2017, they encountered a backlash when they played a show in Tel Aviv, Israel despite protests urging them to cancel the gig from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, as well as criticism from Roger Waters, Thurston Moore, Young Fathers and others.
Last year, Yorke clashed with a protester during a solo show in Melbourne, arguing with an individual from the crowd and storming off stage, before later issuing a lengthy statement explaining his decision.
Jonny Greenwood, meanwhile, has come in for criticism for making records with Israeli musician Dudu Tassa, and saw two UK gigs with Tassa cancelled earlier this year after protesters called for a boycott. Greenwood, who is married to an Israeli artist, also played with Tassa in Tel Aviv last year.
When Radiohead announced their first shows in over seven years in September, the BDS argued that the band’s “complicit silence” and support of Israeli performers during the “genocide against Palestinians in Gaza” should lead to a boycott of the shows.
Now, the members of the band have shared their thoughts on the matter, with Yorke saying: “This wakes me up at night.”
“They’re telling me what it is that I’ve done with my life, and what I should do next, and that what I think is meaningless,” he explained. “People want to take what I’ve done that means so much to millions of people and wipe me out. But this is not theirs to take from me – and I don’t consider I’m a bad person.”
“A few times recently I’ve had ‘Free Palestine!’ shouted at me on the street. I talked to a guy. His shtick was, ‘You have a platform, a duty and must distance yourself from Jonny.’ But I said, ‘You and me, standing on the street in London, shouting at each other? Well, the true criminals, who should be in front of the ICC [International Criminal Court], are laughing at us squabbling among ourselves in the public realm and on social media – while they just carry on with impunity, murdering people.’ It’s an expression of impotency. It’s a purity test, low-level Arthur Miller witch-hunt. I utterly respect the dismay but it’s very odd to be on the receiving end.”
Greenwood described the backlash as “the embodiment of the left”, adding: “The left look for traitors, the right for converts and it’s depressing that we are the closest they can get.” Revealing that he is currently working on a record with Israeli and Middle Eastern musicians, he added: “And it’s nuts I feel frightened to admit that. Yet that feels progressive to me – booing at a concert does not strike me as brave or progressive.”
“Look, I have been to anti-government protests in Israel and you cannot move for all the ‘Fuck Ben-Gvir’ stickers,” Greenwood continued, referring to controversial Israeli minister of national security Itamar Ben-Gvir. “I spend a lot of time there with family and cannot just say, ‘I’m not making music with you fuckers because of the government.’ It makes no sense to me. I have no loyalty – or respect, obviously – to their government, but I have both for the artists born there.”
Yorke was asked whether he would play in Israel with Radiohead again. “Absolutely not,” he replied. “I wouldn’t want to be 5,000 miles anywhere near the Netanyahu regime but Jonny has roots there. So I get it.”
“I would also politely disagree with Thom,” Greenwood responded. “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.”
“It’s nuts,” he added. “The only thing that I’m ashamed of is that I’ve dragged Thom and the others into this mess – but I’m not ashamed of working with Arab and Jewish musicians. I can’t apologise for that.”
Guitarist Ed O’Brien, meanwhile, had his say on the issue, claiming: “We should have played Ramallah in the West Bank as well.”
“I am not going to judge anybody,” he said in reference to his bandmates’ stances. “But the brutal truth is that, while we were once all tight, we haven’t really spoken to one another much – and that’s OK.”
Drummer Philip Selway added: “What BDS are asking of us is impossible. They want us to distance ourselves from Jonny, but that would mean the end of the band and Jonny is coming from a very principled place. But it’s odd to be ostracised by artists we generally felt quite aligned to.”
In the past, Yorke has spoken out on the reaction to the band’s Tel Aviv show by stating: Playing a country isn’t the same as endorsing its government. We don’t endorse Netanyahu any more than Trump.
The band’s return to the stage will consist of multiple dates each in Madrid, Bologna, London’s O2, Copenhagen and Berlin between November 4 and December 12. Tickets sold out quickly in September, with the band sharing earlier this month that they were sending out “a few more unlock codes” for tickets.
The group’s most recent live performance took place on August 1, 2018 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. It marked the end of their ‘A Moon Shaped Pool’ tour in support of their 2017 album of the same name – which they have yet to follow up.
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