Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke does not intend to perform in Israel again
Ahead of their upcoming international tour – the band’s first since 2018 – members of Radiohead were interviewed by the British newspaper The Sunday Times and addressed the internal disagreements within the group over guitarist Jonny Greenwood’s support for Israel.
In the interview, published on Saturday night, singer Thom Yorke was asked whether he would ever perform again in Israel with Radiohead. “Absolutely not,” he replied. “I wouldn’t want to be within 8,000 kilometers of Netanyahu’s regime. But Jonny has roots there, so I understand that.”
“I’ll politely disagree with Thom,” said Greenwood. “I’d argue that the government tends to use the BDS boycott to say, ‘Everyone hates us – we have to do whatever we want.’ And that’s much more dangerous.”
“It’s crazy,” he added. “The only thing I’m ashamed of is that I dragged Thom and the others into this mess – but I’m not ashamed of working with Arab and Jewish musicians. I can’t apologize for that.”
It should be noted that Greenwood performed in Israel during the war alongside Dudu Tasa and has been married for 30 years to Israeli artist Sharona Katan.
In the past, ahead of the band’s last concert in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park in the summer of 2017, Yorke told Rolling Stone magazine, “Playing in a certain country doesn’t mean we support its government.”
The band’s new tour, announced last month, will kick off on Nov. 4 in Madrid and conclude in Berlin on Dec. 12. The tour includes only 20 shows, four of which will take place at London’s O2 Arena.
Alon Fruchter is an entertainment editor for KAN 11 news.
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