Roger Waters expresses "disbelief" at Nick Cave’s pro-Israel stance

Roger Waters has expressed “sorrow, rage and disbelief” at Nick Cave’s aggressive defence of his decision to perform in Israel.
The Bad Seeds rocker, 60, held a press conference on Sunday (19Nov17) ahead of two gigs in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.
Speaking to journalists, Cave accused Waters and the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement of trying to “bully” and “censor” musicians into supporting a cultural and economic boycott of the Jewish state.
Responding to Cave’s comments, the ex-Pink Floyd rocker has issued a statement on the website of Artists for Palestine U.K., an artists group calling for a boycott.
In his statement Waters, 74, wrote, “I read Nick Cave’s press conference statements with a mixture of sorrow, rage and disbelief. No wonder he avoided a conversation with anyone from BDS before going ahead with his shows in Tel Aviv.”
The Comfortably Numb musician slammed Cave for his stance, stating music was “irrelevant” to the issue of Palestinians’ human rights and accused Israeli security forces of murdering Palestinian children.
He added that BDS supporters, “Hurl our glasses into the fire of your arrogant unconcern, and smash our bracelets on the rock of your implacable indifference.”
Former Roxy Music star Brian Eno and British filmmaker Ken Loach also issued statements condemning the Nature Boy singer.
At the press conference, Cave explained that campaigners’ targeting of musicians who agree to perform in Israel had increased his determination to play for fans there. His gigs went ahead on Sunday and Monday (20Nov17).
The Australian rocker said, “It suddenly became very important to make a stand, to me, against those people who are trying to shut down musicians, to bully musicians, to censor musicians and to silence musicians.”
Other musicians who have defied calls to boycott Israel include Radiohead, whose frontman Thom Yorke also publicly criticised Waters, and Rod Stewart.