Radiohead Frontman Releases Statement Condemning BDS

Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke at the Coachella music festival in April. Image by Getty

By Ari Feldman July 12, 2017

Thom Yorke, frontman of the groundbreaking rock group Radiohead, slammed the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement on Tuesday in a tweet. Yorke’s statement came in response to a tweet from Ken Loach, a British journalist who has repeatedly called for a cultural boycott of Israel.

“Playing in a country isn’t the same as endorsing its government,” Yorke wrote. “We’ve played in Israel for over 20 years through a succession of governments, some more liberal than others. As we have in America.”

“Music, art and academia is about crossing borders not building them,” the statement continued.

Loach recently published an op-ed urging Radiohead to skip its upcoming concert in Tel Aviv.

“Radiohead need to decide if they stand with the oppressed or the oppressor. The choice is simple,” Loach tweeted Tuesday.

Last week Yorke flipped the bird to a contingent of BDS supporters protesting Radiohead’s concert in Glasgow.

Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aefeldman.

Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. He covers Jewish religious organizations, synagogue life, anti-Semitism and the Orthodox world. If you have any tips, you can email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @aefeldman.

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