Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood defends decision to perform in Israel
Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood has defended his decision to continue his ongoing collaboration with Dudu Tassa, an Israeli artist, amid the ongoing conflict and calls for an artistic boycott of Israel.
Greenwood, whose wife is also Israeli, has called the backlash from pro-Palestinian activists “unprogressive” and “silencing”. The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has been implementing a cultural boycott against Israel, and many major artists have cancelled appearances in solidarity over the years. It also recently led to the mass boycott of festivals like The Great Escape.
However, the BDS are now accusing Greenwood of breaking the picket line and “art washing genocide” as he continues to work with the Tussa and the duo recently performed in Tel Aviv.
The guitarist has been working with Tassa since 2008. Last year, the pair released a collaborative album, Jarak Qaribak, which featured a compilation of Arabic love songs featuring artists from across the Middle East. On May 26th, the duo played a show in Tel Aviv, only days after Greenwood attended a protest calling for the release of hostages in Gaza, according to the Jerusalem Post.
In response, the BDS movement shared: “Palestinians unequivocally condemn Jonny Greenwood’s shameful artwashing of Israel’s genocide.”
On their mission, they continued: “We call for peaceful, creative pressure on his band Radiohead to convincingly distance itself from this blatant complicity in the crime of crimes, or face grassroots measures.”
However, Greenwood has now responded with his own statement on social media. The guitarist condemned what he called “the silencing of this – or any – artistic effort made by Israeli Jews” by “those who are trying to shut us down, or who are now attempting to ascribe a sinister ulterior motivation to the band’s existence”.
“I think an artistic project that combines Arab and Jewish musicians is worthwhile,” he wrote. “And one that reminds everyone that the Jewish cultural roots in countries like Iraq and Yemen go back for thousands of years is also important.”
“No art is as ‘important’ as stopping all the death and suffering around us,” he continued. “How can it be? But doing nothing seems like a worse option. And silencing Israeli artists for being born Jewish in Israel doesn’t seem like any way to reach an understanding between the two sides of this apparently endless conflict.”
This isn’t the first time that Radiohead have been criticised over this issue. In 2017, their decision to play in Tel Aviv led to Thom Yorke stating that the band does not stand with the BDS movement, though he later clarified that “playing in a country isn’t the same as endorsing its government”.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Music Newsletter
All the latest music news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.