Israeli fans of iconic British band Radiohead shouldn’t get their hopes up about seeing them in Tel Aviv when they go on tour for the first time since 2018.
“I wouldn’t want to be within 5,000 miles of the Netanyahu regime,” frontman Thom Yorke told the Times (UK) in an interview published on Saturday with the band.
The issue of support or opposition to Israel or Gaza emerged as an issue the band is grappling with during the interview with Yorke, guitarist Jonny Greenwood, drummer Phil Selway, guitarist Ed O’Brien, and bassist Colin Greenwood, Jonny’s brother.
“Boycotts only strengthen the government, which uses them to say that everyone hates us and therefore we can do whatever we want. That’s far more dangerous,” responded Jonny Greenwood to Yorke’s statement. Greenwood, who is married to Israeli artist Sharon Kanon and records and performs with Israeli musician Dudu Tassa, added that he said he joined protests in Hostage Square during the last two years on frequent trips to Israel.
“You can’t move around there without seeing stickers saying ‘F*** Ben Gvir.’ I spend a lot of time there with my family, and I can’t just tell people, ‘I won’t make music with you because of your government.’ That makes no sense to me. I have no loyalty or respect for the Israeli government, but I have both for the artists who were born there,” he said.
Radiohead last performed in Israel in 2017, and its members have been vocal about calls for them to boycott the Jewish state. The band has a soft spot for the country, which helped break its first album Pablo Honey and iconic single, “Creep” in 1993 when the rest of the world was ignoring it.
Neither Yorke nor Greenwood expressed sympathy with those who criticize their comments, which have expressed a nuanced understanding of both Israelis and Palestinians.
Yorke said that the ‘Free Palestine’ crowd “tell me what I’ve done with my life, what I should do next, and that what I think doesn’t matter. People want to erase what I’ve done, what means something to millions of people. I understand the anger, but it feels like a loyalty test.”
'The left looks for traitors,' Greenwood said
Greenwood added, “To me, this is what the left represents. The left looks for traitors; the right looks for converts. And it’s depressing that we’re the closest thing either side has. I’m working on an album now with musicians from Israel and the Middle East, and it’s insane that I’m afraid to admit that.”
That prompted a response from Yorke, who told his bandmate, “You’re whitewashing genocide, mate. And apparently so am I – just by sitting next to you on this couch.”
Greenwood shot back at Yorke, saying, “Boycotts only strengthen the government, which uses them to say that everyone hates us and therefore we can do whatever we want. That’s far more dangerous. The only thing I regret is dragging Thom and the others into this mess. But I don’t regret working with Jewish and Arab musicians.”
Radiohead’s drummer Phil Selway added his perspective, saying, “What the BDS movement is asking of us is impossible. They want us to distance ourselves from Jonny, but that would mean ending the band. And Jonny acts out of principle.”
Radiohead will perform at already sold-out shows in Madrid, Bologna, London, Copenhagen, and Berlin in November and December. Despite the politics involved, expect to see a sizable Israeli presence in the audience.