Radiohead frontman says he would now not play gigs in Israel
While Thom Yorke says he would not perform in Tel Aviv, he defends bandmate Jonny Greenwood's right to work with with Israeli musicians
Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has said he “absolutely not” perform concerts in Israel as a protest at the “Netanyahu regime,” but he has defended bandmate Jonny Greenwood over his decision to work with Israeli and Middle Eastern musicians on his own solo work.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, done prior to the current Gaza ceasefire, Yorke insisted:”I wouldn’t want to be 5,000 miles anywhere near the Netanyahu regime but Jonny has roots there.”
But at one stage in the revealing chat, Yorke appeared to pour scorn on the language used by some in the BDS movement when he said to Greenwood:”But you are whitewashing genocide, mate. And so am I, apparently, by sitting next to you on this sofa.”
Lead guitarist Greenwood said he “politely” disagreed with Yorke over his decision to avoid playing in Israel. He is married to an Israeli artist and has faced criticism from boycott advocates for his longtime collaboration with Israel-born rock musician Dudu Tassa.
In 2024, Greenwood joined protests in Israel calling for the removal of Netanyahu.
“I would argue that the government is more likely to use a boycott and say, ‘Everyone hates us — we should do exactly what we want.’ Which is far more dangerous” Greenwood said.
“Look, I have been to antigovernment protests in Israel and you cannot move for all the ‘F*** Ben-Gvir’ stickers,” he continued.
“I spend a lot of time there with family and cannot just say, ‘I’m not making music with you f***ers because of the government.’ It makes no sense to me. I have no loyalty — or respect, obviously — to their government, but I have both for the artists born there.”
He also said the only thing he is ashamed of is dragging his bandmates “into this mess.”
Greenwood added, “But I’m not ashamed of working with Arab and Jewish musicians. I can’t apologise for that.”
Radiohead were condemned by the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) organisation after they played in Tel Aviv during their “A Moon Shaped Pool” world tour, which ran from 2016 to 2018.
The band begins their first tour in seven years next month, playing 20 shows in five European cities, including London.
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel has shared a statement calling for a boycott of the tour.
Yorke told the Sunday Times:”But they don’t care about us. It’s about getting something on Instagram of something dramatic happening, and, no, I don’t think Israel should do Eurovision.”
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