English rock band Radiohead’s frontman Thom Yorke has said he would “absolutely not” perform in Israel, after the band faced intense backlash for playing in Tel Aviv in 2017.
In a recent interview with the British newspaper The Sunday Times, Yorke said he “wouldn’t want to be 5,000 miles anywhere near the Netanyahu regime.”
Yorke made the remarks eight years after Radiohead defied calls from pro-Palestinian activists and public figures to cancel their Tel Aviv show, in a controversial decision that sparked widespread backlash.
At the time, Yorke defended the show, arguing that performing in a country was not an endorsement of its government.
“Playing in a country isn’t the same as endorsing the government. We don’t endorse Netanyahu any more than Trump, but we still play in America.”
However, the singer said in the new interview that he now views that decision differently, revealing that he felt “horrified” when “a clearly connected high-up” Israeli official came to their hotel to thank the band for performing.
During a solo concert in Melbourne, Australia, last year, Yorke briefly left the stage after being interrupted by a pro-Palestinian protester who shouted, “How many dead children will it take for you to condemn the genocide in Gaza?”
He later said the incident left him “in shock,” urging fans not to mistake his silence for complicity. He also said that Netanyahu’s regime needs “to be stopped.”
Yorke and his band mates are preparing for Radiohead’s first tour in seven years, with 20 scheduled shows across five European cities.
Even before the tour’s official announcement, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) urged the fans to boycott it.
The upcoming European tour is set to begin in November and continue through December.
Yorke also said that he did not believe Israel should be allowed to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Eurovision is a major annual international music competition featuring countries from the European Broadcasting Union.
Calls for Israel’s exclusion have intensified over the regime’s genocide in Gaza, with Netherlands, Iceland, Ireland, Spain and Slovania saying in September that they will not participate in the next song contest if Israel is allowed to take part.