Roger Waters targeted with boycott by German Jewish group: report
By Tim Kenneally LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - A Jewish group is calling for a boycott of an upcoming concert by former Pink Floyd leader Roger Waters, claiming that the musician uses anti-Semitic imagery in his current tour. In his show "The Wall," Rogers uses an inflatable pig with a Star of David on it as a stage prop, though the pig also has other religious, political and corporate emblems emblazoned on it. Michael Szentei-Heise, the director of the Jewish Community in Dusseldorf, urged the boycott of Walters' September 6 concert in the German city, the Associated Press reports. In a statement, Szentei-Heise accuses Waters of employing "anti-Semitic and National Socialist" imagery. He also characterizes Waters as an "intellectual arsonist." Waters - who according to reports has urged musicians not to perform in Israel - has denied charges of anti-Semitism that have been leveled at him. Responding to an open letter from Anti-Defamation League national director Abraham H. Foxman, Waters wrote, "For the record I am not anti-Semitic, neither is my theatrical piece The Wall and nor are any of the props, puppets or projections in that work." However, Waters added, "You are right in saying that I have attacked The Israeli Governments' policies in Gaza, the West Bank, and in Israel itself."
