Radiohead singer Thom Yorke has said he will no longer perform in Israel after the band came under intense scrutiny for performing in Tel Aviv in 2017.
In an interview with the British newspaper The Sunday Times, which took place before the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was agreed, Yorke said he would “never perform” in Israel.
“I don’t want to go 5,000 miles close to the Netanyahu government, but Johnny’s roots are there,” he told the magazine, referring to Radiohead lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood.
CNN has reached out to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office for comment.
Mr Greenwood told the Sunday Times he “respectfully” disagreed with Mr Yorke’s views.
“I would argue that governments are likely to use boycotts to say, ‘Everyone hates us, we should do exactly what we want,’ which is far more dangerous,” Greenwood said.
Greenwood said he was embarrassed just to drag his bandmates into “this mess.” “But I’m not ashamed to work with Arab or Jewish musicians. I can’t apologize for that,” he added.
Radiohead came under fire for their performance in Tel Aviv during their 2016-2018 world tour, “A Moon Shaped Pool.” At the time, the Boycott Divestment Sanction (BDS) group urged Radiohead to boycott Israel over their actions in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Last year, during a solo concert in Melbourne, Australia, Yorke took off his guitar and left the stage after being heckled by pro-Palestinian protesters.
Radiohead will soon begin their first tour in seven years, with shows scheduled to take place across Europe in November and December. Asked by the Sunday Times whether the tour would make him a target for protesters, Yorke replied: “Are you kidding me?”
“But they don’t care about us. What matters is that they post on Instagram that something dramatic has happened,” he told The Sunday Times.
Yorke said he believed Israel should not be allowed to participate in the Eurovision song contest, but added: “But I don’t think Eurovision should do Eurovision. So what does that tell me?”
Eurovision is a major annual international music competition attended by member countries of the European Broadcasting Union. Israel has been participating in the contest since 1973, and calls for its exclusion have grown in the wake of the Gaza War.
