Roger Waters rejects anti-Semitism claims

Roger Waters has brushed off claims that his current tour of The Wall features anti-Semitic imagery.

It had been suggested by the Anti Defamation League that the video projected during 'Goodbye Blue Sky' propagated anti-Jewish stereotypes by showing an aeroplane dropping Stars of David followed by another dropping Dollar signs.

In a post on his official website, the ex-Pink Floyd star said: "Abraham Foxman, head of the ADL,(Anti Defamation League) in the USA, accuses my new production of The Wall and by implication me, of anti-Semitism. A serious charge that demands a response.

"Had Mr Foxman come to my show before passing judgement and commenting publicly he might, I hope, have held his peace, as there is no anti-Semitism in The Wall show."

He continued: "The song to which he refers, 'Goodbye Blue Sky', describes how ordinary people, military and civilians alike, suffer trauma in the aftermath of war. The visuals that accompany the song show waves of B52 bombers dropping various symbols from bomb bays on a war-ravaged landscape.

"The symbols are: in no particular order, a Crucifix, a Hammer and Sickle, a Star of David, A Crescent and Star, a Mercedes sign, a Dollar sign, and a Shell Oil sign."

Waters added: "Mr Foxman's concern was that potentially the juxtoposition of a Star of David and a Dollar sign might incite hatred of Jews. Contrary to Mr Foxman's assertion, there are no hidden meanings in the order or juxtaposition of these symbols.

"The point I am trying to make in the song is that the bombardment we are all subject to by conflicting religious, political, and economic ideologies only encourages us to turn against one another, and I mourn the concomitant loss of life.

"In so far as The Wall has a political message it is to seek to illuminate our condition, and find new ways to encourage peace and understanding, particularly in the Middle East."