Rocker Roger Waters has lashed out at Bon Jovi for refusing to cancel a gig in Israel on Saturday.
The former Pink Floyd frontman often takes aim at artists prior to scheduled gigs in the Middle East and urges them to boycott the nation as part of an ongoing cultural protest against the Israel's treatment of Palestinians.
Jon Bon Jovi was asked about Waters' views in a recent interview with Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, and revealed he and his bandmates would not be taking part in the boycott.
He said, "I heard about (the boycott) but it doesn't interest me. I told my managers to give one simple answer: That I'm coming to Israel and I'm excited to come."
The comments appear to have riled Waters up, and he has now written an open letter to the band, in which he accuses Bon Jovi and his pals of standing "shoulder to shoulder" with citizens of a country who have committed many atrocities.
The letter reads: "Often in the past I have written detailed, and sometimes even persuasive, letters to colleagues in the music business, encouraging them not to give succor (support) to the Israeli government's apartheid policies by performing in Israel.
"Having read Jon's comments last week in Yedioth Ahronoth, I won't waste my time drawing parallels with Apartheid South Africa and the moral stand that so many artists took then and that thousands are taking now in the face of decades of Israeli oppression of Palestinians. So the die is cast, you are determined to proceed with your gig in Tel Aviv on October 3. You are making your stand.
"You stand shoulder to shoulder... With the settler who burned the baby, With the bulldozer driver who crushed Rachel Corrie (American peace activist and diarist who was killed by Israel Defense Forces in 2003), With the soldier who shot the soccer player's feet to bits, With the sailor who shelled the boys on the beach, With the sniper who killed the kid in the green shirt, And the one who emptied his clip into the 13-year-old girl, And the Minister of Justice who called for genocide...
"You had a chance to stand, On the side of justice, With the pilot who refused to bomb refugee camps, With the teenager who chose eight prison terms over army service, With the prisoner who fasted for 266 days until freedom, With the doctor banned from entry for saving lives, With the farmer who was cut down marching to the wall, With the legless child growing up in the rubble, And the 550 others who won't grow up at all, Because of the missiles and tank shells and bullets we sent. The dead can't remind you of the crimes you've ignored. But, lest we forget, 'To stand by silent and indifferent is the greatest crime of all'."
WENN.com
