Radiohead Address Fallout Over Israel And Palestine Stance Ahead Of Tour

Radiohead have addressed criticism over their stance on Israel and Palestine ahead of their tour.

Radiohead have again addressed ongoing backlash from pro-Palestinian activists and the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which has followed them since their 2017 concert in Tel Aviv. The controversy intensified after Israel’s assault on Gaza began in October 2023, with many fans and activists accusing the band of ignoring Palestinian suffering.

In a new interview with The Times UK, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke said he feels deeply affected by the criticism. “This wakes me up at night…They’re telling me what it is that I’ve done with my life, and what I should do next, and that what I think is meaningless. People want to take what I’ve done that means so much to millions of people and wipe me out. But this is not theirs to take from me, and I don’t consider I’m a bad person.”

Yorke described being confronted on the street and accused of not distancing himself from Jonny Greenwood, who continues to collaborate with Israeli musician Dudu Tassa. “You and me, standing on the street in London, shouting at each other? Well, the true criminals, who should be in front of the ICC, are laughing at us squabbling among ourselves,” he said. “It’s a purity test, low-level Arthur Miller witch-hunt. I utterly respect the dismay but it’s very odd to be on the receiving end.”

Yorke added that Radiohead would not play Israel today: “Absolutely not… I wouldn’t want to be 5,000 miles anywhere near the Netanyahu regime.”

Greenwood, however, defended his ongoing collaborations in the region. “It’s the embodiment of the left… The left look for traitors, the right for converts and it’s depressing that we are the closest they can get. And it’s nuts I feel frightened to admit that. Yet that feels progressive to me — booing at a concert does not strike me as brave or progressive… And, yes, some people just call [my work] ineffectual, hippie, wishy-washy. And I sort of see their point. But when what I do with the musicians is described as sinister or devious? Well, I’ve done this for 20 years.”

“I spend a lot of time there with family and cannot just say, ‘I’m not making music with you fuckers because of the government.’ It makes no sense to me,” he said. “I have no loyalty – or respect, obviously – to their government, but I have both for the artists born there.”

He continued, “It’s nuts. The only thing that I’m ashamed of is that I’ve dragged Thom and the others into this mess, but I’m not ashamed of working with Arab and Jewish musicians. I can’t apologise for that.”

Elsewhere, guitarist Ed O’Brien said he wished Radiohead had played Ramallah in the West Bank as well as Tel Aviv when asked about the 2017 show, adding, “I am not going to judge anybody, but the brutal truth is that, while we were once all tight, we haven’t really spoken to one another much — and that’s OK.”

Drummer Phil Selway called BDS’s demands “impossible,” adding, “They want us to distance ourselves from Jonny, but that would mean the end of the band and Jonny is coming from a very principled place. But it’s odd to be ostracized by artists we generally felt quite aligned to.”

Radiohead’s European tour kicks off next month. When asked about new music, Greenwood said, “We haven’t thought past the tour,” while Yorke simply noted, “I’m just stunned we got this far.”