Roger Waters is known for his activism for the Palestinian cause and is prominent in a movement calling for an artist boycott against Israel. At the same time, his comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany, and statements that the country is guilty of "ethnic cleansing," have led to him being accused of being an anti-Semite. He himself denies being an anti-Semite.
Among those accusing him of anti-Semitism are his former bandmate David Gilmour and his wife Polly Samson.
"Sorry, Roger Waters, you are an anti-Semite in your rotten core. And a Putin apologist," Samson wrote in a post on Twitter last month shared by Gilmour with the comment: "Every word is demonstrably true.".
Waters, like the Kremlin's propaganda, argues that the US and Biden provoked the invasion of Ukraine and that Putin had no choice but to invade his neighbor.
Legal action
The city of Frankfurt owns 60% of the Festhalle arena and was therefore able to cancel Roger Waters' gig. The former Pink Floyd bassist has called the city's decision to cancel him "indefensible" and has taken legal action against the city.
In a social media post, Waters has published a photo of the gravesite of anti-Nazi political activist Sophie Scholl with a caption noting that the deadline for the city council to respond to his subpoena has passed. In the post, he also writes:
"Not that it matters! We will anyway! Because human rights are important! Because freedom of expression is important!". He also refers to the Nazi attacks on Jews during Kristallnacht:
"We remember Kristallnacht! Like Sophie Scholl, our fathers stood with the 3,000 Jewish men, and today we stand with the Palestinians!" and concludes with: "We are coming to Frankfurt on 28 May!".
Both Roger Waters' and the Festhalle's website state that the concert in Frankfurt will take place on May 28.