Radiohead, arguably one of the most important rock bands in the world right now, played in Israel last night – at Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv.
Radiohead, arguably one of the most important rock bands in the world right now, played in Israel last night – at Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv. Interestingly, it was their longest live performance in 11 years, with a total of 27 songs over their set which included two encores.
"A lot of stuff has been said about this, but in the end, we just played some music." Thom Yorke told the crowd
The show, which had been controversial from the get-go, followed months of debate and social media too'ing and froing which included high profile interventions from the pro-boycott musicians Roger Waters and Brian Eno and film director Mike Leigh.
Pro-performance musicians such as Michael Stipe of R.E.M. (a personal friend of Thom Yorke, Radiohead's lead singer), came out in support of the band's decision to play the show with a post on Instagram which read, “Let’s hope a dialogue continues, helping to bring the occupation to an end and lead to a peaceful solution. Sincerely, Michael Stipe.”
In the end though, after all the protests, all the Palestinian flag-waving at the band's headline set at Glastonbury last month, after everything had been said, the band who have been on the right side of so many political flashpoints and campaigns during their career, broke the BDS boycott of Israel, and played Tel Aviv.
Artists for Palestine UK – the group who organised the petition against Radiohead’s concert, released a follow-up statement, saying that Yorke, “once again fails to make any mention of the Palestinians who suffer under Israel’s regime.”
Film director Mike Leigh later released his own personal statement in a critique of Yorke’s defensiveness. The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) also took a shot at the band, accusing them of “professing to know better than [Palestinian people], in a classic colonial attitude.”
There have been many responses to the show overnight – one that particularly resonated with us at Amos was this...
Phil Antigua writes:
Yeah, that's right, you just played music in a stolen land, where you've been asked, politely, repeatedly by a gentle, yet invisible people with a huge, military boot on their necks, to recognise their forgotten, lonely and often desperate plight...
You just played some music to those wearing the boots that stamp down in repeated, racist, apartheid vigour – condescending, demeaning and for the few, not for the many...
You just played some music for the gatekeepers, the Wall maintainers and the water/electricity deniers; for the besiegers, not the besieged. The privilege that requires, the entitlement and the lack of acknowledgement of the history, the present and the lack of future...
Of all the people who should ever understand the word 'Just'... Yes, you just played some music.
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“Last Monday was International Women’s Day, a global day intended to celebrate women. Just 8 days ago. Since then, a number of things have happened. Meghan Markle shared openly about her mental health struggles and men in the media promptly accused her of lying for attention. A grim milestone was reached, passing a year since Breonna Taylor’s murder by police, in her own home, with as yet no justice served. The UK government are debating a new policing bill which would lead to 10-year sentences for defacing of statues, longer than the average sentence for rape.” Karin Joseph writes about a very difficult week for women in the UK.
It was the year of lockdown, of finding new ways to engage, to tell stories and to fundraise. As we look ahead to 2021, we’re going to first look back at the year we’ve just left behind — a year of creative fundraising and emergency appeals, of presenting webinars and publishing books, of cementing old friendships and fostering new ones. This is the Amos staff team’s review of 2020.
“I know I will still occasionally be phoning Garth. I also know that through the Garth Hewitt Foundation, he will still be creating and recording new songs, and publishing prayers and reflections. I have no doubt that retiring from Amos will not dim his passion or his creativity — if anything, I think it will focus him even more.” Chris Rose writes a tribute to Amos Trust’s Founder, Garth Hewitt.
Coronavirus first entered the main population in Gaza at the end of August and is now spreading rapidly. The official figures show that in the last two weeks the number of recorded cases in Gaza has tripled with 12,000 new cases and 62 fatalities. However this vastly under-estimates the actual numbers.
On Thursday 8th October, girls from India and South Africa met online to share their demands with each other; it was a chaotic but fantastic time connecting up girls and young women thousands of miles apart but with many common experiences. They also heard demands drafted by girls in Burundi.
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