REM singer Michael Stipe speaks out in support of Radiohead over BDS

 

I stand with Radiohead and their decision to perform. Let's hope a dialogue continues, helping to bring the occupation to an end and lead to a peaceful solution. Sincerely, Michael Stipe

A post shared by @michaelstipe on Jul 16, 2017 at 2:46pm PDT

Life Is Sweet director Mike Leigh, meanwhile has, like fellow film director Ken Loach and former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters,  issued a statement criticising Radiohead’s position:

As the lights go out in Gaza and Palestinian cancer patients die because they are denied travel permits by Israel, while a Palestinian poet in Israel lives under house arrest for a poem she wrote on Facebook, while a young circus performer from the West Bank languishes in administrative detention without charge or trial – Thom Yorke speaks loftily about ‘crossing borders’ and ‘freedom of expression’. One has to ask, freedom for whom exactly?’