Radiohead's Thom Yorke Releases Statement on Israel and Gaza

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a day ago

Thom Yorke, June 2022 (Roberto Ricciuti/Redferns)
Thom Yorke has released a statement about Israel and the war in Gaza. The Radiohead and Smile frontman began his statement by acknowledging the pro-Palestine concertgoer who shouted at him about the war during an Australian show last year. 'Some guy shouting at me from the dark last year when I was picking up a guitar to sing the final song alone in front of 9000 people in Melbourne didn't really seem like the best moment to discuss the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza,' Yorke shared. 'Afterwards I remained in shock that my supposed silence was somehow being taken as complicity, and I struggled to find an adequate way to respond to this and to carry on with the rest of the shows on the tour.'
Yorke continued by stating his opposition to Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his government. (Around the time Radiohead last performed in Israel, in 2017, Yorke also made clear his opposition to Netanyahu.) 'I think Netanyahu and his crew of extremists are totally out of control and need to be stopped, and that the international community should put all the pressure it can on them to cease,' the musician wrote. 'Their excuse of self-defence has long since worn thin and has been replaced by a transparent desire to take control of Gaza and the West Bank permanently.' Additionally, Yorke called the blockade of aid to Gaza 'horrific.'
Yorke also condemned Hamas, admonishing the Palestinian Islamist group that governs the Gaza Strip for the October 7, 2023, attacks that precipitated the Israeli military's offensive in the region. 'Why did Hamas choose the truly horrific acts of October 7th?' he asked. 'The answer seems obvious, and I believe Hamas chooses too to hide behind the suffering of its people, in an equally cynical fashion for their own purposes.'
For much of the rest of his note, Yorke discussed the largely online conversations about Israel and Palestine. 'I sympathize completely with the desire to 'do something' when we are witnessing such horrific suffering on our devices every day. It completely makes sense,' he said. 'But I now think it is a dangerous illusion to believe reposting, or one or two line messages are meaningful, especially if it is to condemn your fellow human beings. There are unintended consequences.'
The musician also made reference to 'those i work with,' likely alluding to his Radiohead and Smile bandmate Jonny Greenwood, who has been a subject of interest with regard to the war in Gaza. Greenwood is married to Sharona Katan, an Israeli artist of Egyptian and Iraqi descent, and he has collaborated closely with the Israeli musician Dudu Tassa. The musicians also recently had two UK concerts canceled after pressure from the the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.
Find Thom Yorke's full statement below.
Some guy shouting at me from the dark last year when I was picking up a guitar to sing the final song alone in front of 9000 people in Melbourne didn't really seem like the best moment to discuss the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
Afterwards I remained in shock that my supposed silence was somehow being taken as complicity, and I struggled to find an adequate way to respond to this and to carry on with the rest of the shows on the tour.
That silence, my attempt to show respect for all those who are suffering and those who have died, and to not trivialize it in a few words, has allowed other opportunistic groups to use intimidation and defamation to fill in the blanks, and I regret giving them this chance. This has had a heavy toll on my mental health.
I would hope that for anyone who has ever listened to a note of the music of my band or any of the music i have created over the years, or looked at the artwork or read any of the lyrics, it would be self-evident that I could not possibly support any form of extremism or dehumanization of others. All i see in a lifetime's worth of work with my fellow musicians and artists is pushing against such things, trying to create work that goes beyond what it means to be controlled, coerced, threatened, to suffer, to be intimidated .. and instead to encourage critical thinking beyond borders, the commonality of love and experience and free creative expression.
Sounds naff … but true.
For others let me fill in the blanks now, so we're nice and clear.
I think Netanyahu and his crew of extremists are totally out of control and need to be stopped, and that the international community should put all the pressure it can on them to cease. Their excuse of self-defence has long since worn thin and has been replaced by a transparent desire to take control of Gaza and the West Bank permanently.
I believe this ultra-nationalist administration has hidden itself behind a terrified & grieving people and used them to deflect any criticism, using that fear and grief to further their ultra-nationalist agenda with terrible consequences, as we see now with the horrific blockade of aid to Gaza.
While our lives tick along as normal these endless thousands of innocent human souls are still being expelled from the earth… for what?
At the same time the unquestioning Free Palestine refrain that surrounds us all does not answer the simple question of why the hostages have still not all been returned? For what possible reason?
Why did Hamas choose the truly horrific acts of October 7th? The answer seems obvious, and I believe Hamas chooses too to hide behind the suffering of its people, in an equally cynical fashion for their own purposes.
I also think there is a further and extremely important point to make.
Social media witch-hunts (nothing new) on either side pressurizing artists and whoever they feel like that week to make statements etc do very little except heighten tension, fear and over-simplification of what are complex problems that merit proper face to face debate by people who genuinely wish the killing to stop and an understanding to be found.
This kind of deliberate polarization does not serve our fellow human beings and perpetuates a constant 'us and them' mentality. It destroys hope and maintains a sense of isolation, the very things that extremists use to maintain their position. We facilitate their hiding in plain sight if we assume that the extremists and the people they claim to represent are one and the same, indivisible.
If our world is ever able to move on from these dark times and find peace it will only be when we rediscover what we share in common, and the extremists are sent back to sit in the darkness from whence they came.
I sympathize completely with the desire to 'do something' when we are witnessing such horrific suffering on our devices every day. It completely makes sense. But I now think it is a dangerous illusion to believe reposting, or one or two line messages are meaningful, especially if it is to condemn your fellow human beings. There are unintended consequences.
It is shouting from the darkness. It is not looking people in the eye when you speak. It is making dangerous assumptions. It is not debate and it is not critical thinking.
Importantly, it is open to online manipulation of all kinds, both mechanistic and political.
What is the alternative? I can't answer that easily. I do know in communities around the globe this subject is now dangerously toxic and we are in uncharted waters. We need to turn back.
I am sure that, to this point, what I have written here will in no way satisfy those who choose to target myself or those i work with, they will spend time picking holes and looking for reasons to continue, we are an opportunity not to be missed, no doubt, and by either side.
I have written this in the simple hope that i can join with the many millions of others praying for this suffering, isolation and death to stop, praying that we can collectively regain our humanity and dignity and our ability to reach understanding .. that one day soon this darkness will have passed.
Thom Yorke
Originally Appeared on Pitchfork