The Anti-Defamation League sent an open letter to Pink Floyd singer Roger Waters Thursday criticizing a letter Waters wrote endorsing the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement.
Waters wrote a letter July 25 to his fellow musicians calling on them to join him in refusing to perform in Israel.
ADL says his letter was full of anti-Jewish sentiment.
"Your recent statements about Israel and advocacy for BDS have garnered significant condemnation, with some going as far as to label you an anti-Semite," ADL wrote.
ADL continued:
In your July 25th letter to your "Colleagues in Rock and Roll" you offered full-throated unambiguous support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, writing that their goal is "to bring international attention to these Israeli polices [of ‘occupation of the West Bank and violations of international law and Palestinian human rights’] and hopefully, to help bring them to an end," and imploring other musicians to join you in refusing to perform in Israel.
Important details are omitted from your letter, which is a classic propaganda technique. Why didn’t you point out that one of the stated objectives of the BDS movement, promoting a complete right of return for all Palestinians classified as refugees and the creation of a bi-national state, would result in the end of the Jewish character of the State of Israel and destroy Jewish national self-determination? Your writing also makes no mention of Palestinian terrorism, nor does it provide any context to the complex nature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hamas, a terrorist organization which continues to advocate for Israel’s destruction, is entirely absent from your letter.