Wiesenthal Center: New Yorkers Should Give Anti-Israel Boycott Leader Roger Waters what he Deserves — an Empty Theater

Waters’ commitment to freedom of expression doesn’t extend to performers who dare toshare their talents with the people of Israel

"Roger Waters is an entertainer who hates the Jewish State of Israel. He is a major promoter of the anti-peace Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement.This extreme anti-Israel campaign has never helped a single Palestinian as it is designed only todemonize and denigrate the lone democracy in the Middle East and the only society in the region where freedom of speech and artistic expression flourish,” charged Rabbis Marvin Hier andAbraham Cooper, Dean and Founder and Associate Dean of the leading Jewish Human Rights organization. "His words and actions have been condemned by the full spectrum of Israelis—from theProgressive Left to followers of Likud on the Right,” Hier and Cooper noted.

Waters, who in the past has used a pig with a Star of David as props for his concerts, has vilifiedother performers for the “crime" of performing before Jews, Christians and Muslims in Tel Aviv and elsewhere in the Jewish State. "Waters’ commitment to freedom of expressionextends only to those who agree with him and does not apply to anyone who wants to share their talents with the people of Israel”, added Mark Weitzman, the Center’s Director of GovernmentAffairs.

"At this time, when Israelis are being butchered by Palestinian terrorists, it is indeed unfortunatethat he was invited to Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theater this Friday to what he would block others from doing in Israel.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center therefore calls on New Yorkers to give Roger Waters the reception hedeserves: an empty hall. We urge people who may have been unaware of his hate-filled boycott campaign and bought tickets for his performance, to vote with their feet and instead stand insolidarity--outside of the theater-- with the innocent victims of terrorism in The Holy Land,” Center officials concluded.

For further information please contact the Center’s Public Relations Department at 310.553.9036, join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent direct to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It isan NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).