The Administrative Court of Frankfurt ruled that the City can’t afford to cancel Roger Waters’ concert after calling him “one of the most widely known antisemites in the world”.
Waters, a former Pink Floyd bandmate, took legal action and was told on Tuesday by Frankfurt authorities in February to cancel a concert in May. The city can appeal the decision.
The Frankfurt court ruled that because Rogers had “not glorified or compared the crimes of the Nazis or identified with Nazi racist ideology” in previous concerts, the cancellation of the upcoming concert was not appropriate.
Waters accused of being anti-Semitic
Waters’s anti-Israel activism has repeatedly been accused of delving into anti-Semitism. in addition to being the leader of Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions MovementWaters flies a pig-shaped balloon bearing the Star of David, talks about the alleged power of a nefarious Jewish lobby in the United States and compares it to Israel’s actions in the West Bank South Africa under apartheid and Nazi Germany.
“The backdrop to the cancellation is the persistent anti-Israel behavior of the former Pink Floyd frontman, who is considered one of the most widely spread antisemites in the world,” the city said in its statement in February. “He repeatedly called for a cultural boycott of Israel and compared it to the apartheid regime in South Africa and pressured artists to cancel shows in Israel.”
The city notes the historical significance of the Festhalle, where Waters is set to play in his statement. During the Holocaust, it was the site of the deportation of 3,000 Jews to their deaths just after Kristallnacht.
The Frankfurt court acknowledged that the venue for the concert was tasteless but said that the show must go on and be “seen as a work of art.”
In March, the mayor of Munich said that he had tried and failed to find legal standing to prevent Waters’ concerts in his city. “I don’t want her [Waters] here, but now we have to endure it, ”said Mayor Dieter Reiter.