Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have faced criticism from outspoken critics of the Israeli government, including Roger Waters & Thurston Moore, ahead of two shows in Tel Aviv next month.

In an open letter to Cave, Artists For Palestine UK, which counts Moore and Waters among its members, urged him to cancel the show “while apartheid remains.”

“Domination means Palestinian writers under house arrest. Literary festivals broken up. Travel bans for actors and musicians. Social media under surveillance”, the group wrote in the letter.


“Media centres raided and plundered. The normalized use of military force against a captive population. The steady expansion of illegal settlements.”

The letter continued: “These are crimes. But when international artists of your stature, despite the appeals of Palestinians, continue to turn up on Israeli stages, the government which promotes these crimes takes heart: whatever it does, it seems there will be no penalty.

“Like others who’ve added Tel Aviv to their touring schedule, you may say that you oppose Netanyahu. But it matters little whether or not artists endorse Israel’s government. It’s the fact they’re willing to perform in Israel that is important.”

In a separate letter, Waters urged the band to “heed the cry” and cancel the concert.

Waters’ protestations come after he locked horns with Radiohead before their Tel Aviv show in July, and subsequently accused the Oxford group of supporting the Israeli government.


“When they cross the picket line, they are making a public statement that they do endorse policies of the government, whatever they say, because that is what will be reported in Israel and that is what gets reported around the world”, he told RT.

“That is why Radiohead are being so soundly criticised by anybody with progressive ideas about human rights, because they have taken that step.”