Band play in Tel Aviv, rejecting calls from protesters and campaigners for them to join cultural boycott of country

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Radiohead have performed their much-anticipated gig in Israel, after calls from protesters to cancel the show.



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The sold-out concert went ahead as planned at Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, despite urgings from activists and campaigners who have said the show is an insult to Palestinian people facing oppression in the country.

According to Richard Ferrer, editor of the London-based Jewish News newspaper, the audience of thousands represented a “melting pot” of fans.

He tweeted a picture of the stage and quoted Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke telling the crowd: “A lot was said about this, but in the end we played some music.”

According to reports, Radiohead played a 27-song set and two encores, including hits such as No Surprises, Creep and Karma Police.

Richard Ferrer (@richferrer) True melting pot crowd at @Radiohead concert in "apartheid" #Israel tonight exposes @PACBI @BoycottIsraelUK for what they really are. pic.twitter.com/IKqiIHmJSo

It comes a week after Yorke defended the band’s decision to play in the country, following criticism by award-winning British filmmaker, Ken Loach.

Loach wrote to the singer on Twitter that “Radiohead need to decide if they stand with the oppressed or the oppressor. The choice is simple.”

Yorke responded in a statement: “Playing in a country isn’t the same as endorsing its government.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Fans wait to attend the outdoor Radiohead concert. Photograph: Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images

Explaining that the band have played in both Israel and the US for the last two decades, he added: “We don’t endorse [Israeli prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu any more than Trump.”

He also tweeted an article by the show’s support musician, female Arab artist Nasreen Qadri, who wrote in US publication Newsweek: “Those who call for boycott are only trying to divide us. They are trying to shut down the music. I will not be a part of that.”

The Tel Aviv show marked a close to Radiohead’s three-month global tour.

Last month they headlined the first night of music at the Glastonbury festival, in front of an audience peppered with protesters.