opinion

Roger Waters and his BDS support are not welcome in Tennessee

Like many other Christians, Jews and people of conscience in the State of Tennessee, I am appalled that Nashville will host Roger Waters for his performance on Sunday at Bridgestone Arena.

Once known for his musicianship and talent onstage with Pink Floyd, Waters has now turned his legacy career in music into a full blown political platform of hatred for Jews and the promotion of his full-throated support of the Boycott Divestment, and Sanctions Movement (BDS), a Hamas heralded agenda that seeks to cripple and destroy the State of Israel.

These are sentiments he is not ashamed to share globally in both offstage interviews and onstage rhetoric. As part of his open contempt for Israel, he has frequently and openly paraded onstage before his concert audiences in a mock Nazi uniform, heralding the launch above the stage of a massive inflatable pig emblazoned with the Star of David.

Tennessee has a lot invested in the war against anti-Semitism and the vile BDS Movement that has been the catalyst for violent attacks on Jewish students on campuses both within our own state, around the nation and the world.

Read More: Rogers Waters supports Palestinian rights, not anti-Semitism

Read More: Roger Waters shouldn't be welcome in Nashville

In accordance with the U.S. State Department’s guidelines the BDS Movement’s activities seek to delegitimize, demonize, and apply a double standard toward Israel, while remaining silent on the real atrocities taking place worldwide.

Roger Waters has made his support of this agenda loudly and publicly known on the global stage and will now bring that same hatred to Nashville.

As the president of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations (PJTN), we publicly helped rally support to assure that the Tennessee State Assembly was the first state legislature in the country to adopt a resolution condemning the BDS Movement as anti-Semitic and demanded its members be held accountable for their actions.

Tennessee led the way in 2015. Now Ohio is poised to become the 12th state to pass the same legislation, with more states soon to follow. Several countries worldwide have followed the lead Tennessee forged; noting that “silence in the face of evil” is not an option.

Roger Waters’ concert in Nashville on Sunday allows us the opportunity to let our voice as Tennesseans be heard.

Whether with this message, peaceful protest of the concert, or returning tickets for refund to Bridgestone Arena, I know I speak for many Tennesseans in condemning the hatred and removing the welcome mat from our door.

Laurie Cardoza-Moore is the president of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations (PJTN.org) which seeks to educate Christians about their Biblical responsibility to stand with Israel and the Jewish people.