BERLIN (AP) — Several Jewish groups, politicians and an alliance of civil society groups gathered for a commemoration ceremony and a protest rally against a Roger Waters concert in Frankfurt on Sunday night.
They accuse the Pink Floyd co-founder of antisemitism – a charge he denies.
Waters also drew fire for his support of the BDS movement, which calls for boycotts and sanctions against Israel.
Frankfurt authorities initially tried to prevent the concert from taking place, but Waters successfully challenged the move in a local court.
The concert takes place in the city’s Festhalle, where in November 1938 more than 3,000 Jews were rounded up by the Nazis, beaten and abused, and later deported to concentration camps.
“Against this historical background, the concert should not have taken place under any circumstances,” said Sacha Stawski, a member of the Frankfurt Jewish community and head of the group Honestly Concerned, which helped organize the protests.
It is “disappointing” that the concert is going ahead as scheduled even though Frankfurt officials and many others have tried to stop it, Elio Adler, the head of the Jewish group WerteInitiative supporting the protest, told The Associated Press .
“His words and images spread hatred against Jews and are part of a trend: to normalize hatred of Israel under the protection of freedom of speech or art,” Adler added.
Last week, police in Berlin said they had opened an investigation into Waters on suspicion of incitement over a costume she wore when she performed in the German capital last month.
Photos on social media showed Waters firing an imitation machine gun while wearing a long black coat with a red armband. The police confirmed that an investigation has been opened on suspicions that the context of the costume may constitute a glorification, justification or approval of the Nazi leadership and therefore a disturbance of the public peace.
Waters denied those accusations in a statement on Facebook and Instagram, saying “the elements of my performance in question were clearly a statement in opposition to fascism, injustice, and bigotry in all its forms.”
He said “attempts to present those elements as something else are disingenuous and politically motivated.”
At Sunday’s ceremony and protest, which took place in front of the Frankfurt concert venue before the start of the Waters concert, protesters read aloud the names of the 600 Jews gathered at the Festhalle on November 9, 1939, the so-called that Kristallnacht — the “Night of Broken Glass” — when the Nazis terrorized Jews throughout Germany and Austria.
Organizers also held a joint Jewish-Christian prayer for the victims of Nazi terror in Frankfurt. The mayor of the city spoke at the protest as well as the head of the local Jewish community.
“Semitism must be condemned everywhere in our city,” Frankfurt Mayor Mike Josef said, according to German news agency dpa. “There is no reason to hate, insult and attack a person because of his religion.”
Before the performance began, about 400 protesters handed out flyers to concertgoers and waved Israeli flags. Others held banners with slogans such as “Israel, we stand with you” or “Roger Waters, wish you weren’t here” in reference to Pink Floyd’s famous song “Wish You Were Were,” it was reported of dpa.
Protesters in Munich rallied against a Waters concert earlier this month, after the city council said it had explored the possibility of banning the performance but decided it was not legally possible to cancel a contract with the organizer.
Last year, the Polish city of Krakow Waters’ gigs were canceled because of his sympathy for Russia in its war against Ukraine.
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Michael Probst contributed reporting from Frankfurt.
