Israel Matzav

#BDS_Fail: Citibank, American Express pull support from Roger Waters concert tour

Both Citibank and American Express have withdrawn their support for former Deep Purple lead guitarist Roger Waters' concert tour over Waters' support of the BDS movement.

Citibank announced Tuesday that it was not sponsoring the upcoming concert tour of Pink Floyd co-founder and Israel-boycott advocate Roger Waters, adding that the bank had “no plans to work with this artist in the future,” the Algemeiner reported.

The banking giant issued the denial in a letter responding to a shareholder concerned about its relationship with Waters, who was accused by the Anti-Defamation League in 2013 of having “absorbed classic anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.” The New York Post reported last week that American Express had refused to sponsor Waters’ North American 2017 tour, but that Citibank would be sponsoring it instead.

“I want to let you know that Citi is not a sponsor of Roger Waters’ upcoming tour,” a Citibank official said in the email. “Two weeks ago, Citi offered a limited time pre-sale of tickets for cardmembers for select shows, as we do for thousands of concerts by different artists every year. While advertised as the ‘official card’ for payment purposes, the pre-sale was in no way an endorsement of the artist’s personal views. The pre-sale has ended and we have no plans to work with this artist in the future.”

A number of artists who were planning to play in Israel last year said that they felt threatened by proponents of the Palestinian-led boycott campaign against Israel. Despite these threats, major artists such as Alicia Keys, The Rolling Stones, Lady Gaga, and Bon Jovi have performed in Israel in recent years. Typically, when entertainers announces plans to perform in the Jewish state, boycott supporters make public appeals and send private messages to try to pressure them to cancel the concert; if a particularly prominent artist is involved, they may receive an open letter from Waters.

Waters' recent performances have veered into anti-Semitic territory. 

Labels: anti-Semitic stereotypes, anti-Semitism, BDS, Roger Waters

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:26 PM