‘There is a Ministry of Truth. It’s called the mainstream media that does nothing but tell lies about what’s actually happening in the world,’ Waters says, adding that other artists may be afraid to voice their opposition to the Israeli was against Palestinians because it may cost them their careers. Image: Supplied
By Nurah Tape
“It’s murder in broad daylight, and it’s being perpetrated by our governments, the Americans, the Brits, the French, the Dutch … in plain sight, and we will not swallow it”.
Rock legend and the co-founder of Pink Floyd Roger Waters has said it is “unimaginable” that the world’s leaders are “allowing” and “encouraging” Israel to continue with the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
“It’s murder in broad daylight, and it’s being perpetrated by our governments, the Americans, the Brits, the French, the Dutch… in plain sight, and we will not swallow it,” Waters emphasised in an interview with the Palestine Deep Dive (PDD) media platform.
Regarding desensitisation towards the catastrophic situation in Gaza, Waters said the world is at a point where “Big Brother has won the battle so far. We are living in 1984,” a reference to George Orwell’s dystopian novel.
“There is a Ministry of Truth. It’s called the mainstream media that does nothing but tell lies about what’s actually happening in the world,” Waters explained.
“And we, the people, are persuaded by this propaganda to accept genocide and to accept perpetual warfare simply because we allowed it to creep up on us slowly enough.”
With over 40,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza since October 7, Waters stressed that “It’s not a war, it’s a genocide.”
“Nobody can ignore it anymore,” he said, “They’ve completely exposed themselves for the awful, dreadful people that they are, the Israelis I’m talking about and not just the government because it’s largely supported by the people of Israel, and I’m not talking about Jews, it doesn’t matter who does this.”
“This has nothing to do with anti-Semitism,” he stated. “I’ve been banging on about this for years and years, it’s only about human rights.”
Emphasising that Israel’s military assault on Gaza “is not a war, it’s a genocide,” Waters said,
“It’s a bunch of Nazi thugs murdering people, it has nothing to do with the war, it’s exactly the same as the Warsaw ghetto with Germans murdering Jewish people. This is Israelis murdering Palestinians. It’s not a war.”
On the question of why so few cultural figures have spoken out against the Gaza genocide, the musician said he has had others in the music industry express support for his activism, but who said “I would, but I’m scared ****less, my career gone in a heartbeat. The Israeli lobby would destroy my livelihood in a heartbeat!”
Asked whether the Israeli lobby is that powerful, Waters said “Yes, they own Congress as well, it’s not just the music industry!”
After ten months of the ongoing genocide, Waters said it was clear the United States of America “is a criminal empire” in its support of Israel.
“It’s no longer a question of which is the dog and which is the tail, Israel is making all the decisions,” the musician said.
Waters said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress last month gave “Congress a public platform to applaud the burying alive of 20,000 children. Literally!”
The 81-year-old said, “The genocide hasn’t stopped … and they’re still getting away with it, except they are not because they cannot destroy the human soul.”
“There is a moral compass out there somewhere, and there is a price to be paid for this evil in Gaza,” he stressed.
The activist also lamented that the incarceration of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange “may have had an effect”, on silencing others who felt they could speak up for the truth, adding “I hope they haven’t.”
Nurah Tape is a South Africa-based journalist. She is an editor with The Palestine Chronicle.
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