The show, “Us and Them,” was scheduled to take place June 11, 2018, at Cologne’s Lanxess Arena.
The concert was nixed after Cologne resident Malca Goldstein-Wolf launched a petition to prevent the Westdeutscher Rundfunk television network from using public funds to sponsor the event. The petition referenced the rocker’s use of anti-Semitic rhetoric and imagery, and gained nearly 1,400 signatures.
Waters—who has compared the Israeli government to Nazi Germany and has claimed the “powerful Jewish lobby” runs the media—is arguably the most vocal figure behind the anti-Israel BDS movement. He also regularly pressures other artists to boycott performances in the Jewish state.
