The charges crossed the Atlantic. Washington on Tuesday joined accusations of anti-Semitism against former Pink Floyd band member Roger Waters, who wore an outfit reminiscent of an SS officer at a concert in May in Berlin, Germany. The British singer is being investigated "on suspicion of incitement to hatred" following complaints "because the clothes worn on stage are likely to glorify or justify the National Socialist regime and disturb public order".
'Deeply offensive symbols'
In the images posted on social networks, the singer appears wearing a long black coat marked with a symbol reminiscent of the swastika and red armbands. Several media outlets also mentioned inscriptions, in red letters on a screen during the concert, of the names of Anne Frank and Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American star journalist for Al Jazeera who was killed in an Israeli raid in May 2022.
The depiction "contained symbols that were deeply offensive to the Jewish people and that minimized the Holocaust," the U.S. State Department said. "This is not the first time that the artist in question has used anti-Semitic elements to denigrate Jews," he added in a statement. Roger Waters, 79, has also distinguished himself in recent years by defending actions to boycott Israeli products in the name of defending the Palestinian cause.
" READ ALSO The former Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, targeted by an investigation in Germany for dressing as an SS officer
The singer and songwriter accused his critics of "bad faith". "The aspects of my concert that have been questioned are clearly a message against fascism, injustice and bigotry in all its forms" and any attempt to see anything else "is dishonest," he said in a message posted Friday night on his Instagram and Twitter accounts.
The ex-Pink Floyd has also sparked controversy recently by assuring that it was "not true that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was unprovoked".