In an Instagram post, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke addresses heated confrontation with an anti-Israel heckler at a solo concert in Melbourne last year, criticizes Netanyahu and Hamas and calls for an end to suffering in the region.
Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has spoken publicly for the first time about a confrontation with an audience member during his solo performance in Melbourne last October. The incident occurred when a an anti-Israel concertgoer shouted accusations of “Israeli genocide in Gaza” during Yorke’s set at the Sidney Meyer Music Bowl.
Yorke paused the show, inviting the individual to come onstage and repeat their statement face-to-face before walking off. In an Instagram post on Friday, Yorke reflected on the episode, saying the moment was not appropriate for discussing the crisis in Gaza.
Following the incident, Yorke said he struggled with the implications of his silence, which some interpreted as complicity. “That silence, my attempt to show respect for all those who are suffering and those who have died, and to not trivialize it in a few words, has allowed other opportunistic groups to use intimidation and defamation to fill in the blanks, and I regret giving them this chance,” he wrote.
Yorke’s post also included strong condemnation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government’s actions in Gaza. “I think Netanyahu and his crew of extremists are totally out of control and need to be stopped,” he declared. “And that the international community should put all the pressure it can on them to cease. Their excuse of self-defense has long since worn thin and has been replaced by a transparent desire to take control of Gaza and the West Bank permanently.”
The singer reaffirmed that his music has consistently rejected extremism and oppression. “All I see in a lifetime’s worth of work with my fellow musicians and artists is a pushing against such things, trying to create work that goes beyond what it means to be controlled, coerced, threatened, to suffer, to be intimidated… and instead to encourage critical thinking beyond borders,” he wrote.
While recognizing the suffering of civilians, Yorke also criticized Hamas for using its own people’s hardships for political gain, questioning why the group has not ensured the return of remaining hostages. “Why has the ‘unquestioning Free Palestine refrain’ not resulted in the return of what are believed to be the 58 remaining hostages?” he asked.
Yorke lamented the pressures on artists to make statements on complex issues via social media, warning that such efforts often oversimplify nuanced realities. “This kind of deliberate polarization does not serve our fellow human beings and perpetuates a constant ‘us and them’ mentality,” he wrote. “It destroys hope and maintains a sense of isolation, the very things that extremists use to maintain their position.”
The singer concluded by expressing his hope that his statement could contribute to ongoing calls for an end to the violence and suffering in the region. “Praying for this suffering, isolation, and death to stop,” he wrote.
Radiohead has in the past gotten heat from the anti-Israel crowd. In 2017, the band decided to ignore calls from the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement and held a concert in Tel Aviv.
At the time, Yorke commented, “All of this creates divisive energy. You’re not bringing people together. You’re not encouraging dialogue or a sense of understanding. It’s such an extraordinary waste of energy. Energy that could be used in a more positive way.”
In June of 2024, Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood refused pressure from BDS to cancel his tour with Israeli musician Dudu Tassa.
Responding to the boycott calls, Greenwood wrote on X, “I think an artistic project that combines Arab and Jewish musicians is worthwhile. And one that reminds everyone that the Jewish cultural roots in countries like Iraq and Yemen go back for thousands of years, is also important.”
“Others choose to believe this kind of project is unjustifiable and are urging the silence of this – or any – artistic effort made by Israeli Jews. But I can’t join that call: The silencing of Israeli filmmakers/musicians/dancers when their work tours abroad – especially when it’s at the urging of their fellow western filmmakers/musicians/artists – feels unprogressive to me, not least because it’s these people that are invariably the most progressive members of any society,” he added.
(Israel National News’ North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)
