Tom Slater Tom Slater

Thom Yorke has exposed the intolerance of the ‘pro-Palestine’ set

Thom Yorke was performing in Melbourne when he was targeted by an anti-Israel heckler (Getty)

Thom Yorke has done us all a great service by exposing how unhinged, intolerant and, frankly, bigoted much of the supposedly ‘pro-Palestine’ set is. 

The Radiohead frontman and bandmate Jonny Greenwood have for years now been locked in a bitter beef with Israelophobic fans and fellow musicians, due to their dogged refusal to treat Israelis like moral lepers and insistence on still playing to – and with – them.

In 2017, Radiohead ploughed ahead with a big tour show in Tel Aviv, despite outrage from all the usual suspects. Roger Waters even called Yorke a ‘prick’, which I suppose would only really sting if you subscribed to the old adage ‘it takes one to know one’.

One suspect his critics aren’t opposed to this war – or even really in favour of Palestine

Yorke’s perfectly rational, liberal argument – ‘we don’t endorse Netanyahu any more than Trump, but we still play in America’ – fell on deaf ears among those who see Israelis as uniquely, collectively, responsible for the actions of their political leaders.

He walked

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