“Playing in a country isn’t the same as endorsing its government. We don’t endorse Netanyahu any more than Trump.” – Radiohead
Members of Radiohead can’t seem to catch a break from the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
It’s only been a year and a half since the band’s frontman, Thom Yorke, walked off stage in Melbourne after a Gaza protester interrupted his set.
Now Johnny Greenwood, the group’s lead guitarist, is coming under fire for comments regarding his cancelled shows with Israeli musician Dudu Tassa last year.
A year ago, the duo planned to perform in Bristol and London, but the shows were ultimately cancelled following pressure from pro-Palestinian boycott groups.
The main group responsible was the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, which described Dudu Tassa as a “cultural ambassador for apartheid Israel” who had “entertained genocidal Israeli forces in between these massacres of Palestinians in Gaza”.
During an interview with El País, Greenwood reflected on the backlash surrounding his performances with the Israeli musician and the cancellations they faced.
“The music I make with Dudu is resurrecting songs that are older than most of the countries that are currently fighting each other. That’s always going to be more important to me. There are bookshops in Madrid that are openly selling Amos Oz’s novels and he’s Israeli.
“To me, cancelling music is the same as taking books off shelves.”
This isn’t the first time the indie riffer has addressed censorship, and it’s clear his opinions haven’t changed.
Back in 2025, he released a written statement on X alongside those who worked on his 2023 album Jarak Qaribak.
Greenwood emphasised the need to create peace in the world, but argued that cancelling his shows wouldn’t actually achieve anything.
“Intimidating venues into pulling our shows won’t help achieve the peace and justice everyone in the Middle East deserves.”
Similarly, Thom Yorke made a comparable statement via Instagram after he stormed off stage in 2025 and initially refused to acknowledge the incident while on tour.
He later described it as an act that was misinterpreted by “opportunistic groups to use intimidation and defamation to fill in the blanks”.
Now the world waits to see if Colin Greenwood or Ed O’Brien end up in politically hot water.
