Jonny Greenwood / Dudu Tassa call UK show cancellations “a method of censorship and silencing”

Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood and Israeli artist Dudu Tassa were to have played UK shows in London and Bristol in June, but those were canceled over threats related to protests against Israel and the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement. Greenwood and Tassa have now released a statement.

“The venues and their blameless staff have received enough credible threats to conclude that it’s not safe to proceed,” they say, “promoters of the shows can’t be expected to fund our, or our audience’s, protection.”

The concerts were in support of Greenwood and Tassa’s album 2023 album Jarak Qaribak, and The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) called the show “artwashing genocide.”

Greenwood and Tassa continue: “The campaign which has successfully stopped the concerts insist that ‘this is not censorship’ and ‘this isn’t about silencing music or attacking individual artists.’ But its organizers can’t have it both ways. Forcing musicians not to perform and denying people who want to hear them an opportunity to do so is self-evidently a method of censorship and silencing. Intimidating venues into pulling our shows won’t help achieve the peace and justice everyone in the Middle East deserves. This cancellation will be hailed as a victory by the campaigners behind it, but we see nothing to celebrate and don’t find that anything positive has been achieved.”

The duo’s statement goes on to quote the open letter in support of Irish rap trio and vocal Palestine supporters Kneecap, that was signed by Massive Attack, Fontaines DC, Pulp, IDLES, Thurston Moore, Brian Eno and more: “As the artist’s statement supporting Kneecap says: ‘As artists, we feel the need to register our opposition to any political repression of artistic freedom … In a democracy, no political figures or political parties should have the right to dictate who does and does not play at music festivals or gigs that will be enjoyed by thousands of people.’ Nor should anyone. We have no judgement to pass on Kneecap but note how sad it is that those supporting their freedom of expression are the same ones most determined to restrict ours.”

Read Greenwood and Tassa’s full statement below.

PACBI’s statement about the cancellation reads:

Palestinians welcome the cancellation of Jonny Greenwood and Dudu Tassa’s concert, which was due to take place in Bristol, UK on the 23rd June and would have whitewashed Israel’s genocide against 2.3m Palestinians in Gaza and underlying settler-colonial apartheid regime.

Jonny Greenwood, guitarist with Radiohead and The Smile, had performed in apartheid Tel Aviv along with Dudu Tassa in May 2024, on a night that genocidal Israeli forces massacred displaced Palestinians in their tents in Rafah, burning them alive, just a short drive away.

Dudu Tassa has repeatedly entertained genocidal Israeli forces in between these massacres of Palestinians in Gaza, willing acting as a cultural ambassador for apartheid Israel.

In response, PACBI had claled for “boycotting, peacefully disrupting, and creatively protesting” The Smile’s tour, after its failure to distance itself from Jonny Greenwood’s shameful artwashing of genocide.

Artists and organisers had been mobilising in Bristol to prevent their city, with its long progressive history, from being a platform for whitewashing Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

We call on the Hackney Church to cancel its scheduled 25th June concert with the pair.

No progressive venue or promoter should programme Jonny Greenwood and Dudu Tassa.

We also call for boycotting future concerts from The Smile and Radiohead, until these groups convincingly distance themselves, at a minimum, from Jonny Greenwood’s crossing of our peaceful picket linel during this genocide.

With regret, our shows in Bristol & London, due to take place on June 23rd & 25th have been cancelled. The venues and their blameless staff have received enough credible threats to conclude that it’s not safe to proceed; promoters of the shows can’t be expected to fund our, or our audience’s, protection.

The campaign which has successfully stopped the concerts insist that “this is not censorship” and “this isn’t about silencing music or attacking individual artists.” But its organizers can’t have it both ways. Forcing musicians not to perform and denying people who want to hear them an opportunity to do so is self-evidently a method of censorship and silencing. Intimidating venues into pulling our shows won’t help achieve the peace and justice everyone in the Middle East deserves. This cancellation will be hailed as a victory by the campaigners behind it, but we see nothing to celebrate and don’t find that anything positive has been achieved.

The record we are touring features singers from Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait, and Iraq. The group’s ancestral and musical roots are centuries old: in Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Turkey, and all across the Middle East – each of the members brought together by a shared love of Arabic song, regardless of where exactly they all happened to be born. The silencing campaign has demanded that the venues “reaffirm (their) commitment to ethical, inclusive cultural programming.” Just not this particular mix of cultures, apparently.

We believe art exists above and beyond politics; that art that seeks to establish the common identity of musicians across borders in the Middle East should be encouraged, not decried; and that artists should be free to express themselves regardless of their citizenship or their religion – and certainly regardless of the decisions made by their governments.

This project has always had a difficult, narrow channel to navigate. We find ourselves in the odd position of being condemned by both ends of the political spectrum.

For some on the right, we’re playing the ‘wrong’ kind of music – too inclusive, too aware of the rich and beautiful diversity of Middle Eastern culture. For some on the left, we’re only playing it to absolve ourselves of our collective sins. We dread the weaponisation of this cancellation by reactionary figures as much as we lament its celebration by some progressives.

And yet, meekly agreeing to be silenced without some response feels wrong. As the artist’s statement supporting Kneecap says: “As artists, we feel the need to register our opposition to any political repression of artistic freedom … In a democracy, no political figures or political parties should have the right to dictate who does and does not play at music festivals or gigs that will be enjoyed by thousands of people.” Nor should anyone. We have no judgement to pass on Kneecap but note how sad it is that those supporting their freedom of expression are the same ones most determined to restrict ours.

We agree completely with people who ask: ‘how can this be more important than what’s happening in Gaza and Israel?’ They’re right — it isn’t. How could it be? What, in anyone’s upcoming cultural life, is?

We feel great admiration, love and respect for all the performers in this band, especially the Arab musicians and singers who have shown amazing bravery and conviction in contributing to our first record, and in touring with us. Their artistic achievements are toweringly important, and we hope one day you will get to hear us play these songs – love songs mostly – together with us, somewhere, somehow. If that happens, it won’t be a victory for any country, religion, or political cause. It’ll be a victory for our shared love and respect of the music – and of each other.

– Jonny Greenwood, Dudu Tassa And the musicians