Primal Scream showed images in which the star of davidused by Judaism and present on the flag of Israel, is superimposed with the swastika crossused by the Nazi regime, during a concert at the Roundhouse, in London.
This composition was imposed on photographs of political figures, such as Benjamin Netanyahu e Donald Trumpwhile the band from “Screamadelica” performed ‘Swastika Eyes’, the theme from “XTRMNTR” (1997). Photographs were also shown showing the destruction in Gaza and the message: “our government is complicit in genocide”. The English group, particularly its lead singer, Bobby Gillespie, has never hidden a strongly critical position towards Israel’s military action in Gaza and defends the independence of Palestine.
Those responsible for the Roundhouse publicly apologized for what happened.
CST, an organization supporting the Jewish community in the United Kingdom, also issued a statement stating that “changing the Star of David for a swastika implies that Jews are Nazis, and encourages hatred of Jews. We have reported this incident to the police.” The Creative Community of Peace, a pro-Israel group, also described the Scottish band’s act as “anti-Semitism in its purest form”.
For their part, Primal Scream published a message on social media saying that the images displayed “are an artistic work”. “It is something that is clearly inspired by history to question the actions of current governments, in this context. We want to lead to debate, not hate“, it can be read. “In a free, pluralistic and liberal society, freedom of expression is a right that we choose to exercise”.