A London excessive court docket has discovered that statements from Pink Floyd cofounder Roger Waters accusing a documentary filmmaker of “cheerleading the genocide of Palestinians” and performing as a “Zionist mouthpiece” throughout an Al Jazeera interview are defamatory.
Justice Jennifer Eady on Tuesday concluded that Waters was making a press release of truth, blocking him from arguing that the assertions had been meant to be opinions. The ruling deciding preliminary points within the case advances the lawsuit towards trial. “The statements are defamatory of the claimant at frequent legislation,” she wrote.
Waters was sued final 12 months by John Ware, who produced the documentary The Darkish Facet of Roger Waters, over feedback he made on Al Jazeera’s The Stream. The documentary explored allegations of antisemitism surrounding Waters. It options interviews from figures throughout his profession, together with Norbert Stachel, Waters’ former saxophone participant, and Bob Ezrin, the producer of Pink Floyd’s The Wall. In a publish on his web site, Waters stated that the documentary “indiscriminately mixes issues I’m alleged to have stated or executed at completely different occasions and in several contexts, in an effort to painting me as an antisemite, with none basis actually.”
In a press release, the Marketing campaign Towards Antisemitism, which created the documentary, stated, “Those that declare that somebody alleging antisemitism is only a ‘cheerleader for genocide’ are simply spouting a modernised model of the trope that those that allege antisemitism are merely making an attempt to silence criticism of Israel.”
In Tuesday’s ruling, the court docket rejected arguments from Waters that his statements had been meant to be opinions on the conduct of Israeli forces in Gaza, amongst different issues.
“Though I’d settle for that the primary defendant’s reference to a ‘genocide’ expressed his opinion as to what was taking place because of the actions of Israeli forces in Gaza (to which he had already referred), in stating that the claimant positively supported that ‘genocide,’ I discover he was making a press release of truth,” Eady wrote.
In 2023, Waters was put beneath investigation by German authorities for sporting a black leather-based trench coat adorned with a pink armband displaying two crossed hammers throughout a efficiency in Berlin. He’s denied allegations of antisemitism throughout his profession.
