Radiohead open up on criticism over their Israel/Palestine stance, the 2017 Tel Aviv gig, and the band’s upcoming 2025 tour as frontline voices press for accountability.
Since the announcement of their first tour in seven years, Radiohead have found themselves in a political cross fire. Pro-Palestinian activists and groups aligned with BDS Movement have reignited scrutiny of the band’s 2017 show in Tel Aviv, and their perceived silence ever since.
Frontman Thom Yorke told The Sunday Times UK that the backlash “wakes me up at night… They’re telling me what it is that I’ve done with my life, and what I should do next, and that what I think is meaningless. People want to take what I’ve done that means so much to millions of people and wipe me out. But this is not theirs to take from me, and I don’t consider I’m a bad person.”
Yorke also described confrontations on the street: “You and me, standing on the street in London, shouting at each other? Well, the true criminals, who should be in front of the ICC, are laughing at us squabbling among ourselves.” The Times He further confirmed that Radiohead “would not play Israel today… Absolutely not… I wouldn’t want to be 5,000 miles anywhere near the Netanyahu regime.”
Jonny Greenwood chimes in
Meanwhile guitarist Jonny Greenwood has been defending his ongoing collaborations with Israeli and Middle Eastern artists. “The left look for traitors, the right for converts and it’s depressing that we are the closest they can get… And yes, some people just call [my work] ineffectual, hippie, wishy-washy. And I sort of see their point.”
From bassist Ed O’Brien to drummer Phil Selway, the band members subtly reflect myriad positions within the same group. O’Brien said he wishes they had played in Ramallah as well as Tel Aviv, while Selway described the boycott demands as “impossible”, noting that distancing Greenwood would “mean the end of the band.”
As Radiohead gear up for their November–December 2025 European tour, this storm gathers around them. For fans, it’s a reminder that even rock icons aren’t immune to the ideological minefield of our times. Whether you view the band’s stance as courageous or contradictory, the confrontation is now part of their story, and will likely echo long after the amps are packed away.
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