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Holocaust survivor's daughter who confronted Roger Waters with Israeli flag 'kicked out of O2'

The row comes as the singer continues to face accusations that his performance is antisemitic

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The daughter of a Holocaust survivor was kicked out of The O2 after confronting Roger Waters with an Israeli flag during his London show over his "disgusting" views.

Yochy Davis and three other Jewish activists walked from their seats to an area close to the Pink Floyd frontman as he began to fire a prop gun into the air while dressed in a costume resembling that of the SS.

As the sound of gunfire echoed around The O2, the group unfurled two large Israeli flags.

One was ripped from their hands by security staff almost immediately, while another was held directly in front of Waters.

“Hey Roger, leave us Jews alone,” it read, in reference to Pink Floyd’s 1979 hit The Wall. 

Another Jewish protester planned to storm the stage, Davis told the JC, but was blocked by security.

Davis said: “We feel that obviously [Waters] dresses like a Nazi. We heard he [dressed in an SS-style costume] in Berlin or in Frankfurt and we heard he did it the day before.”

Waters regularly wears an SS-style outfit, with crossed hammers replacing Nazi insignia, while performing songs from concept album The Wall. 

He has previously said the outfit is “satire” and is intended to portray “an unhinged fascist demagogue”.

Davis said she waited until after the gig’s half time interval when the 79-year-old singer reappeared in his leather Nazi outfit brandishing a gun.

“That’s when we jumped out - me and another girl,” she said. “We held another flag for I don’t know how long. It was seen for quite a while.”

Davis also claimed the security guards who dragged her away held onto her “very tightly” and were "hurting her".

After they had left the arena floor, she added: “The other security came with us. They were great, very sympathetic. I said, ‘I’m a Holocaust survivor's daughter: how dare he wear an SS uniform on stage in England.’ Most of [the security] were great.”

After seizing her Israeli flag, they would not return it, Davis claimed.

Opposition to Waters has grown throughout his UK tour, which began in Birmingham last week.

Sir Keir Starmer has accused the musician of “spreading antisemitism” and said he should not be allowed to perform his remaining British shows.

Conservative Michael Gove said Waters was “falling short” of a responsibility not to abuse his public platform.

On stage at The O2 on Tuesday night, the guitarist attacked MP Christian Wakeford - who called for his Manchester concert to be cancelled - as a “cripple” and claimed he was working for his “masters in the Foreign Office in Tel Aviv”.

“I grew up on Pink Floyd music but he ruined it for me,” Davis said. “The music is great but it's a shame about [Waters’ political views].”

Davis’ father and his family were survivors of Bergen Belsen concentration camp. That made Waters’ use of Anne Frank’s name alongside that of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh more painful, she said.

“Obviously it’s beyond disgusting, and the propaganda and the lies are unbelievable, and we can argue till we are red in the face, he is never going to listen, he is never going to see the other side that’s up to him.

“He’s got lots of followers [that are] antisemitic. They’re all giving him excuses saying he's not an antisemite, but we know that even [David] Gilmour and his wife are saying that.”

In February, Polly Samson accused Waters of being “antisemitic to your rotten core” in a spat over Israel and the Ukraine war.

Former Pink Floyd bandmate Gilmour retweeted the claim, adding: “Every word demonstrably true.”

Waters described the comments as “incendiary and wildly inaccurate”. 

Speaking, in an interview with Double Down News, the rock musician claimed accusations that he is an antisemite are "bull***t" and "vicious lies".

He said: "The Israeli government sees me as an existential threat to their secular, colonialist, racist, apartheid regime... and they have done everything that they can think of to discredit me and try and destroy my career and if possible destroy me and my family."

A spokesperson for The O2 said: "The safety and security of visitors, performers, tour crew and our staff are of utmost importance to The O2.

"We recognise the right of people to conduct peaceful demonstrations and on the evenings of 6th and 7th June we facilitated peaceful protests outside the venue. We did not permit protests to take place inside the venue on the basis that it would disrupt the performance and affect the safety and enjoyment of our guests.

"As part of our standard terms and conditions of entry (as stated on our website here), The O2 reserves the right to prohibit the use of flags within the venue."

Roger Waters has been contacted for comment.

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