‘Hell on Earth’: Roger Waters on Palestine, Apartheid and the Cost of Speaking Out

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‘Hell on Earth’: Roger Waters on Palestine, Apartheid and the Cost of Speaking Out
Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters. ( (Photo: Video grab))

Waters told Tucker Carlson that witnessing Israeli apartheid in the occupied West Bank transformed his understanding of Palestine and led to two decades of activism despite sustained efforts to damage his career

By Romana Rubeo, reposted from Palestine Chronicle, July 28, 2026

Key Takeaways

  • Waters said traveling through the occupied West Bank exposed him to Israel’s system of apartheid and fundamentally changed his views.
  • The Pink Floyd co-founder said his Palestine advocacy led to canceled performances, hotel refusals and pressure on charities associated with him.
  • Waters condemned Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the attacks on Iran, warning that continued escalation could lead to nuclear catastrophe.

‘I Saw the Apartheid’

Rock legend and Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters has said that witnessing Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank transformed his understanding of Palestine and compelled him to become an outspoken advocate for Palestinian rights.

In an interview with Tucker Carlson published earlier this month, Waters reflected on his first visits to Palestine and the experiences that led him to challenge what he described as years of misleading propaganda about Israel.

“I believed all the propaganda of the socialist Israelis with their democratic ways,” Waters said. “And then I went there and I saw the apartheid.”

The British musician said his decision to speak publicly about Palestine has come at a high personal and professional cost, including canceled concerts, pressure on charities and efforts to prevent him from securing accommodation while touring.

‘Hell on Earth’

Waters said he had initially planned to perform in Tel Aviv but canceled the concert and instead appeared in Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam, a village founded by Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel.

He later traveled extensively across the occupied West Bank with representatives of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, known as UNRWA.

One conversation during a journey toward Jenin, he said, fundamentally altered his perspective.

“We were driving north towards Jenin one day and I went, ‘Well at least they have nice roads,’” Waters recalled. A UNRWA official traveling with him reportedly replied: “Yeah, if you’re Jewish.”

When Waters asked what she meant, she told him that Palestinians were prohibited from driving on the road.

“I didn’t believe it,” he said. “But I did after a bit, and I saw. It was just hell on Earth.”

“They’ve created hell on Earth,” Waters added.

The occupied West Bank contains an extensive network of roads, checkpoints and military zones that impose severe restrictions on Palestinian movement while serving illegal Israeli settlements.

‘You Cannot Allow Apartheid’

Waters said the experience convinced him that silence was no longer an option.

“I decided that I would be vocal and do anything that I could to help my Palestinian brothers and sisters to achieve equal human rights with their Jewish brothers and sisters between the Jordan River and the sea,” he said.

He emphasized that his position was based on equal rights rather than violence.

“Not asking anyone to kill anyone,” Waters said. “But you cannot allow apartheid societies to spring up in the world.”

The musician has since become one of the most prominent international artists supporting Palestinian rights and the cultural boycott of Israel.

He has repeatedly condemned Israel’s occupation, apartheid system and genocide in Gaza.

‘Destroy My Career’

Waters said his advocacy triggered a sustained effort to undermine him professionally.

“The Israeli lobby in America, particularly, were not best pleased,” he said. “They have, ever since then, done everything that they can to destroy my career.”

Waters said those efforts had failed. “They have failed,” he added. “I fight back.”

He stated that organizations and donors pressured charities to end their associations with him because of his criticism of Israel. One example involved Stand Up for Heroes, a benefit supporting wounded US military veterans.

Waters said organizers informed him that he could no longer participate because of pressure from pro-Israel groups. “It was the Israeli lobby who have decided that you can’t do it anymore,” Waters recalled being told.

“So you’re not allowed to help veterans if you criticize Israel,” he responded. “That’s correct,” he said the organizers replied.

Waters said similar pressure was applied to City Harvest, a New York-based food charity with which he had volunteered.

“They told City Harvest the same thing,” he said. “‘Not a single cent from any of us if you go on dealing with Roger Waters.’”

Concerts and Hotels

Waters said the consequences of his activism also followed him during his 2023 international tour. He said that he was unable to secure hotel accommodations in Buenos Aires, Colombia, Ecuador and Uruguay.

“I couldn’t find a hotel to stay anywhere in Buenos Aires or in Colombia or in Ecuador,” he said.

Asked why, Waters replied that organized pro-Israel networks were responsible. “There’s an Israeli lobby that is very organized in all of those places,” he said.

He also referred to attempts to cancel his concerts in Europe.

“They did cancel my gig in Krakow in Poland,” Waters said, adding that efforts were also made to prevent him from performing in Frankfurt.

Asked why the concerts were targeted, he replied: “On the grounds that they wanted to cancel me because I was critical of the genocide.”

“I’m against genocide,” he added.

Gaza and Iran

Waters also addressed Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the recent military attacks on Iran. He described the campaign against Iran as “despicable” and questioned the justification for the attacks.

“What have they done?” he asked. “Certainly posing no threat to anyone in the United States of America or Israel, as far as we can tell. None.”

Waters warned that the widening regional war could trigger a global catastrophe.

“This could end in a nuclear conflagration at any minute,” he said.

He argued that ordinary people had a responsibility to oppose war and militarism. “We the people have to come together and raise our voice whenever we get the chance to do it, because we are many and they are few.”

‘Nothing against Jewish People’

Throughout the interview, Waters rejected attempts to portray his criticism of Israel as hostility toward Jewish people.

“I’ve got nothing against Jewish people — nothing,” he said. “I couldn’t care less what religion anybody is.”

Waters said his activism and artistic work were grounded in opposition to oppression and a belief in shared humanity. “Every word I’ve ever written is about encouraging empathy,” he said.

Recalling a line from one of his favorite books, Waters summarized the principle that he said had guided his life and work.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” he asked. “Kind.”

Romana Rubeo is an Italian writer and the managing editor of The Palestine Chronicle.

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