Roger Waters
Pink Floyd co-founder; pro-Palestinian activist
Nazi-style stage costume and Star-of-David imagery on his 2023 tour.
What happened
On his 2023 tour he wore a long black coat with red armbands and fired a prop gun; shows projected the name of Anne Frank alongside a slain Palestinian journalist, and have featured an inflatable pig bearing a Star of David. Critics called it Nazi imagery and Holocaust trivialization.
Under each definition
Examples 9 and 10: classic-antisemitic symbols (the Star-of-David pig) and Nazi-era staging used in an Israel-critical show.
The JDA protects even contentious anti-Israel artistic and political expression; whether the imagery crosses into anti-Jewish symbolism is disputed.
Harsh anti-Israel expression is protected, but classic-antisemitic imagery is not — and which this is, is contested.
Demonization is arguable, but the costume predates the Israel context and German courts found no Nazi glorification.
Who called it antisemitic
Germany’s Central Council of Jews and its antisemitism commissioner; Berlin police opened an “incitement” inquiry.
The defense
Waters says the costume is a decades-old anti-fascist piece of his stage show and that his target is Israeli policy, not Jews; he calls the readings “disingenuous and politically motivated.”
Outcome
German courts found the show did not glorify Nazi crimes; the Berlin investigation was closed in 2025 citing artistic freedom. No convictions; heavy polarization.
In their words
Concert organizers should consider whether they want to offer conspiracy theorists a platform.
The elements of my performance that have been questioned are quite clearly a statement in opposition to fascism, injustice and bigotry in all its forms.
[The show] did not glorify or relativise the crimes of the Nazis or identify with Nazi racist ideology … [it should be] viewed as a work of art.
The verdicts above are how each framework would most likely treat this case — illustrative guidance, not official rulings. The 3D test applies only to Israel-related cases, so it reads “N/A” elsewhere. See the Definition tab for each framework’s full text. Inclusion is documentation, not a finding.