The co-founder of rock band Pink Floyd is facing legal action after describing a documentary maker as “cheerleading the genocide of the Palestinian people” in Gaza, the High Court has heard.
Roger Waters is being sued for libel by John Ware over comments made in an episode of the Al Jazeera programme The Stream, in which the musician also described Mr Ware as a “pro-Zionist, pro-genocider”.
The comments, which Mr Ware denies, came in response to a documentary made and presented by the journalist for the campaign group Campaign Against Antisemitism, entitled The Dark Side Of Roger Waters, which sought to “examine the evidence for the charge that Roger Waters is an antisemite”.
It cannot be said that by reason of the mere fact of Mr Ware’s documentary being mentioned that it can therefore be decided or inferred that he is pro-genocide, a liar and so on
At a hearing on Monday, Mrs Justice Eady was asked to decide several preliminary issues in the case, including the “natural and ordinary” meanings of the posts and whether they were statements of fact or opinion.
William Bennett KC, for Mr Ware, said in court that the allegations were “utterly emphatic” and included Mr Waters calling the journalist a “well-known, lying, conniving Zionist mouthpiece”.
In written submissions, he said that Mr Waters accused Mr Ware of “cheerleading the genocide of the Palestinian people like almost more than anyone else on earth”.
He added that Mr Ware’s documentary was not said to have included “anything adverse about the Palestinians which could be interpreted as showing that Mr Ware was in favour of their genocide, a genocide cheerleader and so on”.
He said: “It cannot be said that by reason of the mere fact of Mr Ware’s documentary being mentioned that it can therefore be decided or inferred that he is pro-genocide, a liar and so on.”
In court, he added: “All Mr Ware did was make a documentary about Mr Waters’ alleged antisemitism.
“How can opposing Mr Waters’ politics on Palestine mean someone is a cheerleader for genocide?”
The court in London heard that the first version of the broadcast at the centre of the legal claim was presented by Anelise Borges, who introduced it as a “conversation” with “one of the world’s most outspoken musicians”.
The first version was aired by Al Jazeera on February 15 and 16 last year, with a second version airing on February 17 and uploaded to its YouTube channel until May 1, when it was removed.
Both versions lasted about 25 minutes, and the court was told that while the “cheerleading” comment was removed from the second version, the “pro-genocider” allegation remained.
Mr Waters also described the documentary as “a complete joke” and said he had “nothing but utter contempt” for Mr Ware, the court heard.
The excerpts at the centre of the legal action amount to about four minutes, with Mr Bennett claiming that captions that appeared in the episodes “reinforce rather than alter the message conveyed”.
It is self-evident from Mr Waters’ words and demeanour that he sees Mr Ware’s attack on him, labelling him an anti-semite, as an attack on his political stance on Palestine.
Mr Ware, who attended the hearing, is also taking legal action against Al Jazeera.
Adam Wolanski KC, for Mr Waters, told the court that the statements were “very trenchant” but that “people already knew” about the musician’s views on Israel.
He added that the programme “acknowledged throughout that Mr Waters is a controversialist”.
In written submissions, he said: “The issues facing Palestinians are amongst the most contentious political issues of our time.”
He continued: “The viewer would have heard Mr Waters set out his position that there was, in effect, an ‘us and them’, on the Palestinian issue.
“Against the backdrop of events in Gaza, with which this edition of The Stream was concerned, Mr Waters drew his distinction between those who aligned with his views of Palestine and those who did not.”
He added: “It is self-evident from Mr Waters’ words and demeanour that he sees Mr Ware’s attack on him, labelling him an anti-semite, as an attack on his political stance on Palestine.”
Jane Phillips, for Al Jazeera, said that Mr Ware’s documentary “has not pulled its punches and (Mr Waters) does not pull his punches in response”, but that viewers were “immediately told that these are Mr Waters’ strong opinions”.
Mrs Justice Eady will hand down her judgment in writing at a later date.
