Antisemitism case against Roger Waters admitted in Buenos Aires

Thursday, December 28th 2023 - 08:37 UTC

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Waters' expressions arguably harm the feelings of members of the Jewish community, the plaintiffs insist

An Argentine court has agreed to review an antisemitism complaint filed by Shoah survivor Carlos Zigelbaum and his son Sergio Zigelbaum against British pop musician Roger Waters, it was reported this week in Buenos Aires.

Judge Christian Federico Brandoni Nonell of the Criminal, Contraventional, and Misdemeanor Court No. 20 ordered Prosecutor Andrea Verónica Scanga to handle the case on behalf of the state, although it remains a crime suitable only to private legal action.

“They filed a complaint in due time due to the statements that Roger Waters allegedly made at a concert in Berlin”, said Brandoni Nonell. This complaint was added to another one handled by Prosecutor Scanga, who “was conducting a preliminary investigation before the concerts took place in the city of Buenos Aires to determine whether there had been any discriminatory statements against the Jewish community or the State of Israel at the River Plate stadium,” the magistrate also explained.

Those proceedings were shelved after no type of expression contrary to the law at Waters' recital was detected. The plaintiff, however, filed an appeal before a higher-ranking prosecutor who admitted the private initiative legal action.

During a Dec. 21 hearing, counselor Luis Pastoriza argued that although Waters' irritating expressions had occurred in Berlin, Germany, their effects had been felt in Buenos Aires and therefore the local courts had jurisdiction and the case “should be investigated.”

It is about the “discrimination of which he felt victim, that harm his condition as a Jew or that attempt against the State of Israel,” Brandoni Nonell said.

Waters wearing a Nazi-style uniform has earned him criticism from Jewish organizations that claim his act was a celebration of Nazism. The musician took additional flak when he said that “the people of Gaza have the right to defend themselves from Israel's aggressions.”