Condemn Roger Waters’ bigoted rants against Israel

A dark cloud will be cast over the Sunshine State Thursday with the performance of Roger Waters at the AmericanAirlines Arena. In recent years, the former member of Pink Floyd has become the poster boy for the international movement to boycott the state of Israel.

During the past seven decades, I have dedicated my life to build Miami into a place of inclusion. However, inclusion ends when it comes to bigots, racists, and anti-Semites. They must not be tolerated.

The Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which Waters supports, seeks to financially cripple and destroy the Jewish state. It has been publicly hailed by the Hamas terror organization and has been the catalyst for violent attacks on Jewish students in university campuses around the globe.

In accordance with the U.S. State Department’s guidelines, the BDS movement’s activities are clearly anti-Semitic. They seek to delegitimize, demonize, and apply a double standard toward Israel, while remaining silent on real atrocities taking place worldwide.

As chairman of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations (PJTN), I was instrumental in ensuring that Florida was among the first states in the country to adopt a resolution condemning the BDS movement as anti-Semitic and demanding its members be held accountable for their actions. Ohio is about to become the 12th state to pass the legislation; other states will follow. Similar motions are under way in several countries worldwide because silence isn’t an option.

Allowing Waters to pass through Florida and make a buck in our back yard without being publicly condemned would be a stain on this great state. All Jews, Christians and people of conscience should make their voices heard and declare in unison to Roger Waters that as Floridians, we wish you weren’t here.

This story was originally published July 13, 2017 at 2:43 PM with the headline "Condemn Roger Waters’ bigoted rants against Israel."