The debate over cultural and economic boycotts of Israel has reached a fever pitch in the United Kingdom and Europe this week, with two high-profile developments sparking renewed controversy and calls for action. On September 4, 2025, the pro-Palestine Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement called for a boycott of legendary British band Radiohead’s newly announced UK and EU tour, scheduled for November and December. This announcement came on the same day the Scottish Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of an immediate and full boycott of Israel and companies tied to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, a move described by supporters as a landmark gesture of solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Radiohead’s tour, their first in over seven years, was meant to be a triumphant return to the stage, with dates set for Madrid, Bologna, London, Copenhagen, and Berlin. But the BDS campaign quickly turned the spotlight from the band’s music to its politics. According to BBC reporting, BDS accused Radiohead of “complicit silence” regarding what it described as the “genocide against Palestinians in Gaza,” and specifically condemned guitarist Jonny Greenwood for performing with Israeli musician Dudu Tassa in Tel Aviv in 2024. The BDS movement’s social media amplified a statement from the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), which read: “Even as Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza reaches its latest, most brutal and depraved phase of induced starvation, Radiohead continues with its complicit silence, while one member repeatedly crosses our picket line, performing a short drive away from a livestreamed genocide, alongside an Israeli artist that entertains genocidal Israeli forces.”
PACBI’s statement called for a boycott of Radiohead concerts “until the group convincingly distances itself, at a minimum, from Jonny Greenwood’s crossing of our peaceful picket line during Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.” The controversy intensified after two scheduled performances by Greenwood and Tassa in June 2025 were cancelled following backlash from pro-Palestinian campaigners. PACBI welcomed the cancellations, arguing that the shows would have "whitewashed" the war in Gaza.
Greenwood and Tassa responded with a joint statement, published in The Guardian, expressing their dismay: “Forcing musicians not to perform and denying people who want to hear them an opportunity to do so is self-evidently a method of censorship and silencing. Intimidating venues into pulling our shows won’t help achieve the peace and justice everyone in the Middle East deserves. This cancellation will be hailed as a victory by the campaigners behind it, but we see nothing to celebrate and don’t find that anything positive has been achieved.” The duo emphasized their belief that “art exists above and beyond politics; that art seeks to establish the common identity of musicians across borders in the Middle East should be encouraged, not decried; and that artists should be free to express themselves regardless of their citizenship or their religion – and certainly regardless of the decisions made by their governments.”
This is hardly the first time Radiohead has found itself in the crosshairs of the BDS movement. In 2017, the band played a show in Tel Aviv despite significant protests urging them to cancel. PACBI noted that Radiohead has “yet to apologise” for that performance. Frontman Thom Yorke has consistently defended the band’s decisions. On September 4, 2025, Yorke reiterated his stance, stating, “Playing in a country isn’t the same as endorsing its government. We don’t endorse Netanyahu any more than Trump.” He added, “We’ve played in Israel for over 20 years through a succession of governments, some more liberal than others. As we have in America. Music, art and academia is about crossing borders not building them, about open minds not closed ones, about shared humanity, dialogue and freedom of expression.”
Yorke’s position has not shielded him from criticism—or emotional toll. In May 2025, he addressed the Israel-Palestine conflict publicly, explaining his silence was meant as a gesture of respect for those suffering and those who have died. “That silence, my attempt to show respect for all those who are suffering and those who have died, and to not trivialise it in a few words, has allowed other opportunistic groups to use intimidation and defamation to fill in the blanks, and I regret giving them this chance. This has had a heavy toll on my mental health,” Yorke wrote, as reported by NME. He further noted that his music should be enough to demonstrate he “could not possibly support any form of extremism or dehumanisation of others.”
Meanwhile, the political landscape in the UK was rocked by the Scottish Parliament’s vote, which saw 62 Members of Scottish Parliament (MSPs) in favor and 31 against an immediate and full boycott of Israel and companies complicit in the Gaza conflict. According to The National, the campaign was spearheaded by the Scottish Greens, with support from the Scottish National Party. Scottish Conservatives opposed the measure, while most Scottish Labour and Liberal Democrat MSPs either abstained or opposed the wording.
The motion called on “the Scottish and UK Governments to immediately impose a package of boycotts, divestment and sanctions targeted at the state of Israel and at companies complicit in its military operations and its occupation of Palestine.” Scottish Green MSP Patrick Harvie, who tabled the amendment, said, “I hope that today’s vote is the start of a new consensus across our Parliament for real, practical and effective action against Israel’s genocide. Palestinians are being starved and massacred every day as part of a campaign of collective punishment and ethnic cleansing. There is an obligation on all of us to take action to end it.”
Harvie further argued, “The principle is one we should all agree on. If a company is profiting from apartheid and genocide against Palestinians, it should not be allowed to profit here in Scotland. It has taken a lot of work by campaigners to get to this point, and I hope that it sets a precedent that will be followed by governments across Europe and beyond.”
First Minister John Swinney echoed the urgency, moving to block public funding for firms supplying weapons to Israel and pledging £400,000 toward the Children’s Operating Room for the Gaza Hope Field Readiness Centre in Scotland, as well as a rapid-deployment field hospital inside Gaza. Scotland will also provide medical support for 20 children injured in Gaza, expected to arrive with their families in September, and donate £600,000 to the United Nations’ humanitarian coordination office in Palestine. Swinney declared, “We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe of historic proportions. The world cannot wait for a final court ruling before acting. The warning signs are clear. A genocide is unfolding, and recognising this reality brings with it a responsibility to act. The people of Scotland expect nothing less.”
As Radiohead’s ticket registration opens on September 6, 2025, fans are left to weigh their love of music against the mounting calls for cultural and economic boycotts. The band’s upcoming tour and Scotland’s political stand are now inextricably linked to a broader, deeply polarizing debate about art, activism, and the responsibilities of public figures and governments in the face of conflict and alleged atrocities. The coming months will reveal whether these actions mark a turning point in Europe’s response to the Israel-Gaza crisis—or simply another chapter in a long-running, impassioned struggle over the limits of cultural engagement and the meaning of solidarity.