<ul class="summary-list"><li>Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters spoke on behalf of Russia at the UN security council Wednesday.</li><li>He regurgitated conspiracies about the Ukraine war, calling it "illegal" in the same breath.</li></ul>Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters was called out for making conspiratorial comments about the war in Ukraine on Wednesday after he testified at a UN security council on behalf of Russian diplomats.Phoning into the meeting from a Swiss mountaintop chalet, Waters said he was representing "four billion brothers and sisters" in sharing Russia's position on its war in Ukraine, which is nearing the one-year mark, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/08/roger-waters-pink-floyd-un-security-council-ukraine-russia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the Guardian.</a>But in reality, Waters has spent years trafficking misinformation about the wars in Ukraine and Syria, and at the meeting, he was ceremoniously called out by Ukraine's UN representative.During Wednesday's meeting, Waters struck a more flimsy tone, criticizing Russia on one hand and obfuscating its role on the other."The invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation was illegal. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms," Waters said, per The Guardian. "Also, the Russian invasion of Ukraine was not unprovoked, so I also condemn the provocateurs in the strongest possible terms." Waters' reference to "provocateurs" in Ukraine followed in line with misinformation he has pushed about the war in the past years, which included claiming to CNN that US President Joe Biden and NATO <a href="https://www.insider.com/pink-floyds-roger-waters-biden-russia-ukraine-2022-8">fueled the war in Ukraine</a>. In a 2022 interview with Rolling Stone, Waters called evidence of Russian war crimes, "lies" and claimed that <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/roger-waters-ukrainian-kill-list-1234604081/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he had information</a> indicating he was on a Ukrainian "kill list," referring to a list compiled by a far-right Ukrainian organization."I'm on a kill list that is supported by the Ukrainian government. I'm on the fucking list," Waters told Rolling Stone in October 2022. "But when they kill you, they write 'liquidated' across your picture. Well, I'm one of those fucking pictures."In a February interview with The Berliner Zeitung, <a href="https://rogerwaters.com/berliner/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Waters said that Vladimir Putin</a> "governs carefully, making decisions on the grounds of a consensus in the Russian Federation government," according to the Guardian. Waters has also pushed conspiracies related to Syria and Russia's role in the Syrian civil war, calling the humanitarian response group The White Helmets, "fake." In 2018, he alleged that their rescue missions — such as ongoing ones <a href="https://www.insider.com/where-to-donate-to-help-earthquake-victims-turkey-and-syria-2023-2">in light of catastrophic earthquakes</a> — are staged by jihadists for western media as propaganda to help overthrow the Syrian government, <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/2018-04-17/ty-article/roger-waters-slams-fake-white-helmets-as-a-terrorist-front/0000017f-e88e-d62c-a1ff-fcff4af10000" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Haaretz.</a>He has also denied the existence of chemical weapons attacks by the Syrian government and defended Russian bombardment in Syria, according to Rolling Stone. Waters was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/feb/07/pink-floyd-lyricist-calls-roger-waters-an-antisemitic-and-putin-apologist" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently called a "Putin apologist"</a> by the wife of Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, which the guitarist refuted. At the meeting Wednesday, Russian UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said Waters had a "very precise analysis," and that he was one of the "most prominent activists of the contemporary anti-war movement."But Ukrainian ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya didn't buy Waters' latest plea for propaganda."How sad for his former fans to see him accepting the role of just another brick in the wall – the wall of Russian disinformation and propaganda," Kyslytsya, who spoke last, said, per to The Guardian. "Keep strumming the guitar, Mr.Waters."

Ukrainian UN diplomat tells Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters to keep to 'strumming guitar' after pushing Ukraine misinformation during council meeting

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Pink Floyd's Roger Waters defended Russia and China in an interview with CNN. </li><li>He said Biden was "fueling the fire in Ukraine," and used Russian talking points.</li></ul>Legendary Pink Floyd rocker Roger Waters dived into international politics in a recent interview with CNN, saying President Joe Biden was making the war in Ukraine worse and repeating Russian talking points by blaming NATO for Putin's unprovoked invasion earlier this year.During Waters' latest solo tour, he displays a montage of people he believes to be "war criminals," including Biden. He <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml373MHAtXo">told CNN's Michael Smerconish</a> he faults Biden for continuing the crisis in Ukraine. "He's fueling the fire in the Ukraine for a start, that is a huge crime," Waters said. "Why won't the United States of American encourage Zelensky to negotiate, obviating the need for this horrific, horrendous war?"Waters said he believes the war is about the "action and reaction of NATO pushing right up to the Russian border" — tilting blame away from Vladimir Putin. "Try and figure out what the United States would do if the Chinese were putting nuclear-armed missiles into Mexico and Canada," Waters said. Olexander Scherba, Ukraine's former ambassador to Austria, called Waters a "gutless, heartless, merciless, lost little person," in a tweet. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—olexander scherba (@olex_scherba) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1556172199181946881">August 7, 2022</a></blockquote>Waters went on to defend China's actions in Taiwan, saying "Taiwan is part of China.""If you don't know that, you're not reading enough," Waters said to Smerconish. "Go and read about it."US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi recently visited the self-governing island, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-military-exercises-around-taiwan-nancy-pelosi-visit-2022-8">sparking drills and live-fire exercises</a> from the Chinese military.China's Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying quickly tweeted out Waters' clip in support of China. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1556289056849412097">August 7, 2022</a></blockquote>In Waters' tour, he displays a large graphic before the show begins saying: "If you're one of those 'I love Pink Floyd but I can't stand Roger's politics' people you might do well to fuck off to the bar right now."When asked by Smerconish about the message, Waters said it was a "really good way to start the show."

Pink Floyd's Roger Waters says Biden is 'fueling the fire' in Ukraine and parrots Russian talking points by blaming NATO for Putin's unprovoked invasion

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Roger Waters, a founding member of <keyword id="99180" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Pink-Floyd">Pink Floyd</keyword>, said <keyword id="6354576" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword> asked to use a song in an Instagram ad.</li><li> Waters said the company offered a lot of money for use of "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2."</li><li>"The answer is, 'F--- You. No f---ing way,'" he told a crowd at a recent event, per <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/roger-waters-rejects-facebook-offer-another-brick-in-the-wall-1183773/">Rolling Stone</a>.</li></ul>Roger Waters, a founding member of the rock band Pink Floyd, says Facebook offered him a lot of money to use the band's 1979 classic "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2" in an Instagram advertisement and he refused."It arrived this morning, with an offer for a huge, huge amount of money," Waters said this month at an event reported on by <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/roger-waters-rejects-facebook-offer-another-brick-in-the-wall-1183773/">Rolling Stone</a>. "And the answer is: 'F--- you. No f---ing way.'""I only mention that because this is an insidious movement of them to take over absolutely everything," he continued, adding of Facebook's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg: "I will not be a party to this bulls---, Zuckerberg."<a href="https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/pink-floyd-dole-banana-commercial/">Far Out Magazine</a> previously reported that the band refused to allow its music to be used for any advertisements that weren't for a "good cause."<blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-La Jornada (@lajornadaonline) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1403582839145353216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2021</a></blockquote>Waters' comments were recorded at an event held in support of WikiLeaks' founder, Julian Assange.The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer read from what he said was Facebook's letter asking to use the song: "We feel that the core sentiment of this song is still so prevalent and so necessary today, which speaks to how timeless the work is."Waters said the company wanted to use the song to "make Facebook and Instagram even bigger and more powerful than it already is so that it can continue to censor all of us in this room and prevent this story about Julian Assange getting out to the general public so the general public could go: 'What? What? No. No More.'"He also took a jab at Zuckerberg by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-facebook-was-founded-2010-3">alluding to FaceMash, an app Zuckerberg created before Facebook to rate the appearance of women at Harvard, where Zuckerberg was a student</a>."How did this little prick who started off by saying, 'She's pretty, we'll give her a four out of five; she's ugly, we'll give her a one,' how did he get power in anything?" Waters asked. "And yet here he is, one of the most powerful idiots in the world."Facebook did not respond to a request for comment from Insider.

Pink Floyd's Roger Waters says he turned down a 'huge, huge amount of money' from Facebook to use a song, calling Zuckerberg 'one of the most powerful idiots in the world'

<div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5217a259eab8ea531a000015-798-599/bar-refaeli-roger-waters-pink-floyd.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="bar refaeli roger waters pink floyd" width="480" style="float: right;" /><a href="https://twitter.com/BarRefaeli">Twitter @BarRefaeli / Robert Cianflone - Getty Images</a>Israeli <keyword id="2410" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="supermodel">supermodel</keyword> <keyword id="16772" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bar-Refaeli">Bar Refaeli</keyword> wants former <keyword id="99180" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Pink-Floyd">Pink Floyd</keyword> frontman <keyword id="341750" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Roger-Waters">Roger Waters</keyword> to stop using her photo in his concert sets.</div></div>Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli was another face in the crowd at a Roger Waters concert in 2011, when she noticed a picture of herself on the wall.
Thrilled to be recognized by the former Pink Floyd frontman, Refaeli tweeted: "Crazy thing... Went to the Roger Waters show in Paris, and saw a pic of myself on the wall!!! #respect!!! I'm honoured [sic]," <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2399904/Israeli-supermodel-Bar-Refaeli-NOT-fan-Pink-Floyd-demanding-lead-singer-Roger-Waters-remove-photo-concerts-called-boycott-Holy-Land.html" target="_blank">according to the Daily Telegraph</a>.
The 28-year-old supermodel changed her tune after Waters sparked outrage among Jewish groups earlier this summer, the Daily Mail is reporting.
Waters, a <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2399904/Israeli-supermodel-Bar-Refaeli-NOT-fan-Pink-Floyd-demanding-lead-singer-Roger-Waters-remove-photo-concerts-called-boycott-Holy-Land.html" target="_blank">known activist</a> who supports a boycott of <keyword id="6355882" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="israel">Israel</keyword>, released a pig-shaped balloon marked with the Star of David into the sky during a concert in July. The Belgium show kicked off his European tour.
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflatable_pigs_on_Roger_Waters%27_tours" target="_blank">Inflatable pigs have been a staple prop</a> of Pink Floyd <keyword id="3997287" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="concerts">concerts</keyword> since the release of the "Animals" album in 1977. After Waters left the band in 1985, he <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflatable_pigs_on_Roger_Waters%27_tours" target="_blank">continued to showcase</a> them during solo performances.
<div class="image-container float_left" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/521791d16bb3f7505900000c-598-449/roger-waters-inflatable-pig-star-of-david-concert-belgium.png" border="0" alt="roger waters inflatable pig star of david concert belgium" width="480" style="float: left;" /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQw53LAF98c">YouTube screenshot</a>The pig was emblazoned with "symbols of fascism, dictatorships and oppression of <keyword id="6360040" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="people">people</keyword>."</div></div>The pig launched into the Belgium arena depicted the Star of David juxtaposed with symbols of organizations and regimes from around the world. 
“[The Star of David] was the only religious-national symbol which appeared among other symbols for fascism, dictatorships and oppression of people,” Alon Onfus Asif, an Israeli living in Belgium, <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4409388,00.html" target="_blank">told ynetnews.com</a>. “Waters crossed the line and gave expression to an anti-Semitic message, beyond all his messages of anti-militancy.”
Supermodel Refaeli seemed compelled to agree, demanding via <a href="https://twitter.com/BarRefaeli" target="_blank">Twitter</a> that Waters remove her picture from the concert prop wall.
She tweeted in Hebrew:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
???'? ?????, ???? ?????? ?? ?????? ??? ??????? ??? ??????? ???. ?? ??? ???- ?? ?? ????.
— Bar Refaeli (@BarRefaeli) <a href="https://twitter.com/BarRefaeli/statuses/370097159666159616">August 21, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>
<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2399904/Israeli-supermodel-Bar-Refaeli-NOT-fan-Pink-Floyd-demanding-lead-singer-Roger-Waters-remove-photo-concerts-called-boycott-Holy-Land.html" target="_blank">The Daily Mail translated Refaeli's tweet</a> as, "Roger Waters, you better take my picture off of the video art at your shows. If you're boycotting - go all the way."
Waters — a seven-year supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS), <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/roger-waters-the-wall/a-note-from-roger-waters-august-18-2013/697457193602067" target="_blank">a non-violent movement that opposes Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and fights for Palestinian human rights</a> — defended the pig in an <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/roger-waters-the-wall/a-note-from-roger-waters-august-18-2013/697457193602067https://www.facebook.com/notes/roger-waters-the-wall/an-open-letter-from-roger-waters/688037331210720" target="_blank">open letter on his Facebook page</a>.
"Like it or not, the Star of David represents Israel and its policies and is legitimately subject to any and all forms of non violent protest," Waters <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/roger-waters-the-wall/an-open-letter-from-roger-waters/688037331210720" target="_blank">wrote</a>. "To peacefully protest against Israel’s racist domestic and foreign policies is NOT ANTI-SEMITIC."
Waters <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/roger-waters-the-wall/an-open-letter-from-roger-waters/688037331210720" target="_blank">also noted</a> that this particular pig has appeared at approximately 193 shows since 2010, and the concertgoer Asif's complaint is "the first."
This isn't the first time Refaeli has been at the center of controversy concerning her home country.
In March, the Israeli Defense Force slammed the Israeli Foreign Ministry for picking Refaeli as the face of its new ad campaign, because she <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-idf-is-not-happy-about-bar-refaelis-pro-israel-ad-2013-3" target="_blank">evaded serving Israel's mandatory, two-year military service</a>.
The Sports Illustrated bikini <keyword id="6355606" type="POSITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="model">model</keyword> married a friend because married women are exempt from the draft. She divorced after receiving her exemption.
Watch the Roger Waters concert footage below to see what set her off:
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Model Bar Refaeli Demands Roger Waters Stop Using Her Photo In Concerts

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon has been dropped by United Talent Agency.</li><li>She drew criticism for comments made at a pro-Palestinian rally in New York City.</li></ul>Susan Sarandon has been dropped by her talent agency over comments she made at a pro-Palestinian rally in New York last week, a spokesperson from the agency told <a target="_blank" href="https://deadline.com/2023/11/susan-sarandon-pro-palestinian-remarks-uta-dropped-1235632398/">Deadline</a>.The Oscar-winning actress, who has been represented by United Talent Agency (UTA) since 2014, has attended several rallies about the Israel-Hamas war, but drew criticism for comments she made during a speech at Union Square.In a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVUT6ejAvqg">video</a> shared by The New York Post, she tells the crowd that Jews who are feeling afraid "are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country, so often subjected to violence."Some interpreted her comments as a suggestion that Jews deserved to be scared and to ignore the discrimination experienced by Jews in the US.Aviva Klompass, a former speechwriter for Israel's delegation to the UN, <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/AvivaKlompas/status/1726933968480825791">said on X</a> that Sarandon's comments implied that "American Jews have it coming - that we don't deserve to live free from harassment and assault."Since Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents in the US have risen sharply.In another <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@stephaniekeith17/video/7303563115004710187?embed_source=121355058%2C121351166%2C121331973%2C120811592%2C120810756%3Bnull%3Bembed_blank&amp;refer=embed&amp;referer_url=www.tmz.com%2F2023%2F11%2F21%2Fsusan-sarandons-anti-jewish-rant-pro-palestine-rally-dropped-hollywood-talent-agency%2F&amp;referer_video_id=7303563115004710187">clip of the rally</a> Sarandon says being anti-Palestinian is the result of "brainwashing and conditioning for years and years."The actress also reposted a pro-Palestinian post from Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, who has repeatedly been accused of antisemitism in the past, per <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/sep/28/roger-waters-accused-of-repeated-antisemitism-in-new-documentary">The Guardian</a>. He's denied that he is antisemitic.Antisemitism should not be "confused with speaking up against Israel," Sarandon also said at the rally, per <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/21/business/susan-sarandon-dropped-talent-agency.html">The New York Times</a>. "I am against antisemitism. I am against Islamophobia."UTA's decision to drop Sarandon is one of the highest-profile examples of an agency taking action over public comments about the conflict. <div type="image" title="Protestors in lower Manhattan" height="1476" width="2213" msid="105420292" hostid="261" sizebytes="579308"></div>Maha Dakhil, the co-head of film at CAA, resigned from its board in October after reposting an Instagram story that read "you're currently learning who supports genocide." She later issued an apology. However, the screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, who was a CAA client, moved to rival William Morris Endeavor Entertainmnet (WME) in response to the incident. He told <a target="_blank" href="https://variety.com/2023/film/news/aaron-sorkin-drops-caa-maha-dakhil-israel-hamas-posts-1235767529/">Variety</a>: "Maha isn't an antisemite, she's just wrong."In another case, "Scream VI" star Melissa Barrera was fired from the next instalment of the franchise on Tuesday by the production company Spyglass after calling Israel's action "genocide."The International Holocaust Remembrance alliance includes comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis under its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/resources/working-definitions-charters/working-definition-antisemitism">definition of antisemitism</a>.UTA did not immediately reply to Business Insider's request for comment, made outside normal working hours.

Susan Sarandon was dropped by her talent agency in the wake of comments about the Israel-Hamas war 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Powerful donors are demanding universities condemn the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel. </li><li>The University of Pennsylvania on Sunday issued a statement describing the attacks as "terrorism." </li></ul>The University of Pennsylvania "should have moved faster" in condemning the antisemitic views of speakers that appeared at a recent Palestinian literary festival held on campus, its president said. In a <a href="https://penntoday.upenn.edu/announcements/penns-response-recent-events-terrorist-attacks-in-israel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement,</a> Elizabeth Magill said she recognized how painful the presence of the speakers on Penn's campus was for the Jewish community following the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel. Hamas militants attacked Israeli towns, military bases, and a music festival on Saturday, October 7, killing 1,300 Israelis and foreign nationals and injuring 3,715, say Israeli authorities.Israel responded by launching waves of airstrikes on Gaza that have killed 2,670 Palestinians and injured 9,600, Palestinian health authorities say. "The University did not, and emphatically does not, endorse these speakers or their views," <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/education/university-of-pennsylvania-liz-magill-palestine-writes-antisemitism-20231015.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said Magill.</a> "While we did communicate, we should have moved faster to share our position strongly and more broadly with the Penn community."Magill's statement came after UPenn alumnus Marc Rowan, CEO of Apollo Global Management, called for university leaders to step down and fellow donors to cut off funds to the university over what he claimed was its failure to condemn antisemitism. In an op-ed last week, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apollo-ceo-marc-rowan-university-pennsylvania-penn-leaders-quit-antisemitism-2023-10?r=US&amp;IR=T">obtained by Insider,</a> Rowan criticized the university's decision to host the Palestinian literary festival. He was also one of 4,000 people to sign a letter condemning the university for hosting the festival. "President Magill's allowing of UPenn's imprimatur to be associated with this conference, and her failure to condemn this hate-filled call for ethnic cleansing, normalized and legitimized violence that ranged from the targeting of Jewish students and spaces here at UPenn to the horrific attacks in Israel," Rowan wrote in the op-ed. The festival last month showcased Palestinian art and culture and featured speakers including Roger Waters, the former Pink Floyd frontman, whose rhetoric on Israel has been described as anti-Semitic by the Anti-defamation League.It also featured Marc Lamont Hill, an academic whose contract with CNN was severed after he called for a "free Palestine from the river to the sea," a phrase regarded as advocating the destruction of Israel. Hill and Waters both deny they are antisemitic. Organizers of the festival have also been quoted by <a href="https://www.thedp.com/article/2023/09/penn-palestine-writes-literature-festival-magill-statement" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">The Daily Pennsylvanian</a> as denying it embraced antisemitism. Insider contacted Hill and attempted to reach a representative for Waters for comment. Insider has also contacted the festival organizers.At the time of Rowan's oped, the university responded, saying in a <a href="https://president.upenn.edu/content/statement-palestine-writes-literature-festival" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> that "we unequivocally — and emphatically — condemn antisemitism as antithetical to our institutional values.""As a university, we also fiercely support the free exchange of ideas as central to our educational mission," the statement continued. "This includes the expression of views that are controversial and even those that are incompatible with our institutional values." But, in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-is-there-fighting-in-israel-and-what-caused-the-conflict-2023-10" rel="">light of the terror attack by Hamas on Israel</a>, Rowan said the response was not enough.Rowan, who chairs the Wharton School's Board of Advisors, and his wife, Carolyn, donated $50 million to Penn's business school in 2018. <a href="https://www.thedp.com/article/2023/10/penn-magill-statement-antisemitism-hamas-israel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A spokesman for Rowan told The Daily Pennsylvanian</a> that Rowan's stance had not changed after Sunday's statement. Insider has contacted Rowan for comment.In the statement Sunday, Magill said that the university could've been more forceful in condemning anti-Semitism in its initial statement on the festival. "I want to leave no doubt about where I stand. I, and this University, are horrified by and condemn Hamas's terrorist assault on Israel and their violent atrocities against civilians. There is no justification—none—for these heinous attacks, which have consumed the region and are inciting violence in other parts of the world," said Magill. Insider has contacted the university for comment.

University of Pennsylvania 'should have moved faster' in condemning antisemitism, its president admits, days after Apollo CEO called for her resignation

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan is calling for University of Pennsylvania leaders to resign.</li><li>He says they haven't condemned antisemitism, especially in light of the attack on Israel by Hamas.</li></ul>Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan is the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-ackman-harvard-release-names-students-blaming-israel-violence-hamas-2023-10">latest business leader to slam an Ivy League institution</a> for not taking a stronger stance against what he said was antisemitism.The private-equity billionaire wrote an op-ed for the student newspaper of his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania. The guest column hasn't yet been published but was viewed in full by Insider. In it, he demanded the school's president, Elizabeth Magill, and the chairman of its board of trustees, Scott Bok, both step down.He urged his fellow alumni to "close their checkbooks" until the university's top brass resigned. "Join me and many others who love UPenn by sending UPenn $1 in place of your normal, discretionary contribution so that no one misses the point," he wrote.Rowan's letter points to the Palestine Writes Literary Festival, which was hosted at the university last month and has been a lightning rod of controversy. The festival prompted more than 4,000 people, including Rowan, to <a href="https://adl.salsalabs.org/upenn/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sign an open letter</a> to Magill, saying that "platforming of outright antisemitism without denunciation from the university is unacceptable."At the time, the university responded, saying in a <a href="https://president.upenn.edu/content/statement-palestine-writes-literature-festival" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> that "we unequivocally — and emphatically — condemn antisemitism as antithetical to our institutional values.""As a university, we also fiercely support the free exchange of ideas as central to our educational mission," the statement continued. "This includes the expression of views that are controversial and even those that are incompatible with our institutional values." But, in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-is-there-fighting-in-israel-and-what-caused-the-conflict-2023-10">light of the attack by Hamas on Israel</a>, Rowan said the response was not enough."President Magill's allowing of UPenn's imprimatur to be associated with this conference, and her failure to condemn this hate-filled call for ethnic cleansing, normalized and legitimized violence that ranged from the targeting of Jewish students and spaces here at UPenn to the horrific attacks in Israel," Rowan wrote in his op-ed this week.Bok responded Thursday, denying Rowan's claims that following the letter regarding the Palestinian Writes Literature Festival, Penn was "working to purge all Trustees with dissenting points of view by explicitly and aggressively demanding those who signed the open letter resign." Bok, who is the CEO of boutique investment firm Greenhill &amp; Co, said it had been out of line for Rowan to denounce the board and university's stance on the festival."Once a leadership team has done appropriate consultation and reached a decision, it is extraordinarily unusual in a corporate, university or nonprofit context for a board member to publicly oppose that decision, let alone solicit others to join their dissenting view," Bok said in his statement. "We did make known to two Trustees pursuing that unusual step that they could consider voluntarily resigning, thereby freeing them from all the constraints involved in serving on a board. Those individuals chose not to resign, and they remain welcome as members of Penn's board"Penn didn't directly respond to Rowan's letter in an emailed response to Insider, but a spokesman forwarded responses that university leaders had sent to the campus community after an antisemitic incident on campus and after Hamas's attack on Israel.Organizers of the festival have been quoted by <a href="https://www.thedp.com/article/2023/09/penn-palestine-writes-literature-festival-magill-statement" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Pennsylvanian</a> as denying it embraced antisemitism. The organizers didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider. The Daily Pennsylvanian reported some Jewish students and groups on campus objected to some of the event's speakers, which included the Pink Floyd frontman, Roger Waters, whom the <a href="https://www.adl.org/resources/fact-sheet/roger-waters-his-own-words?gclid=Cj0KCQjwj5mpBhDJARIsAOVjBdr25XVIxfyr5IkX4upu8_TiSRjaOyuD_KmtdaGfFPxe7CHrlUyKZecaAhYDEALw_wcB" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anti-Defamation League</a> and others have accused of being anti-Jewish.Rowan, who chairs the Wharton School's Board of Advisors, and his wife, Carolyn, donated $50 million to Penn's business school in 2018. He is the latest Wall Street titan — and big-money donor — to condemn an alma mater for a response, or lack thereof, to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-israel-wont-be-able-to-completely-destroy-hamas-by-invading-gaza-2023-10">the crisis in Israel</a>. On Tuesday, Pershing Square Capital Management CEO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-ackman-harvard-release-names-students-blaming-israel-violence-hamas-2023-10">Bill Ackman called on Harvard to release the names of students</a> in groups holding Israel solely responsible for Hamas' violence. Ackman said he didn't want to "inadvertently hire" students who were part of the organizations. Several CEOs voiced their agreement, including Jonathan Newman, the cofounder of the salad fast-food chain Sweetgreen, and Dovehill Capital Management CEO Jake Wurzak."We see sickening parallels between Harvard leadership's inaction against Harvard's antisemitism and the failure by UPenn's leadership to take a stand against hate," Rowan wrote in his letter.Ackman has <a href="https://twitter.com/BillAckman/status/1712210487159488888">tweeted</a> his support of Rowan's letter.Update: October 11, 2023 — This story has been updated with a response from the University of Pennsylvania.Update: October 12, 2023 —This story has been updated with a response from Scott Bok, the chairman of University of Pennsylvania's board of trustees.

Apollo CEO is calling for University of Pennsylvania leaders to resign after he says they refused to strongly condemn antisemitism

Good morning and welcome to your weekday morning roundup of the top stories you need to know.For more daily and weekly briefings, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter">sign up for our newsletters here</a>.What's going on today: <ul><li>LMM apologizes. <a href="https://www.insider.com/lin-manuel-miranda-in-the-heights-community-portrayal-fell-short-2021-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">"In trying to paint a mosaic of this community, we fell short:" Lin-Manuel Miranda apologizes for lack of dark-skinned Afro-Latino portrayal in "In the Heights.'"</a> "I can hear the hurt and frustration over colorism, of feeling still unseen in the feedback," Miranda said. </li><li>A bizarre on-air outing. <a href="https://www.insider.com/fox-news-journalist-ivory-hecker-blasts-network-muzzling-live-tv-2021-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fox News journalist Ivory Hecker blasts network on air for 'muzzling' her, says she plans to send 'recordings' to far-right group Project Veritas.</a> Project Veritas is a far-right group that says it aims to "expose corruption." It is best known for its attacks on Planned Parenthood.</li><li>Vacation calling. <a href="https://www.insider.com/bamboo-mansions-bali-photos-elora-hardy-ibuku-feature-2021-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">How a former DKNY designer launched an architecture firm in Bali that builds modern, million-dollar jungle mansions out of bamboo</a>. The crowning jewel of Elora Hardy's Green Village is the Sharma Springs residence, a six-floor mansion made from seven varieties of bamboo.</li><li>Rohrabacher returns. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/former-california-congressman-marched-to-the-capitol-on-january-6-2021-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A former US lawmaker known as 'Putin's favorite congressman" admits he marched to the Capitol on January 6</a>. California politician Dana Rohrabacher, who served in the House for 30 years, said he participated in what started as a "peaceful" march but denied entering the Capitol.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-mulls-changes-remote-work-policy-return-to-office-backlash-2021-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a></li><li>Uber backs off on returning to the office. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-mulls-changes-remote-work-policy-return-to-office-backlash-2021-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Top Uber execs are discussing easing up on return-to-office plans after backlash</a>. Uber initially said employees would have to work three days in the office starting this fall. But it's reconsidering after complaints and tech-industry shifts.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-promoted-liz-ewing-cfo-consumer-business-marcus-2021-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a></li><li>No luck for Zuck. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pink-floyd-roger-waters-turns-down-facebook-song-ad-zuckerberg-2021-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pink Floyd's Roger Waters turns down Facebook's offer of a "huge, huge amount of money" to use a song, calls Zuckerberg "one of the most powerful idiots in the world'."</a> "This is an insidious movement of them to take over absolutely everything. I will not be a party to this bull---t," Waters said. That's all for now. See you tomorrow. </li></ul>

10 things in tech: Amazon turnover, Airbnb payouts, Intel salaries

Welcome back to <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/10-things-in-politics">10 Things in Politics</a>. <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/10-things-in-politics">Sign up here to receive this newsletter</a>. Send tips to <a href="mailto:bgriffiths@insider.com">bgriffiths@insider.com</a> or tweet me at <a href="https://twitter.com/BrentGriffiths">@BrentGriffiths</a>.<ul><li>The Senate unanimously supported making Juneteenth a federal holiday: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-senate-voted-unanimously-to-make-juneteenth-a-national-holiday-2021-6">There hasn't been a new national holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was added nearly 40 years ago</a>.</li></ul>Here's what we're talking about:<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/louis-dejoy-trump-appointees-in-biden-administration-irs-fbi-2021-6">These 9 Trump-era officials are still holding high-level positions during the Biden administration</a></li><li><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/wide-disagreements-low-expectations-biden-putin-meet-2021-06-15/">There are low expectations for today's summit between Biden and Putin</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/steve-bannon-trump-doj-justice-department-reimburse-russia-legal-fees-2021-6">Steve Bannon asked Trump's DOJ to reimburse more than $1 million in legal fees</a></li></ul>One thing to watch for: President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in Geneva for their summit.With Jordan Erb<hr />1. THE HOLDOVERS: Several leaders appointed by President Donald Trump are staying in their high-level posts. This continuity is the traditional standard in the federal government, where some positions such as FBI director have terms designed to outlast presidents. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/louis-dejoy-trump-appointees-in-biden-administration-irs-fbi-2021-6">But Democrats have identified some particularly controversial officials they are still hoping to remove</a>.Here are some of the nine key officials still in power:Louis DeJoy, postmaster general: "Get used to me," he remarked to a Democratic lawmaker during a hearing. There is no set term for a postmaster general, and the position isn't a traditional political post since postmasters general are appointed by the US Postal Service's board of governors.<ul><li>Still, Democrats want him gone: They've objected to his tenure atop the USPS, especially his plan to overhaul the agency. Meanwhile, the FBI is said to be investigating his past political donations and whether he illegally reimbursed employees of his former company for their contributions.</li></ul><div type="image" title="Andrew Saul, Social Security Administration commissioner" height="3082" width="4624" msid="83570549" hostid="261"></div>Andrew Saul, Social Security Administration commissioner: Democrats have objected to proposed cuts to Social Security by Saul, a former retail-apparel-chain owner and Republican donor who served in the Bush and Obama administrations.<ul><li>But Saul is most likely here to stay: His term doesn't expire until 2025. The law creating his office also limits the ability of a president to fire him.</li></ul>Mark Calabria, Federal Housing Finance Agency director: Biden's team has reportedly explored ousting the top regulator of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks.<ul><li>The Supreme Court could make such a move easier: An argument in a case pending before the high court is that the structure of FHFA is unconstitutional because the president's authority to fire the director is limited. Otherwise, Calabria, a libertarian economist, has said he expects to serve through the end of his term in 2024.</li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/louis-dejoy-trump-appointees-in-biden-administration-irs-fbi-2021-6">Read the rest of the list here.</a><hr />2. There are low expectations for today's summit between Biden and Putin: Relations have deteriorated between the US and Russia for years, deep disagreements have already cropped up during Biden's time in office, and both sides have already said they don't expect any deals to come out of today's talks, Reuters reports. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/wide-disagreements-low-expectations-biden-putin-meet-2021-06-15/">The schedule for today's summit is also tightly scripted</a>.<ul><li>The US should expect Russia to ramp up its cyberstrikes, key expert says: Fiona Hill, once the top Russia expert in the Trump White House, told the Financial Times, "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fiona-hill-russia-already-declared-war-us-in-information-sphere-2021-6">The Russians have effectively already declared war quite a long time ago in the information sphere</a>."</li></ul><hr />3. Steve Bannon asked Trump's DOJ to reimburse more than $1 million in legal fees: Bannon asked for taxpayers to pay him back for the hefty legal fees he incurred in connection to the Russia investigation, according to documents obtained by Insider. Trump's Justice Department never acted on Bannon's bid for the reimbursement of his legal fees. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/steve-bannon-trump-doj-justice-department-reimburse-russia-legal-fees-2021-6">A top DOJ official in the Biden-led DOJ later denied Bannon's request</a>.<hr />4. More than 600,000 Americans have died in the COVID-19 pandemic: The US reached another grim milestone Tuesday as its known death toll from COVID-19 passed 600,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The good news is that the pace of death has fallen dramatically during the country's vaccination effort. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-coronavirus-deaths-hit-600k-jhu-2021-6">Daily deaths have decreased about 85% since mid-December - to 330 a day on average from about 2,150 a day</a>.<hr /><div type="image" title="Flames from an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Gaza." height="1250" width="2500" msid="83570554" hostid="261"></div>5. Israel hit Gaza with airstrikes for the first time since the cease-fire: The strikes targeted facilities the Israeli military said Hamas militants used for meetings to plan attacks, the Associated Press reports. There were no immediate reports of casualties. On Tuesday, hundreds of Israeli ultranationalists paraded in East Jerusalem, some chanting "Death to Arabs." Palestinians in Gaza responded by launching incendiary balloons. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/jerusalem-israel-middle-east-israel-palestinian-conflict-9a3a1cb047227999330dd44bb080e6c8">This is a major first test for Israel's new post-Netanyahu government</a>.<hr />6. DOJ officials recoiled at Trump's push to overturn the election: Senior officials at the Justice Department expressed deep frustration and alarm with top Trump officials' fixation on the election results during his final days in office, according to a trove of emails released by congressional lawmakers. Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows repeatedly pressed Justice Department officials to investigate claims, including a conspiracy theory that the US Embassy in Rome somehow switched votes from Trump to Biden during the election.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/doj-officials-mark-meadows-italy-conspiracy-theory-pure-insanity-emails-2021-6">"Can you believe this? I am not going to respond to message below,"</a> Jeff Rosen, then the acting attorney general, wrote to a deputy in response to a request by Meadows to have the DOJ investigate "signature match anomalies" in Georgia's Fulton County.<hr /><div type="image" title="Glenn Youngkin" height="1333" width="2000" msid="83570555" hostid="261"></div>7. Virginia's GOP gubernatorial nominee praised the state's economy when his Democratic opponent was in charge: Glenn Youngkin was for then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe's economy before he was against it. Before he claimed McAuliffe and the state's current governor, Ralph Northam, drove Virginia "into the ditch," Youngkin said Virginia was "one out of 50 states that's doing very well, and has shown really great strides."<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/glenn-youngkin-terry-mcauliffe-virginia-governor-economy-2021-6">An Insider review of Youngkin's public comments dating back to 2017 - during McAuliffe's first term - shows the then-CEO of Carlyle Group repeatedly praised the state's financial standing.</a><hr />8. Biden elevated a critic of Big Tech to chair the FTC: He appointed Lina Khan to chair the Federal Trade Commission, the federal government's primary antitrust watchdog, The Washington Post reports. Khan's confirmation to the FTC sparked a rare bipartisan vote in the Senate, with Sens. Chuck Grassley and Roger Wicker among the Republicans supporting her, illustrating the increasing agreement among both parties to rein in large tech companies. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/06/15/khan-ftc-confirmation-vote/">Khan is known for her unconventional approach to counter companies like Amazon.</a><hr />9. Twenty-one GOP lawmakers voted against honoring law enforcement for their work during the Capitol riot: A few Republican lawmakers said they opposed the bill because it referred to the riot led by Trump's loyalists to disrupt Congress' certification of the presidential election as an "insurrection." No House Democrats opposed the measure, which passed with the overwhelming support of 406 members. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/21-gop-lawmakers-vote-against-honoring-law-enforcement-for-jan-6-efforts-2021-6">Here's a list of those who opposed it.</a><hr />10. Pink Floyd's Roger Waters won't let Facebook use one of the band's songs: The Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Famer said he declined an offer by Facebook for a "huge, huge amount of money" to use the song "Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2" in an Instagram advertisement. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pink-floyd-roger-waters-turns-down-facebook-song-ad-zuckerberg-2021-6">Why he says his reaction was "no f---ing way."</a><hr />Today's trivia question: Today marks the anniversary of the opening of the first roller coaster in America. Where was it? Email your guess and a suggested question to me at <a href="mailto:bgriffiths@insider.com">bgriffiths@insider.com</a>.<ul><li>Yesterday's answer: Sen. Arthur Vandenberg coined the phrase in the late 1940s that "We must stop <keyword id="6358883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="politics">politics</keyword> at the water's edge," a reference to the belief that domestic political disputes shouldn't play into foreign policy. <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/03/10/392095906/taking-u-s-politics-beyond-the-waters-edge">The norm has continued, though it has faced some major challenges</a>.</li></ul>

10 Things in Politics: Dems demand ouster of Trump holdovers

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/51cb19e269bedd4931000003-1200-750/rtxnllq.jpg" border="0" alt="pink floyd" />REUTERS/Stephen Hird </div></div></div>Pink Floyd will be <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jul/07/pink-floyd-new-album-2014-the-endless-river">releasing a new album</a>, "The Endless River," in October. The album will be the group's first since 1994 when Pink Floyd released The Division Bell, which the new album is inspired by.
Lead guitarist Doug Gilmour's wife, Polly Samson, unveiled the secret plans on her Twitter account.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
Btw Pink Floyd album out in October is called "The Endless River". Based on 1994 sessions is Rick Wright's swansong and very beautiful.
- Polly Samson (@PollySamson) <a href="https://twitter.com/PollySamson/statuses/485411029573439488">July 5, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>
Wright, a co-founder of the band alongside Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, and Roger Waters, died in 2008.

Pink Floyd To Release First Album In Two Decades

<div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/51e5612969bedd8b3700000a-1024-768/indiana-corn-field.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="indiana corn field" width="480" /><a href="http://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult_VPage&amp;VBID=2C0BXZ6NJ5GKL&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1491&amp;RH=855#/SearchResult_VPage&amp;VBID=2C0BXZ6NJ5GKL&amp;SMLS=1&amp;RW=1491&amp;RH=855&amp;PN=1">Reuters/Karl Plume</a></div></div>Walls are generally bad. Just ask the Chinese, the East Germans, or Roger Waters. 
The U.S. is about to slam head-first into its own barrier: the renewable fuel "blend wall."
This is the limit on the amount of <keyword id="6533570" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ethanol">ethanol</keyword> — aka corn byproduct — refiners are capable of adding to consumer gasoline.
The reason why they aren't adding more: Americans aren't using as much gas as they did when the current renewable fuel standard was passed.
That was 2007 — the idea was to both curb fossil fuel use and reduce dependence on overseas oil. Congress said refiners must blend an ever-increasing amount of ethanol into their products, and must hit 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2022 — regardless of how much fuel is actually in demand.
And since 2007, U.S. fuel use has plummeted. <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-26/epa-says-ethanol-bounty-may-push-refiners-over-blend-wall.html">According to Bloomberg's Mark Drajem</a>, average daily gasoline use in 2012 was 8.3 percent lower than in 2007.
In theory, refiners could get around the problem by using a higher concentration of ethanol.
But that's actually another constraint: refiners are basically confined to using a blend with very low ethanol concentration — E10 (which is 10% ethanol).
That's because there are lots of hurdles to using blends with the highest ethanol content. E85 can only be used in flex-fuel vehicles, and the infrastructure capable of transporting and storing even E15 remains limited. 
So what's the answer?
Refiners seeking to bypass the requirement are supposed to buy renewable identification numbers — RINs.
<a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/100866132">But as Reuters' Gerard Wynn writes</a>, demand — and prices — for RINs have been skyrocketing, suggesting we're careening into the wall. 
RIN prices surged $0.12 yesterday to reach a new all time high of $1.32. And those prices are going to be passed on to consumers. 
The ethanol industry <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-14/ethanol-rins-aren-t-raising-gasoline-prices-rfa-s-dinneen-says.html">has denied there's a correlation</a> between higher <keyword id="154077" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="gas-prices">gas prices</keyword> and increasing RIN rates. 
But that was in March, when prices were barely over a dollar. The EIA says there's some evidence RIN prices could already be driving diesel and jet fuel higher.
The <keyword id="52232" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="EPA">EPA</keyword> is expected to finalize its targets for ethanol consumption in 2013 within the next two weeks.
“It’s really not a pretty picture next year,” an East Coast ethanol blender told him.

How A 2007 Ethanol Law And A Decline In Driving Could Be Contributing To A Rise In Gas Prices

<img src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-api/1/H.20.3/98867?ns=guardian&amp;pageName=Stephen+Hawking+joins+academic+boycott+of+Israel+Article+1904485&amp;ch=World+news&amp;c2=53056&amp;c4=Israel+%28News%29%2CStephen+Hawking+%28science%29%2CPalestinian+territories+%28News%29%2CMiddle+East+and+North+Africa+%28News%29+MENA%2CWorld+news%2CScience%2CHigher+education+%28Universities+etc.%29%2CEducation%2CUK+news&amp;c3=The+Guardian&amp;c6=Harriet+Sherwood+and+Matthew+Kalman+in+Jerusalem&amp;c7=13-May-07&amp;c8=1904485&amp;c9=Article&amp;maxX=1&amp;maxY=1" border="0" alt="" width="1" height="1" /><table class="image-container float_right" width="200"><tr><td><div class="image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4d826b01ccd1d52426050000-400-301/Stephen_Hawking.StarChild.jpg" border="0" alt="Stephen Hawking" /></div><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Stephen_Hawking.StarChild.jpg">wikipedia commons</a></td></tr></table>Professor <keyword id="61369" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Stephen-Hawking">Stephen Hawking</keyword> is backing the academic boycott of <keyword id="6355882" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="israel">Israel</keyword> by pulling out of a conference hosted by Israeli president Shimon Peres in Jerusalem as a protest at Israel's treatment of Palestinians.
Hawking, 71, the world-renowned theoretical physicist and Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, had accepted an invitation to headline the fifth annual president's conference, Facing Tomorrow, in June, which features major international personalities, attracts thousands of participants and this year will celebrate Peres' 90th birthday.
Hawking is in very poor health, but last week he wrote a brief letter to the Israeli president to say he had changed his mind. He has not announced his decision publicly, but a statement published by the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine with Hawking's approval described it as "his independent decision to respect the boycott, based upon his knowledge of Palestine, and on the unanimous advice of his own academic contacts there".
Hawking's decision marks another victory in the campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions targeting Israeli academic institutions.
In April the Teachers' Union of Ireland became the first lecturers' association in Europe to call for an academic boycott of Israel, and in the United States members of the Association for Asian American Studies voted to support a boycott, the first national academic group to do so.
In the four weeks since Hawking's participation in the Jerusalem event was announced, he has been bombarded with messages from Britain and abroad as part of an intense campaign by boycott supporters trying to persuade him to change his mind. In the end, Hawking told friends, he decided to follow the advice of Palestinian colleagues who unanimously agreed that he should not attend.
Hawking's decision met with abusive responses on Facebook, with many commentators focusing on his physical condition, and some accusing him of antisemitism.
By participating in the boycott, Hawking joins a small but growing list of British personalities who have turned down invitations to visit Israel, including Elvis Costello, Roger Waters, Brian Eno, Annie Lennox and Mike Leigh.
However, many artists, writers and academics have defied and even denounced the boycott, calling it ineffective and selective. Ian McEwan, who was awarded the Jerusalem Prize in 2011, responded to critics by saying: "If I only went to countries that I approve of, I probably would never get out of bed … It's not great if everyone stops talking."
Noam Chomsky, a prominent supporter of the Palestinian cause, has said that he supports the "boycott and divestment of firms that are carrying out operations in the occupied territories" but that a general boycott of Israel is "a gift to Israeli hardliners and their American supporters".
Hawking has visited Israel four times in the past. Most recently, in 2006, he delivered public lectures at Israeli and Palestinian universities as the guest of the British embassy in Tel Aviv. At the time, he said he was "looking forward to coming out to Israel and the Palestinian territories and excited about meeting both Israeli and Palestinian scientists".
Since then, his attitude to Israel appears to have hardened. In 2009, Hawking denounced Israel's three-week attack on Gaza, telling Riz Khan on Al-Jazeera that Israel's response to rocket fire from Gaza was "plain out of proportion … The situation is like that of South Africa before 1990 and cannot continue."
Israel Maimon, chairman of the presidential conference said: "This decision is outrageous and wrong.
"The use of an academic boycott against Israel is outrageous and improper, particularly for those to whom the spirit of liberty is the basis of the human and academic mission. Israel is a democracy in which everyone can express their opinion, whatever it may be. A boycott decision is incompatible with open democratic discourse."
In 2011, the Israeli parliament passed a law making a <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-passes-law-banning-calls-for-boycott-1.372711">boycott call by an individual or organisation a civil offence</a> which can result in compensation liable to be paid regardless of actual damage caused. It defined a boycott as "deliberately avoiding economic, cultural or academic ties with another person or another factor only because of his ties with the State of Israel, one of its institutions or an area under its control, in such a way that may cause economic, cultural or academic damage".

This article originally appeared on <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/08/stephen-hawking-israel-academic-boycott">guardian.co.uk</a>
<img class="nc_pixel" src="http://pixel.newscred.com/px.gif?key=YXJ0aWNsZT1kYjhiY2U1ZTNmMDUxY2FkNThjMWNmYmRiNDMwYjM1NyZvd25lcj01ZGYyMDgwZWQ3Y2QxN2VjMjVhYWU2ZTkwYWU2MzNmMiZub25jZT05NjRmNTUxMi1hMTExLTQ1MWEtOWFmOS1lZGM0OTJiMmNkMGYmcHVibGlzaGVyPThjMDBmYmVlNjFkNWJjZjBjNjA5MmQ4YjkyZWJiY2Ex" border="0" alt="" width="1" height="1" />

You Searched For "Roger Waters" and got 14 results

Ukrainian UN diplomat tells Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters to keep to 'strumming guitar' after pushing Ukraine misinformation during council meeting

Azmi Haroun

Pink Floyd's Roger Waters says Biden is 'fueling the fire' in Ukraine and parrots Russian talking points by blaming NATO for Putin's unprovoked invasion

Katie Anthony

Pink Floyd's Roger Waters says he turned down a 'huge, huge amount of money' from Facebook to use a song, calling Zuckerberg 'one of the most powerful idiots in the world'

Sarah Al-Arshani

Model Bar Refaeli Demands Roger Waters Stop Using Her Photo In Concerts

Melia Robinson

Susan Sarandon was dropped by her talent agency in the wake of comments about the Israel-Hamas war

Polly Thompson

University of Pennsylvania 'should have moved faster' in condemning antisemitism, its president admits, days after Apollo CEO called for her resignation

Tom Porter

Apollo CEO is calling for University of Pennsylvania leaders to resign after he says they refused to strongly condemn antisemitism

Madeline Berg

Top Stories this AM: A reporter's on-air Fox Corp. rant; Pink Floyd disses Facebook; Uber eases up on WFH

INSIDER

10 things in tech: Amazon turnover, Airbnb payouts, Intel salaries

Jordan Parker Erb

10 Things in Politics: Dems demand ouster of Trump holdovers

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Pink Floyd To Release First Album In Two Decades

Allan Smith

How A 2007 Ethanol Law And A Decline In Driving Could Be Contributing To A Rise In Gas Prices

Rob Wile

Famed Scientist Stephen Hawking Joins Boycott Of Israel

Harriet Sherwood, The Guardian

Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar lead with the most 2018 Grammy nominations - here's the complete list of nominees

John Lynch