Antisemites’ vile attacks on Robbie Williams: Former Take That singer, 49, is compared to Nazi sympathisers by Twitter trolls for agreeing to perform at a summer festival in Israel
- Williams, 49, is set to perform at Summer in the City festival in Tel Aviv in June
- Former Take That singer has three children with Ayda Field, 43, who is Jewish
- Offensive remarks suggested he would perform for Nazis in Second World War
Robbie Williams has been targeted with antisemitic abuse after announcing that he is to appear at a festival in Israel this summer.
Among the most offensive remarks on social media was one claiming that he would have been happy to perform for the Nazis in the Second World War.
Other posts also made Nazi slurs about the singer and Israel. The 49-year-old former Take That star – whose wife Ayda Field, 43, is Jewish – is facing a barrage of hate from anti-Israel fanatics and Left-wing extremists after agreeing to sing at the Summer In The City festival in Tel Aviv on June 1.
Habib Naser tweeted: ‘Robbie Williams is garbage – he’ll perform anywhere to get a dollar. He’ll perform for Nazi soldiers if it was the 1940s.’
Another post read: ‘Israel is an illegal occupation similar to Nazi Germany… you gotta pay people to spread propaganda.’
Robbie Williams has been targeted with antisemitic abuse after announcing that he is to appear at the Summer In The City festival in Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 1
The 49-year-old star – whose wife Ayda Field, 43, is Jewish – is facing a barrage of hate from anti-Israel fanatics and Left-wing extremists after agreeing to perform in Israel
Robbie Williams has performed previously in Tel Aviv, including in 2015 at Hayarkon Park
A further tweet featured two cartoon images of an Israeli soldier, and a German Nazi soldier, with the wording directed at Williams, saying: ‘@Robbie Williams look like you have sold your soul to the devil.’
Douglas Fur tweeted that Williams had agreed to the concert because ‘Israel pays a lot more than other countries doesn’t it?’
He added: ‘That’s why Robbie’s selling out again and why he says a lot of b****** about loving the apartheid state.’
Claims that Israel uses money to purchase support have been a theme of antisemitic tropes about Jews for decades.
Williams and Sam Smith will be the headlining acts at the festival, but it is unknown whether Smith has also been targeted.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews criticised the attacks, adding: ‘We condemn the disgraceful abuse Robbie Williams has received in response to comments he made about performing in Israel, some of which clearly crosses the line into antisemitism.
‘Robbie has performed in Israel many times before and we are grateful that he has never bowed to those who seek to delegitimise the world’s only Jewish State.’
Luke Akehurst, of British campaign group We Believe In Israel, added: ‘The disgusting abuse Robbie Williams has been receiving online is another example of the failure of the tawdry attempts to boycott the world’s only Jewish state.’
Williams – who has three children with Ms Field, whom they bring up as Jewish – says Israel is his favourite country to perform in.
Before the latest criticism, he said: ‘The question “Where are you most excited to play?” comes up a lot. I always say Israel… the people, the place and the history – there is an unspoken energy coming from the place.’
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