U2 frontman Bono has compared Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to Heinrich Himmler, one of the leading figures behind Nazi Germany’s persecution and murder of Jews during the Holocaust.
Rolling Stone published an interview with members of U2 ahead of the release of the Irish rock band’s new album, which is scheduled for Nov. 13 after a nine-year hiatus. The band was formed in Dublin in 1976.
Bono, whose real name is Paul David Hewson, said the album was recorded during “probably the most turbulent time any of us have lived through,” adding that he was referring to the global situation rather than his personal life.
He said the album’s song “The Tears of Things” addresses the thousands of years of history that have led to the current situation in Gaza.
Bono said the band had been trying to understand what was happening in the world. While condemning Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, he said he was also horrified by remarks attributed to Ben-Gvir about Palestinians in Gaza, including comments that there are people there who “do not deserve to live” and “are not even human.”
Bono compared Ben-Gvir’s rhetoric with that of Himmler, a close associate of Adolf Hitler and a leading figure in Nazi Germany’s Holocaust.
Bono said he supports Israel but also stands with the Palestinian people in their demand for a Palestinian state.
He said he expected ongoing legal debates over whether Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide to ultimately be addressed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“But here’s a guy, a minister in the government, and he’s not being locked up ... and this guy Netanyahu says, ‘Well, I need him to keep my majority,’” Bono said, referring to Ben-Gvir and Netanyahu’s reliance on him to maintain his governing coalition.
Bono said some people should make concessions they may not want to make in order to address what happened during the Nakba, the mass displacement of Palestinians surrounding the establishment of Israel in 1948.
“Justice is at the heart of Judaism,” he said.
Himmler was one of Nazi Germany’s most powerful officials and headed the SS, the paramilitary organization that played a central role in the Holocaust and other Nazi crimes during World War II.
