Rod Stewart has publicly severed ties with Donald Trump and accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of pursuing the “annihilation” of Palestinians in a provocative interview with Radio Times.
The 80-year-old British singer said: “What Netanyahu is doing to the Palestinians is exactly what happened to the Jews. It’s annihilation, and that’s all he wants to do – get rid of them all. I don’t know how they sleep at night.”
He confirmed he is no longer friends with Trump, his former neighbour in Florida, stating: “I’m not a great fan of Trump. I knew him very, very well. I used to go to his house. I live literally half a mile away… But since he became president, he became another guy. Somebody I didn’t know.”
When asked directly if he still considered Trump a friend, Stewart replied: “No, I can’t any more. As long as he’s selling arms to the Israelis – and he still is.”
Stewart, who performed in Tel Aviv in 2017 despite boycott calls from pro-Palestinian groups, also criticised the ongoing supply of weapons to Israel by the United Kingdom. “How’s that war ever gonna stop? And we should stop selling [arms to] them as well,” he said.
He added that Trump “didn’t, as far as I’m concerned, treat women very well.”
Stewart also revealed that his upcoming Glastonbury performance would result in a financial loss. “It’s going to cost me £300,000 to do it and they only pay you about £120,000,” he said. “But it’s such an honour.”
The interview follows a series of cancelled U.S tour dates due to flu, ahead of his scheduled appearance in Glastonbury’s Legends slot on 29 June.
