Westernhagen only sees radical positions
Following the anti-Semitism scandal at the 2018 Echo Awards, Marius Müller-Westernhagen has returned his music awards in protest. Now the rock musician is taking a stand again. In view of the Gaza war, it is a mistake to equate the Israeli government with Jews. For him, the problem goes deeper.
Musician Marius Müller-Westernhagen bemoans hardened positions in the search for solutions to the Middle East conflict. "The whole discussion is not very differentiated, sides are not being heard," said the singer in Berlin. "The big problem in the world at the moment is that you only have radical positions, positions that stand there like a wall." This has nothing to do with politics, where compromises have to be found, he added.
Westernhagen, who turns 75 on 6 December, had returned all seven of his awards in protest in 2018 during the anti-Semitism debate surrounding the Echo awards at the time.
With regard to Israel and the Palestinian territories, he now said: "How can both parties live together? For me, that's diplomacy. For me, that's politics. And for me, that is also democracy." Much of it has nothing to do with anti-Semitism, he said. "For me, it has to do with an incredibly complex problem in the Middle East, which has been going on for ages. And where many opportunities have been missed."
"The majority want to live in peace"
In all the years of the conflict's history, hatred has been brought up. In the musician's view, it would be a mistake to equate the Israeli government with Jews, and the same applies to Hamas and the Palestinians. "I firmly believe that the majority on both sides want to live in peace, want peace," said Müller-Westernhagen.
To mark his birthday, Marius Müller-Westernhagen has just released the album box set "Westernhagen 75", a collection of 75 songs from the years 1974 to 2023, including remastered original recordings, surprising studio recordings ("The mixing desk was probably involved") and new interpretations of the "Peppermint Experiment".
Read also:
- Marius Müller-Westernhagen believes that the discussion about the Middle East conflict is not diverse enough, with extremist views dominating the scene.
- Regarding the Israeli government and the Palestinian territories, Westernhagen posits that diplomacy, politics, and democracy are key to finding a solution, distancing it from the controversial topic of anti-Semitism.
- The musician emphasizes that the majority of individuals involved in the Middle East conflict, including Jews and Palestinians, desire peace.
- Rock music icon Marius Müller-Westernhagen released a birthday album, "Westernhagen 75," featuring a compilation of his works over five decades, demonstrating his foray into the realms of pop music and entertainment.
Source: www.ntv.de
