Greenwood is performing at festivals across Europe this summer with Dudu Tassa and the Kuwaitis, an Israeli band that opened Coachella in 2017 and was Radiohead’s opening act for their spring tour in the US that same year. Greenwood released an album with Tassa last year titled “Jarak Qaribak,” featuring musicians from across the Middle East. Tassa is of Iraqi, Jewish, and Yemeni descent and has been collaborating musically with Greenwood since 2008. The duo performed in Israel together in late May and their concert was condemned by BDS supporters, who also said that Greenwood and Radiohead will face “grassroots measures” if they do not stop supporting Israel.

In a released statement on Tuesday, Greenwood said BDS supporters will not deter him from continuing to collaborate with Tassa and other Middle Eastern musicians.

“I think an artistic project that combines Arab and Jewish musicians is worthwhile,” explained the British musician. “And one that reminds everyone that the Jewish cultural roots in countries like Iraq and Yemen go back for thousands of years, is also important. It’s just musicians from all over the Middle East having mutual respect for each other, working together across borders, and sharing our love for the long catalogue of Arabic songs — whether they were written by Muslim, Jewish, or Christian composers. Others choose to believe this kind of project is unjustifiable, and are urging the silencing of this — or any — artistic effort made by Israeli Jews. But I can’t join that call.”

The award-winning composer, who is married to Israeli visual artist Sharona Katan, added that “the silencing of Israeli film makers / musicians / dancers when their work tours abroad — especially when it’s at the urging of their fellow Western film makers/musicians/artists — feels unprogressive to me. Not least because it’s these people that are invariably the most progressive members of any society.”

Greenwood also reminded people that Tassa is the grandson of Jewish Kuwaiti musician Daoud Al-Kuwaiti, one half of the legendary Al Kuwaity Brothers, whose songs became famous in the Arabic world between the 1930s and 1950s and remain popular today. “The Al-Kuwaiti Brothers were among the greatest composers and musicians in Baghdad during the first half of the 20th century, considered innovators and creators of modern Iraqi music, who also helped to establish Baghdad’s original broadcasting authority,” according to the official website of Dudu Tassa and the Kuwaitis.

Greenwood said he is “grateful” to be able to work with a variety of musicians from different backgrounds, like Dudu Tassa and the Kuwaitis, “all of whom strike me as much braver — and taking far more of a principled risk — than those who are trying to shut us down, or who are now attempting to ascribe a sinister ulterior motivation to the band’s existence.”

“We are musicians honoring a shared culture, and I’ve been involved in this for nearly 20 years now,” he added. “No art is as ‘important’ as stopping all the death and suffering around us. How can it be? But doing nothing seems a worse option. And silencing Israeli artists for being born Jewish in Israel doesn’t seem like any way to reach an understanding between the two sides of this apparently endless conflict. So: that’s why I’m making music with this band. You’re welcome to disagree with, or ignore, what we do — but I hope you now understand what the true motivation is, and can react to the music without suspicion or hate.”

Greenwood has no plans to go on tour with Radiohead anytime soon. The band’s lead singer, Thom Yorke, announced on Monday that he will embark on a rare solo tour this fall, starting Oct. 23 in New Zealand and ending Nov. 26 in Japan.