Billy Joel struck a powerful chord Monday — while remaining completely silent.
The legendary Piano Man wore a yellow Star of David on his chest and on his back when he appeared onstage for an encore at his Madison Square Garden concert.
Joel did not say a word about why he was wearing the stars, which resembled the ones that Nazis required Jewish people to wear during the Holocaust, but many interpreted it as a silent protest against the white nationalists and neo-Nazis who turned violent in Charlottesville earlier this month.
On Tuesday, Joel used a quote from Edmund Burke to serve as his comment on the matter:
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing," read the quote, which was provided to the Daily News by Joel's rep.
Joel's powerful statement was applauded by his ex-wife Christie Brinkley, as well as their daughter together Alexa Rey Joel, who each shared Instagram photos of the 68-year-old musician wearing the stars.
"And on the day of the Solar Eclipse a yellow star appeared on the jacket of another kind of star with a clinched fist that seemed to be gripping painful, no excruciating, memories of loved ones who wore that star to their death," Brinkley wrote. "May that star also remind you today of the gold stars pinned to the jackets of soldiers for their bravery and valor for fighting an evil so hideous even the gold stars in the sky were afraid to shine. "
"Thank you Billy for reminding people what was ...so it may never ever be again," Brinkley continued, using the hashtags #wealreadyfoughtthiswar, #wedidntstarthisfirebutwewillputitout! and #nohate.
Their daughter shared a similar message: "Now, THIS Is How You Do It. THAT'S MY POP!!! Proud Jewish New Yorker Through & Through!!!!! REPRESENT! STAND STRONG! #HellYES #NewYorkStateOfMind #ProudJew #NewYorkStrong #FightForLoveAndInclusion #DiversityMakesAmericaGreat."
Joel, 68, was joined at Monday's concert by singer Patty Smyth, who performed the song "Goodbye to You" as images of former Trump staff-members flashed on the jumbotron.
Joel was born to Jewish parents. His father, Howard, and grandfather, Karl Amson Joel, fled Nazi Germany in the early 1930s. Many of Joel's relatives were killed in the Holocaust.
This appeared in the New York Daily News on August 22, 2017.
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August 23, 2017
Addendum. A star of the Resistance. Thank you, Billy Joel.
