Roger Waters did not succeed Syd Barrett: David Gilmour replaced him on lead. Waters decided he should be the lyricist, and later decided he should fire other band members who weren't 100% into what he was doing.

As for his comment he's not anti-Jew, the Palestinians' belief is ALL of Israel is occupied territory — and therefore the best solution is for all Jews to be expelled or (as in the Hamas charter) dead. Waters also puts the star of David on pigs during his Wall shows for his politics without seeing it offensive.

Waters thinks he's better than everyone and his politics should be your politics. The other artists tell him they can think for themselves — and he refuses to accept that. He's only a hero to people who think themselves superior for thought… kind of like our Prime Minister at times.