Belgian festival’s decision to cancel a concert led by an Israeli conductor draws criticism

BERLIN (AP) – Belgium’s prime minister traveled to neighboring Germany for a concert led by an Israeli conductor whose appearance was canceled by a Belgian festival, a gesture that added to strong criticism of the decision.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz thanked Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever in a social media post Sunday for “his strong signal of solidarity” after he attended the concert given in Essen on Saturday evening by the Munich Philharmonic and conducted by Lahav Shani, who is due to become the orchestra’s chief conductor next year.

Shani is also the music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and currently the chief conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.

On Wednesday, the Flanders Festival Ghent said it was canceling a concert by the Munich Philharmonic under Shani, scheduled for Sept. 18. It said in a statement that Shani “has spoken out in favor of peace and reconciliation several times in the past, but in the light of his role as the chief conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, we are unable to provide sufficient clarity about his attitude to the genocidal regime in Tel Aviv.”

Israel vehemently denies that it is committing genocide in Gaza, but has faced increasing isolation over its actions, including in the cultural sector.

Israel’s ambassador to Belgium, Idit Rosenzweig-Abu, wrote on X that “there are words to describe discriminating (against) a person based solely on his origin. Racism. And in a case of Jew, antisemitism.”

The decision to uninvite Shani and the Munich orchestra has drawn criticism in Germany. A music festival in Berlin invited them to perform at short notice on Monday.

De Wever posted a picture of himself with Shani on X and wrote that “there will never, ever be any room for racism and antisemitism” in Belgium. He added that he strongly condemns the cancellation of the Ghent concert “solely on the basis of the origin of conductor Lahav Shani.”

“I insisted on conveying this message to him personally and expressing my appreciation for his contribution to the power of music,” said the prime minister, who was joined by Germany’s ambassador to Belgium.

In thanking De Wever for his gesture, Merz wrote that “we must give no space to this naked antisemitism.”

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, abducting 251 people and killing some 1,200, mostly civilians. There are still 48 hostages remaining in Gaza, of whom Israeli believes 20 are still alive.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,871 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants. It says around half of those killed were women and children. Large parts of major cities have been completely destroyed and around 90% of some 2 million Palestinians have been displaced.