Volkswacht Bodensee - Germany's Merz criticises festival for axing Israeli conductor

The Flanders Festival Ghent announced last week it was cancelling the Munich Philharmonic's show as it was going to be led by the orchestra's future chief conductor, Lahav Shani.

When they announced the cancellation of the concert, organisers said Shani had not "unequivocally" distanced himself from the Israeli government, whose war against Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza has triggered international uproar.

But the move triggered condemnation and accusations of antisemitism, including from Germany, Israel and Belgium.

"Antisemitic rhetoric is becoming normalised," warned Merz in a speech in Berlin to mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of Germany's Central Council of Jews.

"Jewish and Israeli artists are being subjected to ideological tests and marginalised solely because of their origins, solely because of their faith."

Referring to the cancellation of Shani's appearance at the Belgian festival, Merz warned of the increasing spread of the "poison of antisemitism".

The 36-year-old conductor also spoke out about the controversy Tuesday, calling the cancellation of his appearance at the Ghent festival "regrettable".

The festival's management had yielded to "political pressures", said Shani, who officially takes over as conductor of the Munich orchestra for the 2026/27 season and is currently music director of the Israel Philharmonic.

They had demanded "that I make a political declaration despite my long standing and publicly expressed commitment to peace and reconciliation", he said.

There has been an outpouring of support for Shani since the cancellation.

On Monday he performed with the Munich orchestra at a festival in the German capital after being invited by the Berlin Philharmonic at short notice in a show of solidarity.

Israel launched its retaliatory offensive in the Gaza Strip following Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

The catastrophic humanitarian conditions in Gaza as a result of Israel's campaign have fuelled widespread public anger in Europe, although the region's governments have been divided on how to respond.

F.Mueller--VB