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 social network 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.”