The EU’s antisemitism coordinator has been asked to talk with Belgian authorities over the Ghent Festival’s decision to ban the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra from playing in the city over its Israeli conductor, Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, said Friday.
“I have asked the EU coordinator on combating antisemitism to engage with the authorities and the festival organisers to ensure that this cannot happen again”, Brunner wrote on X on Friday evening.
The organisers of the annual festival scrapped Lahav Shani’s performance set for 18 September, citing “insufficient clarity” on his stance toward Israel’s government amid the country’s continued assault on Gaza, and following demands from Flanders’ Culture Minister Caroline Gennez that the festival avoid working with partners who fail to “unequivocally distance themselves from the genocidal regime” in Israel.
But earlier on Friday, Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever condemned the decision as “antisemitic” and “reckless,” warning it would damage Belgium’s reputation, while the German embassy in Brussels has suspended cooperation with the Ghent festival.
According to De Standaard, the festival’s artistic director Jan Van den Bossche rejected accusations of antisemitism, saying the decision is linked to Shani’s role as music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
In response to the boycott, the German government announced a replacement concert for the Munich Philharmonic at the Berliner Festspiele next Monday.
The EU’s coordinator on antisemitism is Katharina von Schnubrein, a former Commission staffer.
(jp)
