11.9.2025
Organisers of a music festival in Belgium have cancelled a performance by the by the Munich Philharmonic because the conductor of the orchestra Lahav Shani is from Israel.
This move has enraged German government officials who believe music has nothing to do with politics. German Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer said it was a “disgrace for Europe.”
Organizers of the Flanders Festival Ghent late on Wednesday announced that the Munich Philharmonic would no longer perform on September 18 as planned, saying they were concerned about conductor Lahav Shani’s attitude to the Israeli government.
In a statement, the organizers said they were “unable to provide sufficient clarity about his [Shani’s] attitude” towards the Israeli government, which they referred to as a “genocidal regime.” Several human rights NGOs and the International Association of Genocide Scholars have declared Israel’s war in Gaza a genocide, an accusation which Israel and Germany reject.
“We have chosen to refrain from collaboration with partners who have not distanced themselves unequivocally from that regime,” the organizers said, though they noted that Shani had “spoken out in favor of peace and reconciliation several times in the past.”
Culture Minister Weimer accused the festival of carrying out “a cultural boycott” disguised as criticism of Israel.
“This is pure antisemitism and an attack on the fundamentals of our culture,” he said, calling the affair “a dangerous precedent.”
“European cultural venues must not become places where antisemites dictate the programs. Germany will not accept this,” he added.
In March 2022, the orchestra itself dropped Russian maestro Valery Gergiev as its chief conductor after he failed to denounce Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. With dpa reports
Lahav Shani ... Conductor from Israel