Berlin (AP) – Belgian A gesture of the prime minister’s trip to neighboring Germany was led by an Israeli conductor, which was cancelled by the Belgian music festival, exacerbated strong criticism of the decision.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz thanked Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever for his concert by Lahav Shani after a concert held by Murhav Shani in Essen on Saturday night, and he will be the chief conductor of the band.
Shani is also the music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and is currently the chief conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.
On Wednesday, Flanders Festival said a concert was scheduled for the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under Shani’s leadership on September 18. It said in a statement that Shani “had made several statements of peace and reconciliation several times, but given that he was the race car’s scope, it was his scope, it was his scope, it was his scope, and we also provided him with actions from afar.
Israel strongly denies that it committed genocide in Gaza but faces increasing isolation in actions, including the cultural sector.
The ambassador of Israel BelgiumIdit Rosenzweig-Abu wrote on X: “There are words that can describe (oppose) people based solely on their origins. Racism. In the case of Jews, anti-Semitism.”
The decisions of Shani and the Munich band were criticized in Germany. The Berlin Festival invites them to perform in a short time Monday.
de Wever posted a photo of himself with Shani on X and wrote: “There will never be any space for racism and anti-Semitism” Belgium. He added that he strongly condemned the cancellation of the Ghent concert “only based on the origins of conductor Lahav Shani.”
“I insist on conveying this message to him and express my gratitude for his contribution to the power of music,” the Prime Minister said. Belgium.
Thanks to De Wever’s gesture, Merz wrote: “We must not make room for this naked anti-Semitism.”
The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when militants led by Hamas attacked southern Israel, kidnapped 251 people and killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians. There are still 48 hostages in Gaza, and Israel believes 20 are still alive.
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, Israel’s retaliatory offensive killed at least 64,871 Palestinians, and the ministry did not say how many civilians or combatants there were. It said about half of the people killed were women and children. Much of the major cities has been completely destroyed, with about 2 million Palestinians displaced.
