The Israeli conductor Lahav Shani has responded publicly for the first time to the cancellation of his concert will the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra at the Ghent Festival of Flanders that was due to take place on Thursday. Mr Shani says that the festival’s organisers have "yielded to political pressure". He also thanked the Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever (Flemish nationalist) for his support.
The organisers of the festival took the decision to cancel Thursday’s concert because Mr Shani is affiliated to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. They said that they had “insufficient clarity” regarding the Israeli conductor’s “attitude to the genocidal regime in Tel Aviv”. The decision to cancel the concert was confirmed at a meeting of the festival’s board that took place on Monday. Two members of the board, both of whom Flemish nationalist politicians, have resigned in protest at the cancellation of the concert.
In a statement published on the Munich Philharmonic’s website Lahav Shani wrote “Over the last days, I found myself along with two of the orchestras dearest to my heart, the Munich Philharmonic and the Israel Philharmonic, unwillingly swept into an unexpected public storm that quickly escalated into a diplomatic incident”.
He went on to say that those in charge of the Ghent Festival of Flanders “acted under the pretense that ‘music should be a source of connection and reconciliation’. But in doing so, they emptied this statement of all meaning, yielding to political pressures, demanding that I make a political declaration despite my long standing and publicly expressed commitment to peace and reconciliation.”
7 October 2023
Writing about the events of 7 October 2023, Mr Shani says “Israel experienced a horrific and unprecedented event”, when Hamas carried out a series of coordinated attacks, killing 1,175 people and taking 251 people hostage.
“Israeli society continues to mourn the consequences of Hamas’s inhumane attack and longing for the return of 48 civilians who are still held hostage in unbearable conditions,” he said.
“Yet, I, like many Israelis, have not abandoned my human values. The images and testimonies coming out of Gaza are deeply distressing, and it is impossible to remain indifferent to the suffering of civilians in Gaza amidst the catastrophe this war has brought upon them. Everything must be done to end the war as soon as possible and begin the long process of healing and rebuilding for both societies.”
Political storm
The cancellation of the concert has caused a political storm. The Flemish Culture Minister Caroline Gennez (socialist) supports the decision, while Flemish nationalist politicians oppose it. The Flemish nationalistr members of the festival’s board Christoph D’Haese and Annemie Charlier, resigned on Tuesday in protest at the cancellation of the concert.
At the weekend the Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever attended a concert by the Munich Philharmonic conducted by Lahav Shani in the German city of Essen. Mr Shani also refers to this in his statement “It was also profoundly meaningful that the Prime Minister of Belgium expressed his solidarity by attending our concert last Saturday in Essen,” Shani said.