Following a barrage of criticism, organizers of an worldwide reggae festival in Spain backtracked Wednesday, August 19, 2015, and apologized for canceling a concert by Jewish-American singer Matisyahu because he had declined to state his position regarding a Palestinian state.
Advertisement
In a letter sent to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Tuesday, WJC President Lauder encouraged Spanish politicians to speak out, and said: “The organizers have done the honorable thing and apologized”.
Barghouthi also dismissed charges of anti-Semitism, stating Matisyahu’s religion was “irrelevant” to the decision.
Matisyahu, whose real name is Matthew Miller has appeared on stage wearing traditional Orthodox Jewish clothing, although in his latest album he lost his beard and his ultra-Orthodox trappings.
The World Jewish Congress and Spain’s Federation of Jewish Communities – which had decried the decision to cancel Matisyahu’s concert as “antisemitic cowardice” – welcomed the reversal. However, this affair leaves us with a sour taste in our mouths.
Festival organisers then asked the singer to declare if he was in favour of a Palestinian state, and when they got no reply cancelled his show.
Querub expressed a great deal of appreciation, thanking the organizers for their statement.
The Rototom Sunsplash reggae festival announced earlier this week the cancelation of an August 22 performance by the artist after he refused to write or videotape a message supporting a Palestinian state.
The annual Rototom Sunsplash festival, held in Benicàssim, a beach town on the eastern coast of Spain, bills itself as an event promoting a culture of peace, social justice and non-violence.
“Requiring a public declaration, which was demanded of him alone, is a violation of conscience and – to the extent that it came because Matisyahu is Jewish – challenges the principle of non-discrimination which is the basis for all plural and diverse societies”, the Spanish Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday.
But in the statement Wednesday, it recognized that the group’s pressure tactics had prevented them from seeing the situation clearly.
Advertisement
“Rototom Sunsplash rejects antisemitism and any form of discrimination towards the Jewish community”, read a statement Wednesday on the festival’s Facebook page. They had said the festival has always supported the Palestinian people’s rights and denied that the decision was a result of a pro-Palestinian group’s campaign. “They wanted me to write a letter, or make a video, stating my positions on Zionism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to pacify the BDS people”, he said. He has repeatedly said he wants his music to be non-political and accessible to all.
