Acquiescing to the anti-Israel boycott movement, a Spanish music festival canceled a performance by reggae superstar Matisyahu over his refusal to endorse a Palestinian state.
The anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement in the Spanish port city of Valencia requested that Rototom, the 22nd European Reggae Festival scheduled for mid-August in nearby Benicàssim, cancel famous American-Jewish celebrity Matisyahu’s performance, saying that he has “participated in pro-Zionist festivals and has said that Palestine does not exist.”
Rototom demanded that he state his views on a Palestinian state and on Israel’s military actions during last summer’s war with Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
Rototom spokespersons stated that they have “repeatedly sought dialogue” on this issue with Matisyahu and that “the artist was unavailable to speak out clearly against the war and the Palestinians’ right to a state of their own. Accordingly, the Matisyahu concert scheduled for August 22 was canceled.”
Citing a 22-year history of “active promotion of peace, social justice and human rights,” Rototom has “proven countless times its sensitivity to Palestine, its people and the ‘occupation,’ particularly by holding multiple debates in the World Social Forum,” the statement read.
BDS Valencia called the cancellation of the Matisyahu concert a “success” and a “cry of popular solidarity” with the Palestinians.
Israel has become the focus of modern-day anti-Semitism, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in May at the opening of the 5th Global Forum for Combating anti-Semitism, held in Jerusalem.
Modern Anti-SemitismTargeting the Jewish State
“With the end of World War II and the revelation of the horrors of the Holocaust, some believed that humanity would discard one of history’s oldest hatreds – anti-Semitism. Today there is no doubt that we are living in an age of resurgent anti-Semitism,” he stated.
BDS supporters protest against Israel. (A. Katz/Shutterstock)
Today’s anti-Semitism is not the thinking of extremists, as “it wears the mask of so-called progressive thinking in the West. Some of those who consider themselves champions of tolerance are remarkably intolerant when it comes to Jews and the Jewish state…
“Classic anti-Semitism portrayed Jews as the embodiment of all evil in world while modern anti-Semites portray the Jewish state as the embodiment of all evil in the world,” the Israeli leader continued.
“Contemporary anti-Semitism doesn’t just slander, vilify and target the Jewish people. It first and foremost today targets the Jewish state. That’s the nexus, that’s the core, that’s the focus of anti-Semitism.”
Matthew Paul Miller, 36, famously known as Matisyahu, is known for blending Jewish religious themes with reggae, rock and hip-hop.
By: Atara Beck, United with Israel