Flanders Festival Ghent says it made decision over lack of ‘clarity’ about incoming conductor Lahav Shani’s views.
While Shani had spoken in favour of “peace and reconciliation” in the past, his attitude towards the “genocidal regime in Tel Aviv” was unclear given his role as the chief conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the festival organisers said.
Please share because I’d like to learn. I can’t think of a single Chinese or Iranian artist who was banned from a performance or display in a European country.
Not gAlienLifeform, but you really couldn’t search “Europe bans {Iranian,Chinese} immigrants?”
Neither of those articles have anything to do with this. He is not immigrating to Belgium.
He was invited as a member of the Munich Philharmonic, then the invitation was rescinded because the organizers didn’t like the optics of a Jewish Israeli conducting at their festival. I personally find that problematic, and a standard that other artists are not held to, despite war crimes or atrocities committed by their Governments.
Read my first point again.
I’m not arguing about Lahav Shani. I’m arguing against European states barring Iranians & Chinese folks just because their states do XYZ.
I plead no contest on Belgians’ collective decision to cancel his performance based on his political views.