Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever has slammed as “reckless and irresponsible” a decision by a music festival in Flanders to disinvite a German orchestra over concerns about its Israeli conductor, AFP reports.
Israel and Germany have already criticised the cancellation of the planned performance at the Flanders Festival Ghent by the Munich Philharmonic, led by its future chief conductor, Israeli Lahav Shani.
Organisers have said they had decided to scrap the performance because Shani had not “unequivocally” distanced himself from Israel’s government, whose ongoing onslaught in Gaza has triggered international uproar.
De Wever said the festival’s decision “has rightfully provoked great consternation and has been characterised as anti-Semitic”.
“To impose a professional ban on someone solely because of their origin is both reckless and irresponsible,” De Wever wrote on X. “I deeply regret the festival’s decision, which has inflicted severe damage on the reputation of our country.