Spanish music festival reinvites Matisyahu to perform after backlash

BDS had convinced five artists out of the 250 scheduled to drop out of the festival, convincing Rototom to cancel Matisyahu’s performance instead. The Gleaner has learnt that on Wednesday, festival organisers issued a statement which not only served as an official apology to the entertainer, but was also a re-invitation to perform as was originally planned. As Vox.com points out the controversy was part of the larger battle going on over a movement to pressure Israel to change its relationship with Palestinians.

According to The Spanish daily El Pais, members of the Rototom Sunsplash Reggae Festival issued a threat to the American Jewish singer, writing that if he would “sign such a declaration [publicly affirming his support for the Palestinians, he] can perform”.

Matisyahu on Monday responded to the decision to cancel his concert, calling it “appalling” and “offensive”, and saying that music and politics should not be mixed together.

The initial move to remove the singer from the lineup drew ire from both the Spanish government and the World Jewish Congress, which wrote Spain Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to ask for an action against the “scandalous behavior” of the festival.

“This is a very significant and welcome decision, and we thank the organizers for realizing their mistake and for taking the necessary steps to remedy it, ” World Jewish Congress (WJC) President Ronald S. Lauder and Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain (FCJE) President Isaac Querub Caro siad in a statement. “It was yet another example of how anti-Jewish attitudes, dressed up as vicious and unfair criticism of Israel, are still widespread, and are especially prevalent in a number of far-left global political parties”, Lauder continued.

Spain’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday the government understood the Jewish communities’ unease, adding that Spain opposed boycott campaigns against Israel and any manifestation of anti-Semitism. Rototom Sunsplash festival organizers said on their Facebook page they canceled the August. 22, 2015 concert because the singer declined “to declare himself regarding the war and in particular the right of the Palestinian people to have their own state”.

Following the cancellation of his set, he told Rolling Stone magazine, “I support peace and compassion for all people”. They had said that the festival always supported the Palestinian rights and denied the decision was a result of a pro-Palestinian group’s campaign.

But in the statement Wednesday, it recognized that the group’s pressure tactics had prevented them from seeing the situation clearly.