The board of directors of the Ghent Festival of Flanders has officially confirmed the cancellation of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra’s concert, led by Israeli conductor Lahav Shani.
Shani was originally scheduled to perform on 18 September. While the cancellation of the event was initially announced last week due to "insufficient clarity regarding the conductor's attitude toward the genocidal regime," the decision was only confirmed by the festival’s board of directors on Monday evening.
However, the festival's board clarified that Shani’s origins or nationality did not influence the final decision to cancel the event, nor does it question his personal integrity. They pointed to an evaluation by Ghent police, which warned of possible disruptions during the performance, as part of the reason for the cancellation.
The board, which includes 17 members, some of whom are political figures, expressed regret over the controversy.
'Problematic'
The Mayor of Aalst, Christoph D'Haese (N-VA), announced on Tuesday that he was stepping down from the board of directors of the Ghent Festival of Flanders.
D'Haese said that the decision to cancel the event causes "considerable damage to the country's reputation" and called it "pure madness" to demand that artists publicly distance themselves from the policies of their government leaders.
The mayor further accused the festival of "discrimination on the basis of origin" and says that the board of directors refused to make a "collective mea culpa."
Following his resignation, fellow N-VA member Annemie Charlier also announced she was stepping down from her role on the board of directors of the festival.
"I don't call it anti-Semitism and certainly not racism. But I find it problematic to oblige an artist to speak out on political issues in advance," she said.
Sponsors called to cut ties
On Tuesday, several Jewish organisations wrote to the sponsors of the Ghent Festival of Flanders in response to the decision to cancel Shani's participation.
In their letter, they highlighted to the sponsors the "serious reputational, liability and moral risks" that they believe are associated with supporting the decision.
They further ask the sponsors to end their cooperation and to publicly distance themselves from the alleged anti-Semitism.
Among the letter's signatories are the Jewish Information and Documentation Centre (JID), the Comité de Coordination des Organisations Juives de Belgique (CCOJB), the Forum of Jewish Organisations (FJO) and the European Jewish Association (EJA).
Divided political debate
The decision of the festival has divided Belgian politicians over the last week. Flemish Culture Minister Caroline Gennez (Vooruit) defended the festival's decision, while Prime Minister Bart De Wever (N-VA) called it "reckless and irresponsible."
Over the weekend, De Wever attended a performance by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under Shani’s direction in Essen, Germany. "There will never be room for racism or antisemitism in this country, under any circumstances," he wrote in an Instagram post following the event.
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This article was updated with additional information.
