Belgium prime minister attends concert of Israeli conductor axed by festival | Belgium

Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever said that he had joined a concert by a German orchestra who was uninvited from a Belgian festival to support the Israeli chief.

Munich Philharmonic triggered the cancellation of a planned performance, storm of criticism and accusations of anti -Semitism on the Flanders Festival Ghent, the Flanders Festival on the concerns of Lahav Shahani, Israel’s Chief Chief Chief Chief Chief of Israel.

De Wever, who had previously criticized the movement, said that he went to Essen City on Saturday to “condemn the decision” and to express his appreciation to Shahani personally.

“There will never be a place for racism and anti -Semitism in this country, ı he wrote on the X, next to a photo stuck with Shahani in a concert hall.

“I insisted on expressing this message personally and expressing my appreciation for his contribution to the power of music.”

Ghent Festival organizers said they decided to scrape the performance this week because Shani did not move away from the Israeli government that triggered the war in Gaza, which triggered the international turmoil.

The movement received criticism, including Germany and Israel.

On Friday, Berlin Philharmonic said that the German government had extended a short notification invitation to the Israeli chief at a festival in the German capital, which was described as a “great support sign”.

36 -year -old Shani, who officially took over as a chief of the Munich Orchestra for the 2026/27 season, is currently the music director of Israeli Philharmonic.

Israel launched a retaliation attack on the Gaza Strip after Hamas’s Israeli attack on 7 October 2023.

As a result of Israel’s campaign and the ongoing blockade, the disaster human conditions in Gaza fueled a widespread people’s anger in Europe, although the region’s governments were divided on how to react.