Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, on Friday, September 12th slammed as “reckless and irresponsible” a decision by a music festival in Flanders to disinvite a German orchestra over concerns about its Israeli conductor.
Israel and Germany have already criticised the cancellation of the planned performance at the Flanders Festival Ghent by the Munich Philharmonic, led by its Israeli future chief conductor, Lahav Shani.
Organisers said on Wednesday September 10th that they had decided to scrap the performance because Shani had not “unequivocally” distanced himself from Israel’s government, whose ongoing war in Gaza has enraged parts of the European creative industries sector.
De Wever said the festival’s decision “has rightfully provoked great consternation and has been characterized as anti-Semitic.” He took to X, formerly Twitter, declaring
To impose a professional ban on someone solely because of their origin is both reckless and irresponsible.
I deeply regret the festival’s decision, which has inflicted severe damage on the reputation of our country.
Shani, who officially takes over as conductor of the Munich orchestra for the 2026/27 season, is currently music director of the Israel Philharmonic.
Earlier this month Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called De Wever a “weak leader” due to the Belgian PM’s stance on Gaza.
