Israel Matzav

Yes, BDS is anti-Semitic - ask Matisyahu

Jewish rap signer Matisyahu has been banned from playing in Spain because he refused to endorse a 'Palestinian state.'

The Rototom Sunsplash Reggae Festival called off the formerly Hasidic rapper’s August 22 show, with organizers saying Matisyahu had refused to comply with their demand to pen a statement or a video message backing “the Palestinians’ right to a state.”

Festival organizers were driven by intense pressure from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, the reports said. Artists scheduled to perform at the event threatened to cancel their appearances if Matisyahu were to perform because he was “seen to represent Israel.”

The organizers gave Matisyahu an ultimatum, telling him if he would “sign such a declaration [publicly affirming his support for the Palestinians, he] can perform,” according to Spanish daily, El Pais (Spanish Link).

Although not Israeli, Matisyahu has visited and performed in the Jewish state multiple times.

In a statement on Facebook, Rototom organizers said that the move was linked to “the festival’s sensitivity to Palestine, its people and the occupation of its territory by Israel.”

The front page of the Valencia-based festival’s website features a two-and-a-half hour video on pro-Palestinian activists holding Palestinian flags and decrying Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip.

Local BDS activists welcomed the move after accusing the Jewish rapper of being a “Zionist” and “defending a state that practices apartheid and ethnic cleansing” on a link posted on his Facebook page.

Matisyahu will be replaced by Jamaican reggae artist Etana.

No other performer was asked to sign such a statement.

Anyone still think BDS isn't anti-Semitic. 

Labels: anti-Semitism, BDS, Spain

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:37 PM