Conductor Lahav Shani: Debate about cultural boycotts

The organizers of the Flanders Festival Ghent spoke openly about the reasons for their decision to cancel a planned concert by the Munich Philharmonic: The Israeli conductor Lahav Shani had not sufficiently distanced himself from the actions of the Israeli government.

By canceling the event, the organizers say they want to "preserve the serenity of our festival." They explain that it is their "deepest conviction that music should be a source of connection and reconciliation."

But instead of calm, this step has triggered a wave of outrage - especially in Germany.

An "unspeakable and deeply anti-Semitic incident"

Germany's Minister of State for Culture, Wolfram Weimer, described the move as a "dangerous precedent": "This is pure anti-Semitism and an attack on the foundations of our culture."

The Federal Government's Anti-Semitism Commissioner, Felix Klein, also sharply criticized the decision: "I consider the cancellation, based on the reasons given, to be a completely unspeakable and deeply anti-Semitic act," he told the German Press Agency (dpa).

The former president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Charlotte Knobloch, called the cancellation one of the "most blatant examples of current anti-Semitism." Referring to the anti-Jewish boycotts of the Nazi era, she told the German Press Agency (dpa): "Anyone who fails to hear the historical echo in this situation is turning a deaf ear."

Support for international concert halls

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever demonstratively attended Shani's performance with the Munich Philharmonic in Essen last Friday (September 12). He called the festival organizers' decision "irresponsible."

Other European concert halls hosting the Munich Philharmonic and Lahav Shani in the same week as the Flanders Festival have stated that they will not follow Ghent's example.

The Philharmonie Luxembourg, which will host a concert conducted by Shani on September 17, told DW: "We maintain our position of continuing to collaborate with artists from all over the world. We do not want to participate in a boycott of individuals based on their nationality, as we do not believe that all artists support or are aligned with their government's policies."

Shani's Paris concert with the Munich Philharmonic at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées will also take place as planned on September 16.

Who is Lahav Shani?

Lahav Shani was born in Tel Aviv in 1989 and is considered one of the most promising young stars in classical music. He is a conductor, pianist, and double bassist, and succeeded Zubin Mehta as director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in 2019.

Since 2016, Shani has also been Chief Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. Although he already conducts concerts with the Munich Philharmonic, he will not officially become Chief Conductor of the German orchestra until September 2026. Even after his departure from Rotterdam, he will remain Director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Shani: Call for Peace

For most of his career, Shani has been cautious about making political statements. In a 2024 guest article for the "Süddeutsche Zeitung," he explained that as conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra—with musicians from diverse backgrounds and often with opposing views—he didn't want to say what either side thought.

That changed, however, in March 2023, he wrote in his essay. At that time, hundreds of thousands of people marched past a concert hall in Tel Aviv where Shani was scheduled to perform. They were demonstrating against the planned judicial reforms of Benjamin Netanyahu's government. That evening, Shani expressed his concerns about the future of Israeli democracy on stage.

He also wrote about the shock he felt when he realized that Jews could no longer feel safe even in Israel after Hamas' attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 - a fear shared by many other Jews around the world.

But he also expressed the hope "that very courageous people will soon come forward on both sides, people who think about the future and dare to take the difficult steps toward peace."

While the Flanders Festival Ghent acknowledged that "Lahav Shani has spoken out in favor of peace and reconciliation on several occasions in the past," the organizers argued that he had not gone far enough "given his role as chief conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra."

PEN Berlin, the local branch of an international writers' association that advocates for freedom of expression, takes a completely different view. In a statement, PEN Berlin spokesperson Thea Dorn said: "Freedom of expression is not only the right to express oneself freely and without fear of reprisal; it also includes the right not to be forced to express one's beliefs. Coercion to confess is a hallmark of authoritarian and even more so totalitarian regimes.

Are Shani and Gergiev comparable?

The debate surrounding Lahav Shani has drawn comparisons with Russian conductor Valery Gergiev, who was dismissed from the Munich Philharmonic in March 2022 after refusing to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Jewish pianist Igor Levit , a world-renowned artist known for his outspoken stance against xenophobia and anti-Semitism, rejected this comparison on the German news program "Tagesthemen": "Valery Gergiev is an artist who for years has openly, out of conviction, been a supporter (...) of the machinations of the Russian imperialist dictator. To compare this man with Lahav Shani—a conductor who, with his German orchestra, only got into this situation because he is an Israeli Jew—is, in my eyes, an intellectual confession."

Gergiev appeared in a 2012 campaign ad for Vladimir Putin , advocating the annexation of Crimea. Gergiev is currently director of the Mariinsky Theatre and the Bolshoi Theatre in Russia.

Nevertheless, PEN Berlin highlights some similarities: "Gergiev's and Shani's proximity to their respective governments may be very different, but the accusations leveled against both are similar: It's not about things they said, but about things they didn't say," explains Dorn. "Cancel culture and forced political confession are fundamentally to be rejected, and not just when it fits one's ideological concept."

Menasse: "Cultural boycott is always wrong"

The controversy surrounding Shani is part of a broader international debate. Many public figures are reluctant to comment on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—because of its complexity and also out of fear that public criticism of Israel could have professional consequences.

In Germany, the number of rejections of artists and intellectuals whose stance toward Israel's policies was deemed too critical has increased. This practice also affects a larger number of Jewish voices.

The Austrian Author Eva Menasse, herself the child of Jewish-Catholic parents, is a staunch opponent of such boycotts. "Cultural boycotts are always wrong," she told DW. "Will an uninvited orchestra prevent the ongoing, monstrous destruction of Gaza? Will it save a single child from starvation?" asks Menasse. "No, of course not. Only politics can do that. At the same time, cultural boycotts always lead to even greater polarization and division in society."

Menasse sees this as a double standard and asks why those who now condemned the cancellation in Ghent remained silent when Jewish intellectuals and artists who were critical of Israel were excluded elsewhere. She cites the following examples: the Israeli-German philosopher Omri Boehm, whose speech on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp was canceled after objections from the Israeli ambassador. Or the controversy surrounding the awarding of the Hannah Arendt Prize to Masha Gessen, after the journalist compared Gaza to Nazi-era ghettos in an article for the New Yorker magazine.

The controversy surrounding the cancellation of the Ghent concert has once again demonstrated how quickly culture and politics can become intertwined—while some view boycotts as a legitimate form of protest, others warn that they can often deepen divisions and silence important voices. Navigating these complex debates about artistic expression and political responsibility is a major challenge for cultural institutions in a deeply divided world.

Adapted from English: Katharina Abel