We won the battle, but are losing the war.
As much as anyone I’m thrilled that Matisyahu performed “Jerusalem” at the Rototom reggae festival this past Saturday night in Spain.
Organizers had to apologize and re-invite him after they cancelled him.
The cancellation was precipitated, according to the festival director, by radicals from BDS who convinced organizers that Matisyahu must submit a public condemnation of Israel and Zionism in order to perform. It’s cynical nasty stuff. It’s inquisition-esque.
Don’t believe the festival director that he cancelled Matisyahu over fears of a seriously disrupted festival. After he contacted Matisyahu, the director would settle for nothing less than a pro-BDS, anti-Israel video or statement according to my sources. It wasn’t just support of a Palestinian state they wanted. They wanted Matisyahu to disavow Israel.
Matisyahu refused to submit.
So they cancelled him in a disgusting and public manner.
But racism wasn’t going to win – at least this time.
The festival director came under huge pressure from the government, music fans in Spain and across the globe, and in the Spanish media. This festival after all received government funding. The cancellation was a major embarrassment to Spain who is trying to invite decedents of Jews expelled by the Inquisition back for citizenship. (What Jew is going back to Spain when inquisitors are still at large?)
Matisyahu is no more in control of the destiny of Israeli-Palestinian relations that you reading this article. He’s a proud American Jew and he was targeted because he’s a Jew.
Did the organizers question the gay-hating reggae singer Capleton about his political views?
Did they submit the other artists to political and social litmus tests?
No.
Only Matisyahu was singled out because he’s a Jew.
While the Jewish community, fans of Matisyahu, and anti-racism and anti-BDS activists are celebrating this victory, we must realize this was still in the long term a victory for BDS.
European festivals next summer are going to think twice about booking Matisyahu. Not Poland which is hosting him again for multiple shows and has been for several years. (Respect!) But Western European festivals in countries with active anti-Israel movements – I think that’s every country – will consider this incident before signing the most publicly Jewish musician in the world.
I’m not surprised that major Jewish artists haven’t come forward to support Matisyahu. In the world of music the money is in touring and famous Jewish musicians will be concerned to be targeted themselves. Better stay quiet it seems.
This episode in the BDS battle against Israel, amid growing European anti-Jewish racism, will have a lasting and negative impact on Jewish musicians who want to perform there – let alone Israeli musicians who will find getting booked increasingly difficult in Western Europe.
As much as I want that to not be true, as much as I believe that Matisyahu’s inspired performance was a victory for justice, we must face the grey future of uncertainty as racism and anti-Israel fervor spreads on the continent that 70 years ago exterminated most of its Jewish population.
__________________
Rabbi Yonah Bookstein is Co-Founder of Pico Shul. He spent more than seven years living in Europe as a Fulbright Fellow and as Director of the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation in Poland. He holds a MA in Jewish Studies from Oxford Univeristy.
