Bart De Wever travelled to Essen, Germany to hear performance conducted by Lahav Shani, the music director of the Israel Philharmonic
Belgium’s prime minister, Bart De Wever, has said he attended a concert by a German orchestra that was uninvited from a Belgian festival to show support for its Israeli conductor.
The cancellation of a planned performance at the Flanders festival Ghent by the Munich Philharmonic over concerns about its Israeli future chief conductor, Lahav Shani, has triggered a storm of criticism and accusations of antisemitism.
De Wever, who had already criticised the move, said he travelled to the German city of Essen on Saturday to “strongly condemn” the decision, and express his appreciation for Shani in person.
“There will never, ever be any room for racism and antisemitism in this country,” he wrote on X, alongside a photo of himself shaking hands with Shani in a concert hall.
