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Matisyahu, who fuses reggae, hip-hop and rock with Jewish
influences in his songs, had been due to perform next Saturday
at the week-long Rototom Sunsplash reggae festival at Benicassim
near Valencia in eastern Spain.
But after pressure from the local supporters of the movement to
boycott and back sanctions against Israel over its policies
towards Palestinians, the organizers announced over the weekend
that they were cancelling his appearance.
"Rototom Sunsplash, after having repeatedly sought dialogue in
the face of the artist's unavailability to give a clear
statement against war and on the right of the Palestinian people
to their own state, has decided to cancel the concert," they
said in a statement.
The Spanish Federation of Jewish Communities condemned the
decision as cowardly, unjust and discriminatory, saying that
Matisyahu had been asked to take a political position because he
was Jewish when this was not required of other performers.
World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder expressed outrage
at the decision, urging Spanish authorities "to take appropriate
action against those responsible for it."
Matisyahu, whose real name is Matthew Miller, made no comment on
the controversy on his Twitter or Facebook sites and the
organizers said there had been no reaction from the musician,
who had a concert scheduled in Brussels on Monday.
The Valencia section of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)
campaign had launched a public campaign for Matisyahu's
performance to be canceled, saying he was a "lover of Israel"
and demanding he make a public statement on his stance on the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The BDS movement, which objects to Israel's 48-year-old
occupation of territories where Palestinians seek an independent
state, has campaigned against groups and individuals over their
links to Israel.
The moves against Matisyahu had led some other participants to
cancel their appearances at the festival, according to press
reports.
(Reporting by Adrian Croft; editing by Sarah Morris and Dominic
Evans)
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