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Matisyahu, who fuses reggae, hip-hop and rock with Jewish
influences in his songs, was uninvited from the Rototom
Sunsplash festival last week when he failed to reply to a demand
to clarify his position on Palestinian statehood.
Organizers were forced into a U-turn after an outcry, with the
Spanish government and Jewish organizations condemning the
decision, and invited the artist to play on the last night of
the week-long festival.
Amid a packed audience at the event in Benicassim, near Valencia
in eastern Spain, dozens of people whistled in disapproval as
Matisyahu took to the stage in the early hours of Sunday, with
some waving Palestinian flags and chanting "out, out".
But many others in the audience of hundreds applauded the
musician as the concert got under way.
"Whoever you are and wherever you come from raise a flag and
wave it in the air," Matisyahu called to the crowd before his
closing song. "Let music be your flag," he added, after dancing
his way through his 45-minute set.
Matisyahu, whose real name is Matthew Miller, earlier this week
condemned the attempt to "coerce (him) into political
statements" and said politics played no part in his music.
The campaign to eject Matisyahu was led by the Valencia branch
of the BDS group, which opposes Israel's occupation of
Palestinian territories and campaigns against groups and
individuals over their links to Israel.
It had urged a boycott of the American Jewish musician after
objecting to comments he had previously made, including in an
interview where they said he had questioned the existence of a
country called Palestine.
(Reporting by Tomas Cobos, Writing by Sarah White; Editing by
Andrea Ricci)
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