If you’ve never heard of Matisyahu, he is a Jewish hip hop, reggae artist. He was an Ultra Orthodox Jew who would not perform on Friday although over the past couple of years he has taken a more secular approach to his music.
Whatever his approach, Matisyahu performs all over the world. He was scheduled to perform at the Rototom Sunsplash Reggae Festival in Benicassim, Spain this weekend. However, organizers pulled the rug out from under Matisyahu by abruptly cancelling his performance.
The local BDS movement (Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions) demanded Matisyahu issue a statement denouncing Israel or cancel his performance. Organizers issued the following statement, “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.”
Needless to say, Matisyahu was the only Jewish performer on the bill and the only performer to whom this question was posed. It must be said that Matisyahu is not Israeli, he is American. So why does BDS demand this of Matisyahu. It is because he is Jewish and because BDS is anti-Semitic. Let us not pretend otherwise.
It’s their loss anyway. Have a listen to “King Without a Crown”.