Despite the resignation of three of its board members, Brussels concert hall and culture house Bozar is going ahead with a concert later this year by Israeli conductor Lahav Shani.
Shani will lead his Munich Orchestra in Brussels on November 24. This decision has sparked controversy all the way to the board of directors. Three of its members stepped down.
One of them, actor Mohamed Ouachensaid on Facebook: “Lahav Shani is not just another conductor. He is the director of the Munich Orchestra but also the music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, an institution that presents itself as the official cultural ambassador of Israel, a state whose actions are described as genocide by Amnesty International and as apartheid by the International Court of Justice.’’
‘’Today, given the current context, this choice carries political significance,’’ he said.
Christophe Slagmuylder, director of Bozar, confirmed that Shani was welcome in Brussels. ‘’Discussions with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and Shani had been ongoing since early 2025. We had suspended our negotiations at the time, but after much discussion on the matter, we have now come to the conclusion that there was absolutely no reason not to invite them,” he said.
Last autumn, the announcement of a concert featuring Shani at the Ghent Festival of Flanders caused a great deal of controversy and ultimately led to its cancellation.
The festival cited Shani’s role as principal conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and said there was insufficient clarity “regarding his stance towards the genocidal regime in Tel Aviv”.
At the time, in order to express his support for the Israeli conductor, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever travelled to Germany to attend a performance by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted Lahav Shani.
De Wever had condemned the festival’s decision to cancel the concert. Hi then posted a photograph of himself and Shani on his Instagram account with the text “There will never be room for racism or antisemitism in this country, under any circumstances.”
“That is where I draw the line. I strongly condemn the recent cancellation of the Munich Philharmonic by the Flanders Festival Ghent, solely on the basis of the origin of conductor Lahav Shani. I insisted on delivering this message to him personally, and to express my appreciation for his contribution to the power of music.’’
In a post on the social media platform X, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz publicly thanked De Wever. “I thank the Belgian Prime Minister for the strong sign of solidarity he has given with his visit to the Munich Philharmonic in Essen. Dear Bart De Wever, we cannot allow this flagrant antisemitism to take root.”