Overview

• The Flanders Festival Ghent dropped the Munich Philharmonic’s 18 September appearance, citing Lahav Shani’s parallel post at the Israel Philharmonic and what it called unclear distance from the Israeli government.
• The festival’s statement referenced calls from Ghent’s cultural authorities and used the phrase “genocidal regime,” while noting Shani has previously spoken for peace and reconciliation.
• The orchestra and the City of Munich condemned the exclusion as collective punishment of Israeli artists and an attack on European democratic values.
• Germany’s culture minister Wolfram Weimer called the decision a “shame for Europe” and “blank antisemitism,” while Bavaria’s arts minister Markus Blume labeled it a scandal.
• Shani, 36, has led the Israel Philharmonic since 2020 and is due to become Munich’s chief conductor in 2026, succeeding Valery Gergiev; he has not issued a personal statement in the coverage.