Overview

• The Flanders Festival Ghent canceled the orchestra’s 18 September concert in Ghent, citing Lahav Shani’s concurrent leadership of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
• The festival said it could not ensure sufficient clarity about Shani’s stance toward what it termed a “genocidal regime” in Israel and referenced calls from Ghent’s cultural authorities.
• The Munich Philharmonic and the City of Munich condemned the move as collective punishment of Israeli artists and an attack on European democratic values.
• Culture State Minister Wolfram Weimer labeled the decision a disgrace for Europe, described it as a cultural boycott, and signaled plans to raise the issue at the European level.
• Shani, who is slated to become Munich’s chief conductor in 2026 and has not publicly commented, was also the focus of claims by the orchestra that activists pressured the festival.