Lahav Shani receives standing ovations in Berlin after festival ban

Days after being dropped from a Belgian festival, Israeli conductor Lahav Shani and the Munich Philharmonic were cheered at a replacement concert in Berlin on Monday, in a show of solidarity against anti-Semitism.

German Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer said Berlin was sending "a strong counter-signal" after Shani and the orchestra were uninvited from the Flanders Festival in Ghent because of his role as music director of the Israel Philharmonic.

Festival organizers said on their website that there was not "sufficient clarity" about Shani's stance towards the Israeli government, and so the musicians were uninvited.

"European stages must never become places where anti-Semites dictate the programme," Weimer said.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called the decision "clearly anti-Semitic," saying it was unacceptable to make a Jewish conductor's performance with a German orchestra conditional on distancing himself from Israeli government policy.

"This reinforces the feelings of shock and helplessness that Jews are experiencing here and across Europe," he said after meeting Shani.

The Tel Aviv-born conductor, set to become chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic in 2026, received standing ovations at Berlin's Konzerthaus. The concert was arranged on short notice, with former chancellor Olaf Scholz and conductor Daniel Barenboim on the guest list.

Weimer noted the symbolism of the date — exactly 90 years after the Nazis enacted the Nuremberg Race Laws. "The case raises questions about anti-Semitism in Europe, which is becoming louder and more aggressive," he said.