Israeli Ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor has condemned the cancellation of a concert by the Munich Philharmonic at a music festival in Belgium as a “modern form of anti-Jewish hatred.”

At issue is the philharmonic’s Israeli conductor, Lahav Shani, who was previously chief conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Although Shani “has spoken out in favour of peace and reconciliation several times in the past,” the organizers of the Flanders Festival Ghent wrote. “We are unable to provide sufficient clarity about his attitude to the genocidal regime in Tel Aviv … [and] we have chosen to refrain from collaboration with partners who have not distanced themselves unequivocally from that regime.”

The organizers said the decision had been taken in coordination with Flemish Culture Minister Caroline Gennez and the Ghent City Council and “on the basis of our deepest conviction that music should be a source of connection and reconciliation.”

But in remarks to POLITICO, Prosor compared the cancellation to the persecution of Jewish musicians under the Third Reich. “What Jewish musicians experienced during the Holocaust is happening before our eyes again today. This is pure antisemitism,” he said.

The ambassador added that the organizers of the Flanders Festival Ghent should be held “accountable for this form of illegal discrimination.”

Prosor was not alone in his outrage. The cancellation incensed German and Belgian government officials as well.

Germany’s federal commissioner for culture, Wolfram Weimer, condemned the decision as a “disgrace for Europe,” while Bavarian Culture Minister Markus Blume called the move “shameful, anti-cultural” and “antisemitic” in a post on X.

Meanwhile, Matthias Diependaele, premier of the Flanders region of Belgium, criticized the cancellation as “rash and ill-considered.”

“The cultural sector cannot simply equate artists with the weighty actions of certain authorities, simply based on their nationality or origins,” he wrote on X. 

Following the outcry, the festival’s organizers defended their decision on Thursday as “in no way motivated by antisemitism.”

Shani is a “fantastic artist,” artistic director Jan Van den Bossche said, but was given several opportunities to clarify his position on Israel’s war in Gaza and refused to do so.

Shani is set to become chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic from the 2026-2027 season.