Anti-Israel staff at venues in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Tucson, Arizona, forced the cancelation this week of sold-out shows by Matisyahu, the Jewish reggae sensation.
Matisyahu’s songs emphasize hopes for peace and unity. He has been openly and proudly pro-Israel, especially in the wake of the October 7 terror attacks, and has performed for Israeli troops.
In an Instagram “story” posted on Wednesday, Matisyahu said:
The venue tonight in Santa Fe has canceled our sold out show without our permission. We fought to prevent that from happening, but they’re saying they do not have enough staff. We’re sorry to everyone that had tickets and we will be back!
In a follow-up “story” post on Thursday, Matisyahu said:
To my fans: My band and I should have played a sold out show at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe last night and we were excited for tonight’s show at the Rialto Theater in Tucson. Instead, the staff at these venues refused to come to work, forcing cancellations. Without our permission or approval, the venue in Santa Fe misinformed our fans cancelling the show due to “security concerns,” when the only concern was a goup of staff unwilling to work my show. Tonight in Tucson, we have offered to supplement their staff shortages on our own dime, but to no avail. They do this because they are either anti-Semitic or have confused their empathy for the Palestinian people with hatred for someone like me who holds empathy for both Israelis and Palestinians.
It truly is a sad day when dialogue with those you disagree with is abandoned for hate mongering and silencing artistic expression. My band and I will keep moving forward always! We will perform songs that celebrate unity, peace and perseverance, and we will connect with our fans through the sacredness of shared music, which has always brought people together. Unfortunately, it seems that more and more people are choosing to case their lot with actions that tear people apart.
Tearing down posters of kidnapped children does not bring peace. Chanting genocidal slogans at Jews does not bring peace. Preventing fans of all ethnic and religious backgrounds from singing together in Santa Fe or Tucson does not bring peace. In fact, it does the opposite. It may make some people feel good to express anger publicly in hopes that it will obscure the hypocrisy of us Americans living on actual colonized land taken through an actual genocide of Native Americans. But I refuse to succumb to such destructive behavior which helps nobody and only fuels more anger.
So to my fans in Sante Fe and Tucson, I am sorry you were denied a show. I love you all. My band and I will be back. We will not respond to hate with more hate. We will be together again. We will make music together again. We will sing together again One Day soon …
Matisyahu burst onto the music scene more than a decade ago, when he was deeply observant in the Hasidic Jewish tradition. He is still observant but no longer strictly so. He has worked with artists from a variety of backgrounds, including Bruno Mars and Akon.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.