(NewsNation) — Jewish-American musician Matisyahu was scheduled to perform at venues in Tucson, Arizona, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, but they were canceled.
Matisyahu has been vocal in his support for Israel, and wrote on X that this played a part in the concert’s cancellation.
“It truly is a sad day when dialogue with those you disagree with is abandoned for hate-mongering and silencing artistic expression,” he said.
Speaking to NewsNation’s Dan Abrams, Matisyahu said: “I definitely think it’s antisemitism,” adding that he does not think of himself as political.
“I view myself as a musician, and I view music as a powerful tool that brings people together as an instrument of peace and love and understanding,” Matisyahu said. “That’s always what it’s been for me at my shows. So yeah, it is true that I support the Jewish people having a homeland, so that’s what it means for me to be Zionist.”
NewsNation local affiliate KQRE reports that local pro-Palestinian groups in Santa Fe are claiming that their pressure on Meow Wolf, which was supposed to feature Matisyahu, is the reason for the cancellation.
However, the venues have cited staffing shortages for their decision.
Meow Wolf in Santa Fe said it stopped the show because “two hours before the show was set to begin, we found ourselves without adequate staff to safely manage the sold-out crowd,” according to NBC News.
The venue said it believes in “free expression, respectful discourse and the power of art to bring people together” and does not tolerate “antisemitism, Islamophobia, hate, racism, discrimination or violence of any kind.”
Cathy Rivers, executive director for The Rialto Theatre which canceled Matisyahu’s concert in Tucson, said in The Arizona Republic that its decision not to have him play was not “about politics or religion.”
“This decision was made based on safety,” she said to the newspaper, adding that Matisyahu has been to the theater many times. “The temperature of the day changed, and the tone was not set by us.”
Rivers said Matisyahu was paid in full and ticket refunds were given to audience members.
But Matihayu told Abrams that he was not told the concerts were pulled until he had traveled “hundreds of miles” to play at them.
“Sure enough, they didn’t even bother to mention it to us,” he said. “There’s maybe 10 protesters out there. You’re telling me that a venue that’s used to having rock concerts and stuff that has a security team can’t handle 10 protesters? To me, that seems pretty far-fetched.”
