Several high-profile concerts in Belgium and Turkey were canceled this week, reportedly due to multiple performers’ support for Israel, as Israeli and pro-Israel pop culture figures continue to face hostility in Europe and elsewhere.
US metal band Disturbed’s upcoming show in Belgium was canceled this week by a local mayor, due to the lead singer’s outspoken support for Israel and previous visits to Israeli military bases during the war in Gaza, according to Friday reports.
The show, which was scheduled for October 15 in Forest, a suburb of Brussels, was nixed by the town’s mayor, who cited “security concerns” due to planned protests against the band’s support for Israel.
According to the Belgian De Standaard newspaper, pro-Palestinian activists said they would protest the show because David Draiman, the band’s singer, is a proud supporter of Israel and the IDF.
Draiman, who is Jewish, visited Israel earlier this year, and posted pictures of himself signing bombs intended for use in Gaza.
According to reports, activists cited these pictures as the reason they intended to protest the concert.
“My priority and responsibility is the safety of the residents, protesters, spectators and Forest National staff,” Charles Spapens, the mayor of Forest, stated. “Given the negative police opinion and the unique geographical location of the venue, it was my duty to make this decision.”
Draiman, and the concert’s organizer, LiveNation, did not immediately comment on the reports.
Separately, two concerts in Turkey featuring English singer-songwriter Morrissey were quietly nixed this week, reportedly over the artist’s support for Israel.
The former frontman of The Smiths was scheduled to perform in Istanbul and Ankara in December, but activists this week resurfaced photos of him draped in an Israeli flag during a 2012 concert in Tel Aviv, and called for the events to be canceled.
Shortly thereafter, the two shows disappeared from the organizer’s online listing.
Morrissey has yet to comment on the cancellation of the shows, and there has also been no official word from promoters about the reasoning for the pair of concerts no longer going ahead.
The UK alternative rockstar has performed in Israel several times, most recently in 2023, and has voiced support for Israel for decades.
The development came days after British singer Robbie Williams said city authorities had called off his upcoming Istanbul concert “in the interests of public safety” after anti-Israel activists campaigned for the event to be canceled, accusing him of being a “Zionist.”
The 51-year-old singer had faced renewed scrutiny in predominantly Muslim Turkey over his family’s Jewish heritage and his 2015 performance in Israel, which drew criticism from groups urging a boycott of the Jewish state.
A month earlier, Turkish authorities banned a concert of Enrico Macias, a French singer of Algerian-Jewish origin, after calls for protest over his pro-Israel stance.
Also last month, a Belgian festival canceled a performance by the Munich Philharmonic because Israeli conductor Lahav Shani had not “unequivocally” distanced himself from Israel’s government.
The cancellation triggered a storm of criticism and accusations of antisemitism, leading Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever to denounce the decision and attend the Munich Philharmonic’s show himself to show support for its Israeli conductor.