(JTA) — A Spanish music festival’s recent decision to rescind its invitation to the American reggae singer Matisyahu, after he declined to endorse a Palestinian state, brought international attention to a phenomenon that many European Jews have been feeling for years: that they are being targeted for Israel’s actions. Matisyahu, who is Jewish but not Israeli,…
American Jewish reggae star Matisyahu sang his famous song “Jerusalem” as protesters waved Palestinian flags at a music festival in Spain. Matisyahu performed a 45-minute set early Sunday morning at the Rototom SunSplash Festival, two days after the festival apologized for canceling his performance in the face of pressure from the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and…
It looked like a big coup for a small-time player when a pro-Palestinian group in Spain’s third-largest city, BDS Pais Valencia, managed to convince an international reggae festival to cancel a closing-night performance by the American ex-Hasidic star Matisyahu. Instead, it blew up in its face. Spanish and international politicians, musicians and newspapers protested what…
The righteous uproar over the Matisyahu fiasco has dissipated as quickly as it started. Disquieting and galling as the Spanish music festival’s initial decision to disinvite the musician was, we really ought to celebrate: It’s one of the few victories we’ve had in a bad streak of stinging defeats. The cherry on top is that…
Jewish groups protested on Monday after a Spanish reggae festival canceled a concert by an American Jewish musician when he failed to reply to a demand to clarify his position on Palestinian statehood. Matisyahu, who fuses reggae, hip-hop and rock with Jewish influences in his songs, had been due to perform next Saturday at the…
Getty Images Sex, drugs, rock and roll — and ultra-Orthodox Judaism. What else could you expect from an essay written by Matisyahu? “Akeda, the Binding and Unbinding…the Long Walk Back,” published in Medium, tells the moving tale of the formerly Hasidic singer/songwriter’s journey to overcome substance abuse, his religious struggle, his Bob Marley obsession, and…
I was hoping to post Part 2 of the Passover concert before the first Seder and then log off for yomtov, but cleaning the oven took longer than I expected (don’t ask). So here it is. We’ve got some Psalms, some spirituals, some memories of Jerusalem and some visions of the Messianic Era. This time…
In the sultry darkness of a summer night, a tall, skinny figure with close-cropped hair and a purple T-shirt threaded through a beer garden during Krakow’s Jewish Culture Festival, the annual nine-day extravaganza of performance, exhibition, debate and intensive interaction that for a quarter of a century now has been a catalyst of Krakow’s Jewish…
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