Paris
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On Thursday, demonstrators disrupted performances by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in Paris three times, with smoke bombs, smoke bombs and physical confrontations occurring at concert halls.
Video of the event shared on social media showed several audience members physically assaulting one of the activists who lit a red smoke bomb. A man was chased down the stairs in the gallery of the Philharmonic concert hall in Paris, before being protected by other concertgoers.
The Philharmonie said in a statement on Friday that two smoke bombs were detonated during the performance, which French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez blamed on pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
“The troublemaker was removed and the suspended concert was resumed and ended peacefully,” the Philharmonic said, adding that it was the first time a concert at the venue had been suspended.
Nuñez harshly criticized the suspension of X Friday, saying “nothing can justify it,” adding that four people had been detained by authorities.
Robert Enes, secretary general of the Council of Representatives of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF), accused the protesters of trying to “turn a cultural event into a political event.”
Asked about the protests, Manon Aubry of France’s far-left party France Unboud did not condemn the unrest, saying it was justifying Israel’s war in Gaza.
“The best way to prevent this kind of incident from happening again is for the Israeli government to stop the slaughter of its entire population,” Aubry told French television station CNews on Friday.
The concert schedule has sparked concern and opposition, with France’s entertainment union condemning the Philharmonie’s decision to press ahead with the performance.
“This concert is understood as an attempt at normalization by the State of Israel, despite its responsibility for genocide against the Palestinian people,” CGT Spectacle said in an Oct. 29 statement. He reminded the audience that the International Criminal Court had indicted the Israeli leadership for alleged crimes against humanity, but Israel dismissed the charges as politically motivated.
More than 1,500 people signed an October 15 open letter led by artists to the Philharmonic’s director calling for the concert to be “cancelled.”
The Philharmonic stood firm.
“The venue has welcomed and will continue to welcome both Israeli and Palestinian artists,” the concert hall said in a statement on Nov. 3.
The Philharmonic stated, “Artists cannot be held responsible for government actions simply because of their association with an organization.”
But the Philharmonic was not afraid to take a moral stand against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On the fifth day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Philharmonic canceled two concerts by Russian conductor Valery Gergiev’s Mariinsky Theater Orchestra scheduled for April of the same year. The Philharmonic made no attempt to hide its reason for “solidarity with the Ukrainian people.”
Although the Israel Philharmonic is not a public or official institution of the State of Israel, the orchestra is perhaps the country’s most famous musical ambassador. The orchestra performed in Abu Dhabi in 2022 to celebrate the signing of the 2020 Abraham Accords.
The protest at the Philharmonic comes amid heightened tensions in the music world over Israel’s war in Gaza. Israeli conductor Ilan Volkov made headlines in September when he protested his country’s “genocide” in Gaza during a concert in London.
“This is my country, this is my hometown, and what’s happening is terrible,” he told concertgoers from the stage, some of whom booed his speech.
Organizers of the Belgian-Flemish Music Festival in Ghent in September canceled a concert by Israeli conductor Rahaf Shani, who conducted Thursday’s concert in Paris, because he was “unable to clearly articulate his position against the genocidal regime in Tel Aviv,” CNN affiliate RTBF reported.
According to RTBF, the decision was criticized by Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Weber.
What the ceasefire in Gaza has not calmed is the cloud of discontent that hangs over the music world.
“We have noticed that there is a large-scale boycott of artists, including not only Israelis, but also Jews,” CRIF’s executive director Edines told CNN. “And the (French) Republic has something to say about this.”
