Three Bozar directors step down over concert by Israeli conductor
Three directors of Brussels culture house Bozar are stepping down from the board after the centre scheduled a concert featuring the Israeli conductor Lahav Shani.
Actor and filmmaker Mohamed Ouachen announced his decision on his social media on Wednesday. Minister of state Jos Geysels and Els Silvrants-Barclay are also stepping down, VRT reports.
In early May, Bozar announced a concert by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Shani, whose planned appearance at the Flanders Festival Ghent led to widespread controversy in September. Critics said Shani, the music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, had not given sufficient clarity on his stance towards Israeli actions in Gaza.
“Lahav Shani is not just any conductor,” Mohamed Ouachen posted on social media. “He is the music director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, a country whose actions have been labelled as genocide by Amnesty International and as apartheid by the International Court of Justice.” Ouachen believes that inviting Shani in the current geopolitical context is a political choice.
Remaining on the board would feel like “giving approval” to something he rejects, he said, while adding that he respects the board and his colleagues. According to VRT, both Geysels and Silvrants-Barclay had already made their decision known at the end of April.
Shani had been due to perform at the Ghent Festival of Flanders last autumn, but his performance was cancelled at the last minute by the organisers.
Following the announcement of the programme for this new concert at Bozar, the institution’s director, Christophe Slagmuylder, told De Standaard that discussions with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and Shani had been ongoing since early 2025, “several months before the situation in Ghent”.
“We had suspended our negotiations at the time, but after much discussion on the matter, we have now come to the conclusion that there was absolutely no reason not to invite them,” he said.
#FlandersNewsService | Lahav Shani performing with the Munich Philharmonic in Berlin, September 2025 © PHOTO BERND VON JUTRCZENKA/DPA
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