Jewish musician Matisyahu called out hypocrisy after his show in Santa Fe was canceled without warning at the last minute on Thursday night.
Matisyahu posted to X on Thursday night to vent his frustration after a show at a venue in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and another one in Tucson, Arizona, were both canceled at the last minute.
— Matisyahu (@matisyahu) February 15, 2024
According to local news channels, the Santa Fe venue canceled due to safety concerns after it had been inundated with social media posts and phone calls.
The venue expected protests during the show and 150 staff members expressed safety concerns.
Local pro-Palestinian groups claimed to have been responsible for the cancelation.
Hits out at hypocrisy
Matisyahu disputed this, however, saying that venues had misinformed fans that the cancellation was due to security concerns, saying they had actually been canceled because of a group of staff members who were unwilling to work his show.
He said that his team had offered to cover replacement staff out of pocket, but that this, too, was rejected.
“They do this because they are either antisemitic or have confused empathy for the Palestinian people with hatred for someone like me who holds empathy for both Israelis and Palestinians,” the musician said in his post.
“Tearing down posters of kidnapped children does not bring peace,” he wrote; “preventing fans of all ethnic and religious backgrounds from singing together in Santa Fe or Tucson does not make peace.
“It may make some people feel good to express anger publicly in hopes that it will obscure the hypocrisy of us Americans living on actual colonized land taken through an actual genocide of Native Americans,” the Jewish singer said.
Matisyahu apologized to his fans in Tucson and Santa Fe for the cancellation and promised he and his band would return.
“We will not respond to hate with more hate,” he wrote. “We will be together again. We will make music together again. We will sing together again one day soon...”