Spanish Courts Rule Against BDS And Order Probe of Matisyahu Ban
(JTA) — Spanish judges scrapped two municipal resolutions on boycotting Israel and approved probing for discrimination organizers of a music festival who sought to bar the Jewish singer Matisyahu.
The rulings on the resolutions passed last year by the local councils of Xeraco and Olesa de Montserrat were given independently last month, according to a report last week by the pro-Israel ACOM group.
The Jan. 26 ruling of Xeraco near Valencia was a definite reversal of a resolution that in May prompted the same court to issue an injunction against any action on Israeli firms and institutions.
More than 50 Spanish municipalities have endorsed the principles of BDS, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, the highest number in any European country.
Separately, a Valencia court last week approved the opening of a criminal probe of the conduct of organizers of the 2015 Rototom SunSplash Festival, who canceled Jewish singer Matisyahu’s performance, but then re-invited him following an uproar over his exclusion.
Matisyahu was asked to sign the declaration in support of a Palestinian state. His dis-invitation sparked condemnation from Jewish organizations and the government of Spain.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
