--- title: The Problem With Disinviting Matisyahu From a Concert in Spain description: Why I'm scared a wave of anti-Semitism is sweeping across Europe canonical: https://time.com/4000828/jewish-rapper-matisyahu-spain-concert/ author: Rabbi David Wolpe article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-18T18:53:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:41:31.196Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Problem With Disinviting Jewish Rapper Matisyahu From a Concert in Spain og:description: Why I'm scared a wave of anti-Semitism is sweeping across Europe og:url: https://time.com/4000828/jewish-rapper-matisyahu-spain-concert/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42a39a26e73a1516/69885fb0cf40a81cb7c3f433/matisyahu.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4500 og:image:height: 2531 og:image:alt: Singer Matisyahu performs at the official opening ceremony of the European Maccabi Games at the Waldbuehne in Berlin on July 28, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Problem With Disinviting Jewish Rapper Matisyahu From a Concert in Spain twitter:description: Why I'm scared a wave of anti-Semitism is sweeping across Europe twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42a39a26e73a1516/69885fb0cf40a81cb7c3f433/matisyahu.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Problem With Disinviting Jewish Rapper Matisyahu From a Concert in Spain > Sponsored content. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ## Video: Matisyahu: New Look, New Sound [Watch (HLS stream): Matisyahu: New Look, New Sound](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mON3tbSL.m3u8) (3:19)  _Published 2012-07-13. Jewish reggae singer Matisyahu talks about his new album, 'Spark Seeker', and his transformation from being an 'Hasidic superstar'_ by [Rabbi David Wolpe](https://time.com/author/rabbi-david-wolpe/) ## Rabbi David Wolpe Aug 18, 2015 6:53 PM UTC  Singer Matisyahu performs at the official opening ceremony of the European Maccabi Games at the Waldbuehne in Berlin on July 28, 2015. Singer Matisyahu performs at the official opening ceremony of the European Maccabi Games at the Waldbuehne in Berlin on July 28, 2015.Sean Gallup—Getty Images by [Rabbi David Wolpe](https://time.com/author/rabbi-david-wolpe/) ## Rabbi David Wolpe Aug 18, 2015 6:53 PM UTC In his monumental work [_The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth Century Spain_](http://www.amazon.com/The-Origins-Inquisition-Fifteenth-Century-Spain/dp/0940322390)_,_ Benzion Netanyahu, the father of the current Israeli prime minister, argued that anti-Semitism changed during the Spanish Inquisition. Jews were not targeted because they had different beliefs — those who adopted Christianity were targeted, too. The hatred against them was racial. Just being Jewish made you different. In that malevolent way, Spain anticipated Nazi Germany. How far we have _not_ come. The Jewish-American rapper Matisyahu was recently [disinvited](http://mashable.com/2015/08/17/matisyahu-dropped-festival/) from a concert in Spain because he would not sign a statement endorsing a Palestinian state. Matisyahu is not a citizen of Israel. He does not vote in its elections or create its policy. This was not a statement of belief but an unfairness based on the fact that Matisyahu is a Jew. Matisyahu [responded](https://www.facebook.com/matisyahu?fref=ts) on Facebook: “Honestly it was appalling and offensive, that as the one publicly Jewish-American artist scheduled for the festival they were trying to coerce me into political statements.” As I’ve [written before](http://Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions), the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement increasingly shows that it has deep roots not in political opinion, but in hatred of and unfairness toward Jews. People who insist that artists sign political statements or who boycott them are people who have learned nothing from the 20th century. They are petty tyrants clothing themselves in a faux compassion that gives their lust for power the garb of respectability. The wave of anti-Semitism sweeping across Europe and Latin America has become undeniable and increasingly frightening. A recent Anti-Defamation League [survey](http://www.adl.org/press-center/press-releases/anti-semitism-international/adl-survey-in-ten-european-countries-find-anti-semitism.html) found anti-Semitic levels across Europe — including in Spain — at “disturbingly high levels.” On a recent trip to Argentina, I listened to young people who were looking for a way out. The bombing of a Jewish center and the subsequent evasions and untruths that culminated in the murder of the Jewish [prosecutor](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/20/world/americas/alberto-nisman-found-dead-argentina-amia.html) had convinced them that shadows would never lift from the community. Netanyahu penned his history for the same reason that he raised his children — Jonathan, the slain leader of the Entebbe hostage rescue raid, and Benjamin, the prime minister of Israel — to love the land of Israel. Netanyahu saw from his studies that hatred is recalcitrant and does not seem to disappear. We have seen people singling out Jews for different treatment before, and it does not end with oaths. “Loyalty” oaths are despicable, but they are only the beginning. They are the first exercise of something far more pernicious. It is not a great loss to Matisyahu that he will not appear at the week-long festival in Valencia. The loss to Spain is far greater. Perhaps Spanish students do study history, but some of them still seem doomed to repeat its mistakes. ### See Art Kane’s Most Memorable Music Portraits  The Who, 1968. courtesy Art Kane Archive  Jefferson Airplane, 1968. courtesy Art Kane Archive  Bob Dylan, 1966. courtesy Art Kane Archive  Country Joe and The Fish, 1968. courtesy Art Kane Archive  Janis Joplin, 1968. courtesy Art Kane Archive  The Rolling Stones, 1966. courtesy Art Kane Archive  Jim Morrison, 1968. courtesy Art Kane Archive  Louis Armstrong, 1958. courtesy Art Kane Archive  Harlem, 1958. courtesy Art Kane Archive  Photographer Art Kane at Keith Moon's drum set, 1968. courtesy Art Kane Archive ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4000828/jewish-rapper-matisyahu-spain-concert/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4000828/jewish-rapper-matisyahu-spain-concert/"},"headline":"The Problem With Disinviting Jewish Rapper Matisyahu From a Concert in Spain","datePublished":"2015-08-18T18:53:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:41:31.196Z","description":"Why I'm scared a wave of anti-Semitism is sweeping across Europe","url":"https://time.com/4000828/jewish-rapper-matisyahu-spain-concert/","keywords":["Religion"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42a39a26e73a1516/69885fb0cf40a81cb7c3f433/matisyahu.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rabbi David Wolpe","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rabbi-david-wolpe/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt42a39a26e73a1516/69885fb0cf40a81cb7c3f433/matisyahu.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Singer Matisyahu performs at the official opening ceremony of the European Maccabi Games at the Waldbuehne in Berlin on July 28, 2015.","caption":"Singer Matisyahu performs at the official opening ceremony of the European Maccabi Games at the Waldbuehne in Berlin on July 28, 2015.","creditText":"Sean Gallup—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4000828/jewish-rapper-matisyahu-spain-concert/","name":"The Problem With Disinviting Jewish Rapper Matisyahu From a Concert in Spain"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Matisyahu: New Look, New Sound","description":"Jewish reggae singer Matisyahu talks about his new album, 'Spark Seeker', and his transformation from being an 'Hasidic superstar'","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/mON3tbSL/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2012-07-13T19:40:58.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mON3tbSL.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4000828/jewish-rapper-matisyahu-spain-concert/","duration":"PT3M19S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4000828/jewish-rapper-matisyahu-spain-concert/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```