A Bristol music venue has apologized for canceling a performance by a Jewish band, citing the decision as a “mistake” after facing pressure from “activist groups” who objected to the booking.
Strange Brew had previously called off a May concert featuring London-based Oi Va Voi, a group known for their modern folk klezmer sound.
The venue now acknowledges that the complaints and scrutiny directed at the band were likely motivated by the fact that they are “a Jewish band performing with an Israeli singer.”
Oi Va Voi released a statement asserting that “the intimidation of the activist groups who wanted Strange Brew to cancel our gig would never be tolerated against any other minority,” adding that the incident “has had an immense personal and emotional impact on us.”
The band stated on Wednesday that the cancellation led to “financial loss, reputational damage and a barrage of hate, the like of which we had never experienced before.”
According to Oi Va Voi, the complaints stemmed from activists “making untrue and misguided claims about us, our music and the album artwork of guest performer Zohara.”
“The only reason we received a level of scrutiny that would lead to such false accusations is because of our heritage and the nationality of one of our performers,” the band emphasized.
They also criticized the “readiness of venues, promoters and festivals to cave in to demands that exclude Jewish artists,” while expressing gratitude for Strange Brew’s recent statement.
The venue explained, “We made a last-minute decision to cancel this performance following complaints about the band from activist groups, including about Zohara’s solo album artwork.”
“We have reflected on this decision and have realised that we made a mistake in doing so. We recognise that Oi Va Voi was likely only subjected to this level of scrutiny, and Zohara’s album artwork interpreted negatively, because they are a Jewish band performing with an Israeli singer.”
“Oi Va Voi are musicians, not activists. They have no political affiliations and, as far as we are aware, have never made any political statements, be it in their music or otherwise,” Strange Brew added.
Strange Brew further stated that excluding Oi Va Voi and Zohara from performing “on the basis of conjecture by another group about their views” was “not in line with our values.”
The 330-capacity venue has since implemented mandatory antisemitism training for senior management and made a donation to the Community Security Trust, an organization dedicated to protecting British Jews from antisemitism.
Oi Va Voi gained prominence in the early 2000s and have earned recognition for bringing Jewish music “on the international map” through their innovative use of klezmer music – a traditional genre of Eastern European Ashkenazi Jews.
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