DaysofPal– World-renowned conductor Zubin Mehta has announced he cancelled all his artistic projects and professional commitments in the Israeli occupation, citing opposition to the criminal policies of Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli abuse of Palestinians amid the ongoing war on Gaza and continued violations in the occupied West Bank.
Mehta, 89, who led the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra for more than 55 years, announced in an interview with India Today.
“I cannot separate music from politics,” Mehta said, adding, “I have canceled all my commitments in Israel this year because of my opposition to the way Netanyahu is handling the Palestinian issue as a whole,” in a clear reference to the Israeli war crimes and the large-scale killing of Palestinian civilians.
The veteran conductor stressed that artists and musicians have a moral responsibility to take a stand on major issues, particularly those involving wars and crimes against people.
He said silence or indifference is no longer acceptable in light of the widespread destruction in Gaza, the thousands of victims, and ongoing policies of repression and settlement expansion in the West Bank.
Mehta’s decision is regarded as one of the strongest public positions taken by a global cultural figure with long-standing ties to the Israeli cultural establishment.
In previous years, he had warned of the growing international isolation of Israel, but his latest remarks directly link that isolation to war crimes and violations committed against Palestinians.
His move comes amid a growing wave of cultural and artistic boycotts of the Israeli occupation, as international voices increasingly hold Netanyahu’s government responsible for the Israeli mass killings, forced displacement, and systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza and the West Bank, in violation of international humanitarian law.
Zubin Mehta, an Indian-born conductor born on April 29, 1936, is considered one of the most influential classical music conductors of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
He has held leading positions with some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, including serving as honorary music director of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as leading the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=71370
