Published March 14, 2024 at 12:42 a.m.
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Local pro-Palestinian activist groups and nearly 100 Vermont musicians are urging Higher Ground to cancel a Thursday night performance by Matisyahu, a Jewish reggae artist who's come under fire for his Zionism.
As of late Wednesday, Higher Ground had not canceled the show. If it goes ahead as planned, the groups —the Vermont Coalition for Palestinian Liberation, University of Vermont Students for Justice in Palestine and BTV Copwatch — said they'd protest outside the South Burlington venue.
The groups and dozens of local musicians, including singer-songwriter Henry Jamison, indie rocker Hammydown and electronic act Roost.World, released a letter this week condemning Higher Ground for hosting Matisyahu and calling upon the venue to cancel the show. They noted that the artist performed in January for Israel Defense Forces soldiers.
Some 30,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the months since Hamas' surprise October 7 attack on Israel left 1,200 people dead. The group also took hundreds of hostages back to Gaza.
"Matisyahu's open and aggressive support of the genocidal Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) is well-documented and reprehensible," the letter reads. "As musicians, we have an unmistakable role as cultural workers in fighting injustice. Right now, we are witnessing the most well-documented, live-streamed genocide in history. We must make it clear that fascism is unwelcome in the music community, in Burlington, and everywhere else."
"Genocide-endorsing Matisyahu doesn't belong in Burlington!" the Vermont Coalition for Palestinian Liberation wrote on Instagram.
Matisyahu is performing around the country as part of a 34-stop "Hold the Fire" tour. Three previous stops — in Santa Fe, N.M.; Tucson, Ariz.; and Chicago — were canceled after local outcry. At one of the venues, employees refused to work during Matisyahu's show, something the local Burlington groups urged Higher Ground staff to do if the performance isn't canceled. Another show was canceled due to unspecified "safety concerns."
In an interview on Wednesdaywith Seven Days, Matisyahu made no apologies for his pro-Israel views and blasted the protesters as "willfully ignorant" and "uneducated on the history of the situation." He vowed to perform in South Burlington and continue with his tour despite the backlash.
He's best known for his songs "King Without a Crown" and "One Day," an anti-war peace anthem.
"I don't go out and make big political statements. It's not my cup of tea," the Pennsylvania native said by phone from Portland, Maine. He was there to perform at the State Theatre, which was also facing protests and calls to cancel the show. "So I performed for the [Israel Defense Forces] soldiers. Does that make me racist, because I support the country of Israel?"
Matisyahu posted a video to his Instagram in January, showing him performing for the IDF's Golani Brigade.
"Good luck to my boys headed north," he posted. "It was an honor to breathe the same air as you tonight."
The war in Gaza has become a flash point in the U.S., from college campuses and city council meetings to sporting events and concerts. It's also sparked debate about free speech. In October, the University of Vermont cited "security concerns" when it canceled a planned on-campus talk by Palestinian author and activist Mohammed El-Kurd. And the Burlington City Council was booed by some pro-Palestinian activists after the body voted against putting an "anti-apartheid" resolution about Israel on the Town Meeting Day ballot.
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UVM Students Protest Cancellation of Palestinian Writer's Appearance By Rachel Hellman News"In the protesters' minds, supporting Israel makes you a racist," Matisyahu said. "We're not dealing with people who don't like Jews or Israel; we're dealing with the most idiotic people, who are so quick to choose a side and pay no attention to the history and complexity of Israel and Palestine."
The 44-year-old, born Matthew Paul Miller, told Newsweek in Januarythat he "would like to see any terrorist, Hamas, or person who believes Israel has no right to exist or the Jews have no right to it, I would like Israel to destroy those people ... I would like to see the destruction of evil."
He's also been vocal about ensuring the safe return of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas.
Matisyahu maintains that his positions have been misconstrued by those protesting his shows.
"It's completely ludicrous," he said. "My music is peaceful, my fans are peaceful. So why are these people creating possibly violent situations outside of my concerts and screaming 'From the river to the sea,' which any Jew knows means the elimination of the Jewish people?"
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Some Jews aren't buying his message. Protestsat Wednesday night's show in Portland were organized by a group called Maine Jews for Palestine. TheBurlington contingent includes members of the Vermont and New Hampshire chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace.
"It is absolutely unconscionable that Matisyahu has used his considerable public platform to condone and endorse the Israeli military, who has a long history of abuses and war crimes that go far beyond their current campaign in Gaza," Jewish Voice for Peace said in a press release. The organization has called for a boycott of Thursday's Higher Ground show." His rhetoric and embrace of the violence enacted by the IDF is not welcome in Burlington, and makes everyone — Jews and Palestinians alike — less safe in the U.S. and around the world."
Matisyahu, who lived in Burlington for a brief time when he was 17 years old, is sad to see a city he considered special become hostile to him.
"I love Burlington," he said. "My time there was the beginning of Matisyahu. It's where I discovered music and used to rap on the street for quarters. Now I'm not excited to come because people are calling me a genocidal maniac. But I love Israel. I love being a Jew, and I love Judaism. That's under attack right now. So be it. I'm a part of that."
Corrections, March 15, 2024: A previous version of this story misstated who benefited from one of Matisyahu's show and misidentified where Golani Brigade soldiers were headed after the musician performed for them.
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