Belgium prime minister attends concert of Israeli conductor axed by festival

Bart De Wever travelled to Essen, Germany to hear performance conducted by Lahav Shani, the music director of the Israel Philharmonic

Belgium’s prime minister, Bart De Wever, has said he attended a concert by a German orchestra that was uninvited from a Belgian festival to show support for its Israeli conductor.

The cancellation of a planned performance at the Flanders festival Ghent by the Munich Philharmonic over concerns about its Israeli future chief conductor, Lahav Shani, has triggered a storm of criticism and accusations of antisemitism.