BDS uses bloody poster to protest Israeli orchestra in Chile; concert unaffected
Despite calls for a boycott and demonstrations, Jerusalem Symphony plays to packed houses in tour of South America
The BDS movement calling for a boycott of Israel printed posters showing the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra’s conductor covered in blood, ahead of a concert in Chile.
Anti-Israel protesters were planning to hold a demonstration outside the concert venue in Santiago on Monday evening, prompting Israel’s ambassador Eldad Hayet, to call on local security force and police to ensure safety at the performance.
Demonstrators circulated a poster showing orchestra conductor Yeruham Scharovsky covered in blood, using a trope popular in medieval blood libels.
The orchestra is currently touring to packed venues across South America and this was not the first time it had faced opposition from the BDS movement.
The Santiago concert went ahead as planned, The Times of Israel was told on Tuesday, and neither Monday’s concert nor others on the tour were interrupted or affected by the protests.
Last week demonstrators shouted anti-Israel slogans and waved Palestinian flags outside a concert in Sao Paulo in Brazil.
There was another demonstration when the orchestra performed in Argentina’s Tucumán Province, when several dozen protesters confronted police. That concert was attended by the province’s governor.
Yair Stern, general director of the orchestra, had told the Ynet news site that the protests wouldn’t stop the Chile concert.
“Incidents of this type are unpleasant, but they will not overshadow the concert,” he said. “The police keep order and allow the concerts to take place normally. The halls have been full, and the audiences who ignored the noise of BDS came to see and hear a Jerusalem of music and culture.”
