From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, November 5, 2025
French culture minister welcomes Israeli orchestra to Paris amid union criticism
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleFrench Culture Minister Rachida Dati throws her support behind a visit to Paris by Israel’s top orchestra, despite a French union criticizing it because of Israel’s “crimes” in Gaza.
“Welcome to Israel’s national orchestra,” Dati writes on X.
“Nothing justifies a boycott call for this moment of culture, sharing and communication. Freedom of creation and programming is a value of our republic. (There is) no pretext for antisemitism,” she says.
The union, CGT Spectacle, representing workers in France’s entertainment sector, on October 29 criticized the concert the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra is scheduled to give in Paris on Thursday, without calling for a boycott.
“The Paris Philharmonic Hall cannot host the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra without reminding the public of the extremely serious accusations weighing on the leaders of that country (Israel) or the nature of the crime committed in Gaza,” the union said.
It added that it viewed the concert as an attempt to bring about the “normalization” of Israel in international settings.
On Monday, the Paris Philharmonic Hall issued a statement saying it hoped the Israeli concert would take place “in the best possible conditions.”
It noted that it never demanded visiting musicians to “take a position… on the issue of ongoing conflicts or on sensitive political stakes.”
The Times of Israel Community.