French Jewish DJ sues after activists disrupt gig

A French Jewish DJ who has become embroiled in the latest cultural boycott campaign linked to the Gaza war has filed a complaint against campaigners who disrupted one of her appearances last weekend, her lawyer says.

Barbara Butch, previously best known for her appearance at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, was forced off stage during a set in the eastern city of Grenoble on Saturday.

Butch filed criminal complaints in Grenoble and Paris alleging incitement to hatred and violence, assault, and obstruction of artistic freedom among other complaints, her lawyer Audrey Msellati says.

“I wouldn’t wish on anyone — not even on my worst enemy — to feel or go through what I went through last Saturday,” the 45-year-old tells Franceinfo radio.

Campaigners and local elected figures from the hard-left France Unbowed political party had targeted her over her decision to sign a petition in support of an abandoned attempt to widen the criminal definition of antisemitism in France.

Critics saw the proposed law as seeking to muzzle campaigners who speak out in favor of Palestinian rights and against Israel’s war in Gaza, which was sparked by Hamas’s October 7 onslaught.

Butch was also falsely accused of appearing at an LGBTQ Pride event in Tel Aviv last year.

The campaign against her has caused unease even among supporters of a cultural boycott of Israel and has raised questions about who is a legitimate target for such action.

“Defending the rights of the Palestinian people is an urgent, legitimate, and necessary struggle,” a petition signed by 300 leading cultural figures in support of Butch said this week.

“But it cannot justify spreading unfounded accusations against a person because of their identity or supposed affiliations, or even because of their opinions.”