Musician cancels shows over COVID restrictions: ‘I won’t cooperate with dictatorship or fascism’

Israeli musician Matti Caspi performs in Gush Etzion on December 10, 2015. (Gershon Elinson/Flash 90)
Israeli musician Matti Caspi performs in Gush Etzion on December 10, 2015. (Gershon Elinson/Flash 90)

Matti Caspi, one of Israel’s best-known musicians, says he is canceling a series of concerts due to the reinstatement of “Green Pass” entry restrictions at events and some venues.

“I won’t cooperate with dictatorship or fascism,” Caspi writes on Facebook.

He explains that he prefers to not appear at all than to have one of his unvaccinated fans be prevented from attending. Under the Green Pass system, the unvaccinated can attend events if they present a negative coronavirus test from the past 72 hours.

“I will only show up at performances if the restrictions are removed and whoever wants to come to my performances can,” Caspi adds.

Last year, Caspi branded then-premier Benjamin Netanyahu a “dictator” over the government’s shuttering of cultural institutions during the pandemic.

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