An Australian electronic music festival canceled appearances by five Israeli DJs after organizers and venue owners received weeks of threats, The Daily Telegraph reported. According to the report, organizers of the Frequency Forest electronic music festival were also forced to change event locations following threats from anti-Israel activists.
The festival was scheduled to feature 30 DJs, including five Israelis: Astrix, Berg, Ghostrider, Ranji and Ritmo. Their appearances were canceled after weeks of threats directed at event producers and venue owners.
The report in The Daily Telegraph
Among the messages sent to organizers was an anonymous email referring to the performers as “IDF baby killers” and explicitly asking whether someone could “enter the venue with 10-15 liters of gasoline.”
Two vehicles belonging to one of the festival’s producers were set on fire in Melbourne’s Malvern East neighborhood on August 16. The BMW X7 and Mercedes-AMG A45 S were completely destroyed, prompting the producer to hire permanent security. Police said they are still investigating the circumstances of the fire, and no motive has been established.
Israeli musician, producer and international DJ Ran Regev, known professionally as Ranji, told ynet that threats against him abroad were not new, but said the situation in Australia had escalated significantly.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve received threats around the world,” he said. “Australia is an amazing country with incredible people, and it’s really sad that this despicable minority manages to ruin and destroy these events. They need to wake up.”
“I’m performing in Thailand today and was supposed to continue on to my tour in Australia,” Ranji said. “Unfortunately, yesterday the producer canceled us after difficult battles with those groups. The producer did everything possible to make sure we could come, but it reached the point of risking lives, and he decided to give up.”
“The producer sent the Israeli DJs part of the payment and arranged work visas for everyone,” he added. “Because of the threats, he has been left completely screwed.”
‘A deeply disturbing campaign of intimidation’
Australian Jewish Association President Robert Gregory described the developments as a “deeply disturbing campaign of intimidation,” saying Jewish and Israeli artists should not be excluded from Australia’s cultural life through threats and violence.
Gregory said the apparent success of such campaigns reflected a failure by authorities to confront intimidation and extremism before they escalated.
He also compared the dynamic of social exclusion to troubling historical precedents, including Germany in the 1930s, and said Australia’s Jewish community was feeling increasingly isolated and alienated.
Gregory urged Australians to stand alongside their Jewish and Israeli friends and not allow threats or violence to determine who is permitted to perform in the country.
He also encouraged the public to familiarize themselves with the Israeli artists and their music as a response to attempts to exclude them from cultural events.