Basel musician Leila Moon should have received a cantonal cultural support prize, worth 10,000 francs, on November 29. The ceremony was canceled because the jury’s decision must be reviewed by the authorities. The artist’s openly pro-Palestinian political commitment has been heating up minds for several days in Basel. The straw that broke the camel’s back for his detractors was the cancellation of a concert in Bern a few weeks ago, reports the “Basler Zeitung”.
Leila Moon refused to perform at a festival because the festival had scheduled an American group of Israeli origin that did not clearly denounce the policy of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government regarding the war in Gaza. She explained her decision in a since-deleted Instagram post and has not yet spoken to the media. The UDC denounced the Canton’s encouragement of an artist “alleged support of Hamas terrorists” and demanded that her prize be withdrawn.
A Christian and Jewish community (the CJA) also asked the cantonal government to distance itself “from all anti-Semitic tendencies, take a position and act accordingly”. These criticisms resonated in higher places since the Department of Culture questions the jury’s decision. The refusal to perform in Bern may not correspond to the reason why the prize was awarded to Leila Moon, namely the fact of bringing together cultural actors, the Canton officially indicated.
An interview with the jury and the artist is planned before making a decision. In the meantime, 2,000 supporters of the DJ, including figures from Basel culture, have written an open letter to the government so that the prize is not withdrawn. Also on Insta, the artist thanked his fans and denounced a far-right campaign against him. The director of the culture department, Katrin Grögel, has not reacted yet.
“Reckless” slogans
Jonathan Kreutner of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (FSCI) supports the fact that the Canton reconsiders the prize awarded to Leila Moon. “It is not primarily a question of whether Leila Moon can be accused of anti-Semitism or not. But it is not in the canton’s sense to support people who discriminate or exclude other artists,” he said in the “Basler Zeitung”. According to him, in the world of art and culture, “we sometimes see that slogans are launched about this conflict in a relatively thoughtless manner.”
