Israeli conductor condemns his country in extraordinary Proms outburst

After condemning the "atrocious and horrific" situation in Gaza, Ilan Volkov told The Times that he would not work in Israel for the foreseeable future

An Israeli conductor performing at last night’s Proms used the opportunity to condemn the country for the situation in Gaza, and has announced that he will no longer perform in Israel for the foreseeable future, despite continuing to live there.

Ilan Volkov was performing with the Scottish Symphony orchestra last night, and addressed the audience at the Royal Albert Hall after the musicians took their bows.

“In my heart there is great pain”, he said, as reported by The Times. “I come from Israel and live there. I love it, it’s my home. But what’s happening is atrocious and horrific on a scale that’s unimaginable.

“Innocent Palestinians being killed in thousands, displaced again and again, without hospitals and schools, not knowing when the next meal [will come]. Israeli hostages are kept in terrible conditions for almost two years and political prisoners are languishing in Israeli jails.

“I ask you all to do whatever is in your power to stop this madness. Every little action counts while governments hesitate and wait. We cannot let this go on any longer, every moment that passes puts the safety of millions at risk.”

While many in the audience applauded, some heckled the conductor. Jewish News understands that a number of audience members had specifically booked tickets to that Prom in order to support an Israeli performer, at a time when many of those with Israeli nationality have been shunned. Volkov responded to the hecklers by telling them “You can go if you don’t want politics. Politics is part of life.”

Volkov, who lives in Herzliya, subsequently told The Times that he would not be working in Israel for the foreseeable future.

“In Israel, there is no real democracy,” he told the paper. “The media is not showing reality, the police are under a fascist minister and the justice system has supported the occupation for decades. We Israelis alone — Palestinians and the small minority of Jews standing against it all — won’t be able to stop Netanyahu’s government. We need the support of the whole world to make this massacre end.”

Volkov went on to say that he believes “Israel has lost any sense of morality and completely lost control”, and that he did not believe that the events of 7 October amounted to an existential threat to the country, claiming that “from the beginning, this idea has been used as a tool to frighten the population.”

Earlier this week, the Ghent Music Festival cancelled a performance by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, which was to be led by its incoming Israeli conductor, Lahav Shani. The festival said it had been “unable to provide sufficient clarity about [Shani’s] attitude to the genocidal regime in Tel Aviv”.

Volkov not to understand the additional pressure his announcement would put on other Israeli musicians to express their opinions, telling The Times that “We cannot make it a test for every person in a concert hall, to see if they are anti-fascist enough for us. What we have to do is have solidarity with each other.”