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Due to employee safety concerns over the planned protests, a concert at Meow Wolf was canceled approximately one hour before the show was scheduled to start on Wednesday, February 14. Musician Matisyahu was expected to perform in front of a sold-out crowd before the cancellation. Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber issued a statement on Thursday, February 15 regarding Meow Wolf’s decision to cancel the event on the same day as the performance. He expressed no tolerance for racism and discrimination in relation to Matisyahu’s absence the day before. “There is a significant difference between protesting the Netanyahu government’s policies in Gaza and shutting down a Jewish-American artist’s performance in Santa Fe. There is no excuse for anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, intolerance, prejudice, racism or intolerance, not here, not now, not ever. “The war in Israel and Gaza is a humanitarian tragedy, and we should all join the call for the safe return of all the hostages and an end to the killing. We need to see peace in the Middle East.” Stay up to date: The latest headlines from KOAT Action 7 News The event was expected to feature protesters and counter-protesters, which became a safety concern for employees. Several pro-Palestinian activist groups take credit for pressuring Meow Wolf to cancel the event. Pro-Palestinian and union activists claim to have overwhelmed Meow Wolf with social media posts and phone calls. The groups also claim that the company’s phone line was disconnected on Wednesday, February 1. 14. Your promotional efforts come amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. One of the groups taking credit for the cancellation is New Mexico Jews for a Free Palestine. The coalition’s Alex McDonough said the groups are speaking out against anti-Palestinian rhetoric. “What we anti-racist groups in Santa Fe are saying is: ‘You can’t just defend one person, one group of people,'” McDonough said. “We are against all racism, we are against anti-Semitism.” , we are also against anti-Islamic sentiment, anti-Arab sentiment, and anti-Palestinian sentiment.” In response to the cancellation of the concert, the New Mexico Jewish Community Relations Coalition wrote a letter of disagreement to Mayor Webber and Meow management Wolf. Zach Benjamin of the JCRC-NM said the federation is concerned this could affect artists coming to New Mexico in the future. “Our concern is really about setting a precedent in New Mexico, and specifically in Santa Fe , for silencing artists’ voices based on their race, religion, national origin or identity,” Benjamin said. “This sets a dangerous precedent by depriving New Mexicans of artists’ talent and their voices based on factors that are irrelevant for the art itself.” More than 150 staff members are said to have expressed concerns about the lack of security. This led to the cancellation of the event. KOAT contacted Meow Wolf regarding the cancellation of the concert, but did not receive answer. Additionally, Matisyahu was contacted and KOAT has yet to receive a response. Matisyahu issued a statement to his audience on Thursday about the cancellation of the Santa Fe concert, along with his upcoming performance in Arizona: “To my fans: My band and I should have played a sold-out show at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe last night. and we were excited for tonight’s show at the Rialto Theater in Tucson. Instead, the staff at these venues refused to come to work, forcing cancellations. Without our permission or approval, the venue in Santa Fe misreported to our fans canceling the show due to “safety concerns,” when the only concern was a group of staff unwilling to work my show. “Tonight in Tucson, we have offered to supplement their staff shortage with our own dime, but to no avail. They do this because they are anti-Semitic or they have confused their empathy for the Palestinian people with hatred towards someone like me who has empathy for both Israelis and Palestinians.” Stay up to date on the latest news updates with the KOAT app. You can download here .
Due to employee safety concerns over planned protests, a concert at Meow Wolf was canceled approximately one hour before the show was scheduled to start on Wednesday, February 14.
Musician Matisyahu was expected to perform in front of a sold-out crowd before the cancellation.
Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber issued a statement on Thursday, February 15 regarding Meow Wolf’s decision to cancel the event on the same day as the performance.
He expressed that he does not tolerate racism and discrimination in relation to Matisyahu’s absence the previous day.
“There is a significant difference between protesting the Netanyahu government’s policies in Gaza and shutting down a Jewish-American artist’s performance in Santa Fe. There is no excuse for anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, intolerance, prejudice, racism or intolerance, not here, not now, not ever.
“The war in Israel and Gaza is a humanitarian tragedy, and we must all join the call for the safe return of all hostages and an end to the killing. We need to see peace in the Middle East.”
To be up to date: Latest headlines from KOAT Action 7 News
The event was expected to feature protesters and counter-protesters, which became a safety issue for employees. Several local pro-Palestinian activist groups took credit for pressuring Meow Wolf to cancel the event.
Labor and pro-Palestinian activists claim to have overwhelmed Meow Wolf with social media posts and phone calls.
The groups also claim that the company’s phone line was disconnected on Wednesday, February 14. Their defense efforts come amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
One of the groups taking credit for the cancellation is New Mexico Jews for a Free Palestine. The coalition’s Alex McDonough said the groups are speaking out against anti-Palestinian rhetoric.
“What we anti-racist groups in Santa Fe are saying is: ‘You can’t just defend one person, one group of people,'” McDonough said. “We are against all racism, we are against anti-Semitism, we are also against anti-Islamic sentiment, anti-Arab sentiment and anti-Palestinian sentiment.”
In response to the concert’s cancellation, the New Mexico Jewish Community Relations Coalition wrote a letter of disagreement to Mayor Webber and Meow Wolf management.
Zach Benjamin of the JCRC-NM said the federation is concerned this could affect artists coming to New Mexico in the future.
“Our concern is really about setting a precedent in New Mexico, and specifically in Santa Fe, to silence artists’ voices based on their race, religion, national origin or identity,” Benjamin said. “This sets a dangerous precedent by depriving New Mexicans of artists’ talent and their voices based on factors that are irrelevant to the art itself.”
More than 150 staff are said to have raised concerns about the lack of security. This caused the cancellation of the event.
KOAT contacted Meow Wolf regarding the cancellation of the concert, but did not receive a response. Additionally, Matisyahu was contacted and KOAT has yet to receive a response.
Matisyahu issued a statement to his audience on Thursday regarding the cancellation of the concert in Santa Fe, along with his upcoming performance in Arizona:
“To my fans: my band and I should have played a sold-out show at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe last night and were excited for tonight’s show at the Rialto Theater in Tucson. Instead, the staff at these venues are refused to come to work, forcing cancellations. Without our permission or approval, the venue in Santa Fe misinformed our fans by canceling the show due to “safety concerns”, when the only concern was an unwilling group of staff to work on my show.
“Tonight in Tucson, we offered to supplement the staffing shortage with our own currency, but to no avail. They do it because they are anti-Semitic or they have confused their empathy for the Palestinian people with hatred for someone like me who holds empathy for both both Israelis and Palestinians.
Stay updated on the latest news updates with the KOAT app. You can download it here.