'Israel' envoy urges Portugal to cancel Kanye concert
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'Israel's' Ambassador to Portugal, Oren Rozenblat, has called on Portuguese authorities to cancel rapper Ye's scheduled concert at the Algarve Stadium on Friday, accusing the artist of promoting hate speech and glorifying Nazism.
In a video statement shared on social media, Rozenblat criticized the American rapper, also known as Kanye West, over a series of controversial statements he has made in recent years, including praise for Adolf Hitler and comments widely condemned as antisemitic.
"Someone who glorified Hitler, promoted antisemitism, and claimed that slavery was a choice ... is not engaging in provocation; this is hate speech," Rozenblat said.
The 'Israeli' Embassy in Portugal argued that democratic societies should not provide platforms to individuals who promote hatred or glorify totalitarian ideologies.
Rozenblat said he had personally contacted Faro Mayor Rogério Bacalhau to request that the concert be stopped. He also urged local residents not to attend the event, claiming that allowing the performance to proceed would bring "disgrace upon Portugal and the Portuguese people."
The ambassador framed his appeal as a matter of equal treatment rather than geopolitics.
"Would you buy a ticket for an artist who promoted hatred against Black people, Muslims, Christians, or LGBT people? If the answer is no, why should it be any different when the target is Jews?" he said.
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Organizers reject calls to cancel concert
Event organizers have rejected calls to cancel the performance, describing the controversy as politically driven and based on misinformation.
Torcato Jorge, CEO and co-founder of event organizer Raya Culture, said the concert is a legal commercial event and does not pose a threat to public safety.
"It would become an issue if security services identified a national threat to public order, which is not the case," Jorge told reporters.
He said Portugal's Internal Security System, SIS, had not identified Kanye as a national security threat. Jorge also noted that while individual countries retain authority over entry to their territory, no European Union member state had formally blocked Ye from traveling within the Schengen Area.
Ye faces European cancellations
The dispute in Portugal comes amid a broader backlash against Ye across Europe over his past antisemitic statements and other public controversies.
In the United Kingdom, three appearances at the Wireless Festival in July were canceled after British authorities denied Ye entry into the country.
Planned performances in France and Poland were also canceled following criticism and public pressure. In Switzerland and Italy, venue authorities and local officials moved against proposed concerts, citing concerns ranging from public safety and potential unrest to objections over hosting the artist.
Despite the cancellations elsewhere, organizers in Portugal have maintained that Ye's Algarve Stadium concert will proceed as scheduled.
