Anta Gathering, an Israeli-organized music festival set to take place in Portugal, has been cancelled following a BDS campaign, the organizers announced on Thursday evening, the day the festival was set to start.
The Anta Gathering team announced the news "with the heaviest of hearts," adding that they are "still processing the shock." The cancellation comes despite the event being approved by all Portuguese authorities, with 24/7 security and a police unit on site.
The team confirmed that the festival faced a well-funded and orchestrated BDS campaign "built on lies and hatred" over the last few months. The BDS campaign worked to "sabotage our vision, spreading disinformation fueled by money and nationalism," they added. "Their goal was never about music or community, but only to divide, intimidate, and cause pain. The damage has been devastating and made it impossible to move forward."
The organizers aim to refund everyone who requests it, but have added that they are facing severe financial challenges, as payments have already been made to suppliers, artists have had their flights booked, and they now have the responsibility of refunding tickets. They ask that if people are able, to consider not cancelling their tickets or choosing a partial refund. The Anta team is also launching a GoFundMe campaign.
"This is not the end," they continued. "Anta is about love, freedom, and community, and no campaign of hate will ever destroy that. With your support, we will heal, rebuild, and dance together again."
BDS Portugal was responsible for the campaign against the festival, alongside a cohort of other similar pro-Palestine groups.
The BDS groups took particular issue with Shahar Bickel, one of the organizers of the Anta Gathering, who, it claimed, has served in the IDF in Sayeret Nahal as a reservist since October 2023. It shared a picture of Bickel in IDF uniform, adding that "anyone who has served in the Israeli armed forces during the period of genocide, regardless of their location of deployment or position (including logistics or intelligence units), is participating in Israel’s genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people."
"Not being in Gaza doesn't make it any less genocidal. Would anyone in their right mind claim that SS members who were not deployed to Auschwitz were less Nazis?"
"Portugal will not accept normalization or free movement of those who participated and support colonialism and daily barbarism against Palestinians. They are not welcome!"
Dean Bickel, Shahar's brother, also organized the festival, and both were set to perform as musicians under the names Fat Cat and Bickeloz.
Anta Gathering denies any members or affiliates have been in Gaza
The Anta Team, however, disputed this, writing, "The entire campaign and accusations made by the BDS movement and its affiliates are filled with false information: We are not soldiers. None of the members of our production team has ever been in Gaza or taken part in the killing of human beings."
"Many forces driven by hate and ignorance are trying to prevent this event from happening simply because of where we were born. We are here to make it clear: We are not our country, we are not our government - we are human beings who want to spread a message of connection, peace, and love."