Israeli conductor Lahav Shani is set to perform at the Palais des Beaux-Arts (Bozar) in Brussels on November 24. According to Le Soir, there is growing pressure to stop him from conducting the concert. Shani, who is currently leading the Munich Philharmonic, has also served as the head of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) since 2020. This role placed him at the center of controversy last year when he was canceled from a festival in Ghent, as reported by De Standaard. Ahead of the upcoming concert, three members of the Bozar board of directors resigned in May 2026. According to Le Soir, Shani's position as head of the IPO makes him "one of the cultural representatives of the country." One of the resigning members, Mohamed Ouachen, stated that programming Shani "has a political meaning," given "the context that is known"—that of a war with a catastrophic toll, which, despite a ceasefire declared last year, continues. In a Facebook post, Ouachen noted that Israel's actions are "classified as genocide by Amnesty International and as apartheid by the International Court of Justice." His comments reflect the deepening divide over the cultural and political implications of Shani's participation. The controversy has placed Bozar in the spotlight, with the institution responding to the resignations with a "plea for nuance," emphasizing its position on the matter.