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Amsterdam Music Hall Restores Israeli Concert With ‘Tightened’ Security Following Outcry Over ‘Shameful’ Cancellation
The Jerusalem Quartet. Photo: Felix Broede
Amsterdam’s famed music hall the Concertgebouw has reversed its decision from earlier this week to cancel performances by the Israeli group Jerusalem Quartet amid concerns about anti-Israel protests taking place at the venue and around the city.
The Jerusalem Quartet was originally scheduled to perform at the Concertgebouw on Thursday and Saturday. The first show was cancelled, but Saturday’s show will take place inside the venue’s Recital Hall with “tightened security measures, adjusted visitor flow, and an adjusted start time,” the concert hall announced on Thursday. The in-person concert is sold out but will be available via livestream on the Concertgebouw’s website.
“The earlier decision to reschedule the planned concerts has been met with understanding as well as disapproval,” the Concertgebouw acknowledged, after organizers were called “cowards” and accused of capitulating to “bullying and terrorism” for its “shameful” decision on Tuesday to cancel performances by the Jerusalem Quartet.
“Every concert must be able to go ahead,” said the venue’s General Manager, Simon Reinink. “The Concertgebouw fully supports its mission to connect and enrich everyone with sublime music, regardless of background, religion, culture, or any distinction. We must continue to stand up for the free society we want to be. Every day.”
The Concertgebouw originally cancelled the Jerusalem Quartet’s two concerts because it said it could not guarantee the safety of the venue’s employees, visitors, and musicians while multiple anti-Israel demonstrations were set to take place in the area. Reinink said social media users also urged the public to demonstrate at the Concertgebouw and the music hall received “a flood of messages” from people who opposed the Jerusalem Quartet’s appearance at the venue, likely due to the Israel-Hamas war.
On Thursday, the venue further elaborated on its original decision to cancel the shows.
“A particular factor was that concerts were scheduled simultaneously in the Main Hall and Recital Hall; with so many visitors, the security situation could have become precarious if disturbances had occurred,” said the Concertgebouw. “The recent demonstrations in and around the University of Amsterdam were the direct and only reason to take this decision. The Concertgebouw felt the risk was too great. This decision was taken solely on the basis of our concerns for the safety of all those involved. With the extra security measures now in place, and changes to the start time and visitor flow, we are able to let the concert on May 18 go ahead.”
The Jerusalem Quartet shared news about the restoration of Saturday’s concert on its Instagram page, and thanked “all the people who supported us and helped make this happen.” They also commented on the original cancellation of their shows, saying that “due to violence in the streets, and threats to the Concertgebouw, ours were the only concerts cancelled, which evokes memories of darker times for Jewish artists in Europe.”
“Our quartet has a decades-long relationship with Concertgebouw, and we have a loyal and committed audience in The Netherlands,” added the string quartet, which is comprised of two violinists, a cellist and a violist. “We will not allow this bond to be broken and want to assure our audiences that we will continue to perform and share our music with them.”
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UN Security Council Meets on Iran as Russia, China Push for a Ceasefire
Members of the Security Council cast a vote during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the 3rd anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at UN headquarters in New York, US, Feb. 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/David Dee Delgado
The U.N. Security Council met on Sunday to discuss US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites as Russia, China and Pakistan proposed the 15-member body adopt a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East.
It was not immediately clear when it could be put to a vote. The three countries circulated the draft text, said diplomats, and asked members to share their comments by Monday evening. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, France, Britain, Russia or China to pass.
The US is likely to oppose the draft resolution, seen by Reuters, which also condemns attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites and facilities. The text does not name the United States or Israel.
“The bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States marks a perilous turn in a region that is already reeling,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Sunday. “We now risk descending into a rathole of retaliation after retaliation.”
“We must act – immediately and decisively – to halt the fighting and return to serious, sustained negotiations on the Iran nuclear program,” Guterres said.
The world awaited Iran’s response on Sunday after President Donald Trump said the US had “obliterated” Tehran’s key nuclear sites, joining Israel in the biggest Western military action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution.
U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told the Security Council that while craters were visible at Iran’s enrichment site buried into a mountain at Fordow, “no one – including the IAEA – is in a position to assess the underground damage.”
Grossi said entrances to tunnels used for the storage of enriched material appear to have been hit at Iran’s sprawling Isfahan nuclear complex, while the fuel enrichment plant at Natanz has been struck again.
“Iran has informed the IAEA there has been no increase in off-site radiation levels at all three sites,” said Grossi, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran requested the U.N. Security Council meeting, calling on the 15-member body “to address this blatant and unlawful act of aggression, to condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”
Israel‘s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement on Sunday that the U.S. and Israel “do not deserve any condemnation, but rather an expression of appreciation and gratitude for making the world a safer place.”
Danon told reporters before the council meeting that it was still early when it came to assessing the impact of the U.S. strikes. When asked if Israel was pursuing regime change in Iran, Danon said: “That’s for the Iranian people to decide, not for us.”
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Israel Rejects Critical EU Report Ahead of Ministers’ Meeting
FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
Israel has rejected a European Union report saying it may be breaching human rights obligations in Gaza and the West Bank as a “moral and methodological failure,” according to a document seen by Reuters on Sunday.
The note, sent to EU officials ahead of a foreign ministers’ meeting on Monday, said the report by the bloc’s diplomatic service failed to consider Israel’s challenges and was based on inaccurate information.
“The Foreign Ministry of the State of Israel rejects the document … and finds it to be a complete moral and methodological failure,” the note said, adding that it should be dismissed entirely.
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Pope Leo Urges International Diplomacy to Prevent ‘Irreparable Abyss’
FILE PHOTO: Pope Leo XIV holds a Jubilee audience on the occasion of the Jubilee of Sport, at St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican June 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yara Nardi/File Photo
Pope Leo on Sunday said the international community must strive to avoid war that risks opening an “irreparable abyss,” and that diplomacy should take the place of conflict.
US forces struck Iran’s three main nuclear sites overnight, joining an Israeli assault in a major new escalation of conflict in the Middle East as Tehran vowed to defend itself.
“Every member of the international community has a moral responsibility: to stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” Pope Leo said during his weekly prayer with pilgrims.
“No armed victory can compensate for the pain of mothers, the fear of children, the stolen future. Let diplomacy silence the weapons, let nations chart their future with peace efforts, not with violence and bloody conflicts,” he added.
“In this dramatic scenario, which includes Israel and Palestine, the daily suffering of the population, especially in Gaza and other territories, risks being forgotten, where the need for adequate humanitarian support is becoming increasingly urgent,” Pope Leo said.
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