French and Israeli Musicians Forge Dialogue Amidst Boycott Calls
The first Franco-Israeli Musical Encounters will take place in Israel from October 4 to 13, 2026, bringing together seven young French musicians with their Israeli counterparts. The ten-day event aims to foster dialogue through shared rehearsals, concerts, and cultural exploration across Israel, from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and Kfar Blum in the north. Project initiator Marc Maidenberg believes artistic creation can bridge political divides, especially following the "terrible thunderclap" of October 7, 2023.
The initiative was spurred by a controversy in November 2025 surrounding the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra's concert in Paris. Calls for cancellation or "contextualization," amplified by media outlets and unions, prompted Maidenberg and David Verdier to launch a public appeal against the boycott. Their open letter to the Philharmonie de Paris director argued against conflating artists with government policy and defended creative freedom. The appeal garnered over 22,000 signatures within 48 hours, but the concert, though ultimately held, was disrupted by smoke bombs.
Following the Paris incident, Maidenberg noted a difficult climate for Israel-related discussions in some European music institutions. This led him to conceive the musical encounters as a direct response to the attempted boycott. The program will involve young French musicians, many from the Paris Conservatory, collaborating with Israeli artists on a repertoire of French and Israeli works.
Four renowned mentors, Pierre Génisson, Régis Pasquier, Michal Korman, and Yoni Gertner, will guide the young musicians. The program includes daily rehearsals at the Israeli Conservatory of Music in Tel Aviv, alongside afternoon excursions to understand Israel's diverse realities. Participants will visit sites impacted by the October 7 attacks, including Nir Oz kibbutz and the Nova festival area, and explore Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, engaging with local communities.
The culmination of the encounters will be three public concerts: on October 8 in Tel Aviv, October 9 in Jerusalem (broadcast live on radio), and October 12 in Kfar Blum. Maidenberg emphasizes that the project does not aim to resolve political disagreements but to create a space for young artists to connect, learn, and discover through music, asserting that "no peace will be born from the silence imposed on artists."
