The Australian Hellenic Choir denied that antisemitism influenced the cancellation of a Bondi Beach Massacre victims benefit choir performance, according to a Wednesday statement, but was instead due to conflicts with other events.
The June 28 Concert for Hope and Unity collaborative event with the Hellenic Choir and the Sydney Jewish Choral Society was reported canceled on Monday by The Australian, but the former musical company rejected reports that indicated that antisemitism informed the decision.
“Recent media coverage has inaccurately suggested that members of the Australian Hellenic Choir are antisemitic. This is not true! The Choir stands for inclusivity, respect, and cultural exchange. Antisemitism, or any other form of discrimination, has no place in our organization,” the Hellenic Choir management committee said on its website. “Antisemitism had no place in this decision whatsoever!”
The Hellenic Choir explained that it did not refuse to sing with the Jewish Society, but that the end of June date was too close to a concert at the end of May that the Hellenic Choir had been rehearsing. According to the choir’s event page, on May 31, it has a performance celebrating the work of Greek music composer Giorgos Zampetas. The committee reportedly presented the choir members with the proposed event for a discussion.
“As a result, the majority of the choir voted against participating due to time constraints,” said the Hellenic Choir.
Hellenic Choir president James Tsolakis had proposed the collaborative concert in the wake of the December Bondi Beach terrorist attack that saw 15 murdered, according to Jewish Choral Society chairperson Anne Spira. Tsolakis had the idea to raise funds for the victims and survivors of the massacre. The date and venue at the Sydney Town Hall had already been determined, as had the music – a performance of The Ballad of Mauthausen, in an encore of their joint 2022 concert. The Australian also reported that $15,000 of NSW government funding had been granted two weeks prior.
Tsolakis had told The Australian there was antisemitism in the Greek community, and that the factors that led to withdrawal was the anxiety over antisemitism and political sentiment in Australia.
The Hellenic Choir management committee said that the remarks made in The Australian article were made without the authorization of the committee, and didn’t reflect the values of the musical company. However, the committee did not address claims about concerns over the political climate.
Spira told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that she had not been at the discussion, but that some of the choir members, “evidently, feared for their personal safety and security in case of another terror attack.”
“Like many other Jewish artists in Australia since October 7, 2023, our choir has been canceled,” said Spira. “We have been de-platformed and it is deeply upsetting for us and for the broader Jewish community who have been the target of anti-Jewish racism in Australia for two and a half years.”
Collaborative concert to perform Holocaust musical work
The musical work, The Ballad of Mauthausen, was written by Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis about the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. Spira said that it was a musical work deeply meaningful to both communities, and that the previous joint performance “was a perfect example of cross-cultural bridge-building and was a great success.”
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies former chief executive and Multicultural NSW former chair Vic Alhadeff, who was set to be the master of ceremonies for the unity concert, said that he was going to provide historical context to a piece of music that had a personal connection. His paternal grandparents were deported from Rhodes and perished at the Auschwitz camp.
“The decision by some choristers to pull the plug on the event was extremely hurtful to the Jewish community and very unfortunate,” said Alhadeff. “That said, the Australian Greek, and Jewish communities have enjoyed a long and collaborative friendship, and our hope is that the two choirs will again share a platform in the near future.”