A popular Charedi musician has praised a London theatre as a beacon to other music venues when it offered to host him after the JC revealed that other London clubs had refused to stage his concerts.
Benny Friedman (right), an American rabbi who is one of the leading artists in the Orthodox pop scene, had spent “months” trying to secure a venue for the London leg of his UK tour in early January but found himself repeatedly snubbed, amid a climate of antisemitism in the arts.
In a video posted online, Friedman, whose best known hits include Today! and I’m a Jew and I’m Proud, said venues declined to participate because the show was “too pro-Israel”.
One venue, The Clapham Grand, initially agreed to host him but abruptly pulled out last week – less than a day after tickets for the show went on sale – citing “security concerns”.
A day after JC reported the story, The Lighthouse in Camberwell, which had reportedly read about the difficulties faced by Friedman, said it would host the concert.
Friedman, who has 65,000 followers on social media, said it was “incredibly fitting” the new venue should be named The Lighthouse, as it “perfectly symbolises the role its playing for the Jewish community across England. We couldn’t be prouder to bring this concert to life despite the challenges we’ve faced.”
Up to 2,800 members of the Chasidic community are expected to attend the January 6 concert, with coaches being organised to the venue from Golders Green and Stamford Hill.
“We are looking forward to an incredible night,” Friedman said.
He is due to perform a second gig in Manchester on January 7, the second UK concert in his global “Am Yisrael Chai” Tour.
Friedman told the JC he was particularly shocked that finding a venue had been so difficult because there had been an “overwhelming” demand for him to perform in London, more than any other city in the world, he said.
Last month east London venue Troxy allegedly accepted, ignored and then declined to host another show organised by Stamford Hill’s Chasidic Jewish community over its “connection to Israel”.
That show, featuring Jewish singer Yaakov Shwekey and organised in support of Kol Boniach, a charity supporting at-risk and needy children in the community, had been due take place in January at the venue. A short segment of the show would be dedicated to “solidarity with Israel”, said the organisers, Jewish Community Council of London (JCC).
JCC said Troxy was both affordable and well located for both the Stamford Hill and Golders Green Orthodox communities. After initially expressing interest in hosting the show, organisers said Troxy then ignored their calls and emails for several weeks.
Eventually, the venue’s manager, Simon Eaton, reportedly informed JCC they would not be accepting the booking due to “the artist’s and event’s connection to Israel”, leaving organisers “shocked and deeply upset”, they said.
Responding to the JC, Eaton did not address allegations that they dropped the show over its “link to Israel”, saying: “An event enquiry was received and responded to, but no event was ever confirmed in our schedule. As an independent venue, we have a small and incredibly busy team so we’re sorry that it took some time to reply to their enquiry.”
ACM Events, which is helping Friedman organise his UK tour, said The Clapham Grand was worried they did not have the necessary security to confront any protests that take place against the pro-Israel show. A spokesman said: “The Clapham Grand expressed willingness to host the event but explained that, due to the high profile of Benny Friedman and potential security risks such as protests, their security team was unable to approve it.”
The team was “particularly frustrated” at the timing of the cancellation, he added, as tickets “were already on sale and fans had begun making plans to attend”.
The concert was announced on Sunday evening. Hundreds of tickets had been sold when The Clapham Grand cancelled it on Monday morning.