BDS Portugal halts Israeli-linked music festival
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The Anta Gathering music festival in Portugal has been cancelled after a successful BDS Portugal campaign targeting its Israeli-affiliated organizers.
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Post by Anta Gathering, announcing the cancellation of the music festival in Portugal on August 28, 2025. (@Anta.gathering)
Israeli media reported on Friday that the Anta Gathering music festival, organized by an Israeli team and set to take place in Portugal, was cancelled on Thursday evening following a successful BDS Portugal campaign. The announcement came on the very day the festival was scheduled to begin.
The organizers shared the cancellation in a statement expressing their "shock" and "heavy hearts." Despite approval from Portuguese authorities and 24/7 police presence, the event was called off due to mounting pressure from Palestinian solidarity groups.
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The BDS campaign, backed by various pro-Palestine activist groups, had in recent months denounced the festival’s links to "Israel", particularly singling out one of the organizers, Shahar Bickel, over his reported involvement with the Israeli occupation forces (IOF). According to BDS Portugal, Bickel served in the Israeli military’s Sayeret Nahal unit as a reservist since October 2023, during the ongoing war on Gaza.
The movement released a photo of Bickel in military uniform, stating, “Anyone who has served in the Israeli armed forces during the period of genocide, regardless of their location of deployment or position (including logistics or intelligence units), is participating in Israel’s genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people.”
They added, "Portugal will not accept normalization or free movement of those who participated and support colonialism and daily barbarism against Palestinians. They are not welcome."
This development comes amid a broader wave of pro-Palestinian activism in Portugal and across Europe, where public support for the Palestinian cause has intensified in response to "Israel’s" ongoing war on Gaza, now widely described as a genocide by numerous international organizations and human rights groups.
The cancellation of the Anta Gathering adds to a growing list of events, performances, and collaborations facing scrutiny or cancellation due to links with the Israeli occupation.
On a related note, last month, Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel reaffirmed his country's openness to recognizing the State of Palestine following France's announcement that it will become the first G7 nation to officially recognize Palestine in September 2025.
"Lisbon has shown openness and will remain open to recognizing a Palestinian state," Rangel told reporters on July 26, while emphasizing Portugal's preference for coordinated rather than unilateral action.
He underscored that Portugal is "a sovereign country and its policy is not defined by other states," yet it remains "always coordinated with its partners" in pursuing what he described as "a shared path" with allies on Palestinian statehood.
