Münchner Kunstakademie cancels event with Nicolás Jaar following his criticism of Israeli occupation forces and the White House

On October 15, 2023, Münchner Kunstakademie canceled a workshop presentation by Chilean-American composer Nicolás Jaar. The decision came in response to Jaar's Instagram story on October 8th, where he criticized the history of Israeli aggression towards Palestinians. The canceled event was supposed to present the outcomes of the sound workshop “The Middle Ear” that Jaar had conducted earlier that summer.
In his Instagram story, Jaar reacted to a statement by an NSC spokesperson who condemned the “unprovoked attacks by Hamas terrorists” and expressed full solidarity with Israel. Jaar's highlighted Instagram story reads: “Unprovoked? Since 1st January 2023: more than 220 Palestinians murdered by the Israeli Occupation forces, more than 8,000 Palestinians injured, more than 700 Palestinian’s homes and structures demolished, more than 1,000 Palestinians displaced. Imagine if we continue this list back to 1948. This is the outcome of direct provocation, also by the same White House which has funded decades of Israeli terror.”

Following Jaar's Instagram post, Ruscha V., one of the students from the workshop, distanced herself from Jaar, while others sought to proceed with the presentation. However, Ruscha V. reported Jaar's post to the academy president, resulting in the cancellation of the event. Süddeutsche Zeitung covered the incident, publishing a statement from the academy president: "Due to the current situation and in consideration of the many different nationalities of the students, it was decided not to hold this event."

Nicolás Jaar, whose parents come from families that emigrated from Bethlehem at the beginning of the last century, has advocated for Palestine throughout his career. Initially, Süddeutsche Zeitung accused Jaar of making a pro-Hamas statement, but after he clarified that his post was a critique of the White House press secretary's statement, not an endorsement of Hamas or their actions, the article was corrected.