After audience members at a Dave Matthews Band concert in West Palm Beach, Fla., were reportedly heard shouting antisemitic slurs, Matthews used a performance in North Carolina to apologize for any pain his remarks about the war in Gaza may have caused members of the Jewish community.
During the band’s May 30 concert at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Matthews spoke from the stage about Gaza. A Jewish attendee later wrote that some concertgoers responded with antisemitic chants, including, “Yeah, f*** the Jews,” while also using an antisemitic slur.
At the June 5 show at Coastal Credit Union Music Park in Raleigh, N.C., Matthews read a prepared statement addressing the controversy.
“I have a deep respect and love for, all of my life that I can remember, and an admiration for the culture and history of the Jewish people,” Matthews told the crowd. He added that he did not believe “any group of people has contributed more to the advancement and the evolution of understanding of each other and the world around us and the universe.”
Matthews cited Albert Einstein, George Gershwin, Hannah Arendt, Howard Zinn and Anne Frank as examples.
“It breaks my heart that my opinions, borne out of deep commitment to nonviolent resolution and resistance, can be twisted to serve any hateful or racist or bigoted ideas,” he said. “I am so sorry for any misunderstanding or pain I might have caused. My intention is to help bring an end to the seemingly endless violence in the world.”
Matthews said he was attending a friend’s son’s bar mitzvah on Oct. 7, 2023, when news broke of the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel.
“It was interrupted by the horror and the violence on the other side of the world, an ongoing horror,” he said.
“But the violence born out of that day against the Palestinian people is no less horrific and multiplies the death and the suffering over and over and over,” he added.
Matthews has repeatedly criticized Israel’s conduct in Gaza during recent performances and has appeared onstage carrying signs accusing Israel of committing genocide.
Rami Feinstein, a musician who has organized discussion sessions for Jewish Dave Matthews Band fans troubled by the singer’s comments, wrote that the statement fell short.
In a rewritten version of what he thought Matthews should have said, Feinstein stated that a more meaningful apology would have included acknowledgment that describing Israel’s war against Hamas as a genocide is inaccurate. He also said Matthews repeated what he called “antisemitic propaganda,” adding that the singer should have addressed that issue directly.
