The Rialto Theatre in Tucson claimed it scrapped the performance over safety concerns.

Jewish singer Matisyahu had two shows canceled over the past week, the musician announced on X Thursday, blaming the staff of the two venues at which he was slated to perform for refusing to work due to his vocal support for Israel in its ongoing war against Hamas.

To my fans: My band and I should have played a sold out show at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe last night and we were excited for tonight's show at the Rialto Theater in Tucson. Instead, the staff at these venues refused to come to work, forcing cancellations, Matisyahu wrote. Without our permission or approval, the venue in Santa Fe misinformed our fans cancelling the show due to 'security concerns,' when the only concern was a group of staff unwilling to work my show. Tonight in Tucson, we have offered to supplement their staff shortages on our own dime, but to no avail."

He continued, saying the staff refused to come into work "because they are either anti-Semitic or have confused their empathy for the Palestinian people with hatred for someone like me who holds empathy for both Israelis and Palestinians."

The Rialto announced the cancelation of the show on Facebook Thursday, saying that "due to safety concerns and staff shortage, the Rialto Theatre is unable to continue with tonight's Matisyahu performance for February 15, 2024" and that it "will always prioritize the safety of our employees and our guests."

Local television station KOAT reported that the performance at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe was canceled only an hour before showtime after employees expressed concern over protests planned for Matisyahu's appearance. Santa Fe's mayor, Alan Webber, issued a statement Thursday about the cancelation, saying "there is a significant difference between protesting the policies of the Netanyahu government in Gaza and shutting down the performance of a Jewish-American artist in Santa Fe."

"There's no excuse for antisemitism, Islamophobia, bigotry, bias, racism, or intolerance, not here, not now, not ever," Webber wrote. "The war in Israel and Gaza is a humanitarian tragedy, and we should all join in the call for the safe return of all hostages and an end to the killing. We need to see peace in the Middle East."

National Review reached out to both Meow Wolf and the Rialto for comment but had not heard from either at press time.

The Matisyahu concerts are not the first instances of venues canceling engagements over employees refusing to work an event featuring a pro-Israel performer or speaker. The Apollo Theatre in London canceled a fundraiser for Israel Defense Forces service members hosted by British journalist Douglas Murray after employees received threatening emails and declined to staff the benefit.

Murray posted on X after the change in venue was announced that "We have arrived at the point where theatres in London no longer feel safe to support free speech – or at least not when the subject is about Jews or Israel," and that "when even the threat of a threat is enough to cause such fear amongst staff members that they refuse to show up to work, we all have a very big problem."

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Zach Kessel is a William F. Buckley Jr. Fellow in Political Journalism and a recent graduate of Northwestern University.