Racism feud engulfs Earth Frequency Festival as Israeli act Infected Mushroom walks

A major electronic music festival has been forced to defend itself against accusations of anti-Semitism following the creation of an ethical policy for performing artists, which was written by a staunchly pro-Palestinian “policy developer”.

Israeli psytrance duo Infected Mushroom to cancel their planned performance at SEQ music festival Earth Frequency Festival.

A major electronic music festival has been forced to defend itself against accusations of anti-Semitism following the creation of an ethical policy for performing artists, which was written by a staunchly pro-Palestinian “policy developer”.

The first iteration of the so-called “ethical artist policy” put forward by organisers of the Earth Frequency Festival prompted Israeli psytrance duo Infected Mushroom to cancel their planned performance after deeming the document divisive.

The policy came after a boycott campaign to remove Infected Mushroom from the line up flooded social media.

EFF, a multi-day dance music event that attracts thousands of attendees a year, is held on the same site as the Woodford Folk Festival in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.

The organisers’ faced significant online backlash after announcing an “ethical artist policy” that rejected “racism, apartheid, or genocide” and was “built on consultation with Palestinian communities, artists and organisers”.

Israeli trance duo Infected Mushroom.

The policy was written by Subhi Awad who also helms the Northern Rivers Friends of Palestine Group.

Mr Awad, after Infected Mushroom pulled out of the festival, described it as a win for the “boycott, divestment and sanctions movement”.

His social media post included information on EFF’s “new policy” and how anyone supporting racism, war crimes or the “Israeli’s government’s genocide in Gaza” would not be platformed.

The duo behind Infected Mushroom, Erez Eisen and Amit Duvdevani, in a statement said they pulled out of their performance because EFF “chose to bring politic into a dance festival environment influenced by political agenda and driven by social media vitriol, hate and racial division that ultimately has divided the community and some of our fans”.

EFF’s policy document has since been edited a number of times, and now makes clear it opposes all forms of racism and oppression including anti-Semitism.

The backlash against EFF from the Jewish community follows controversy in the UK, where punk duo Bob Vylan led an onstage chant of “death to the IDF” at the Glastonbury Festival.

Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies President Jason Steinberg said Israeli-Jewish community members no longer felt safe attending EFF.

“The Queensland Jewish Community appreciates that the Earth Frequency Festival organisers have now attempted to focus their event on peace,” he said.

“However, significant damage has been done and we remain deeply concerned about the falsehoods, lies, and the hijacking of a political agenda that now persist within the festival culture, making it unsafe for our community.”

Jason Steinberg, the president of The Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies. Picture: Liam Kidston

Festival organiser Paul Abad in a statement to The Courier-Mail said they did not intend for the policy to be a “broader judgement on the conflict” and at the time felt “unnecessary” to consult with the Isreali-Jewish community.

Mr Abad had consulted Mr Awad on the policy as a result of the boycott campaign against Infected Mushroom and conceded the policy should have been separated from the response to the campaign.

“The boycott campaign we were responding to was not about potential offence (or) disrespect to the Israeli/Jewish community, however giving a voice to this perspective has clearly been seen as one-sided and this has been a learning experience for our team,” Mr Abad said.

“We have decided to refine the Platforming Responsibility and Inclusivity statement back to its core, as an important communication solely from the festival’s perspective due to the shifting optics and reframing of our initial position to being presented as a win for the BDS movement after Infected Mushroom pulled out of the festival.

“Earth Frequency did not cancel the booking, we applied due process. It was not a win for BDS - it was a clear illustration of how challenging it is to communicate simple policies and ideas in emotionally charged topics, and how social media facilitates misinformation.”

In a letter to festival organiser Paul Abad, the Israeli-Jewish community called the process “one-sided”.

“The Jewish community — and especially Israelis — have been unfairly singled out and made to feel unwelcome on the basis of their nationality and perceived association with the State of Israel,” the statement read.

Mr Awad said EFF’s ethical policy was aimed at creating a safe space for those who don’t support human rights abuses.

“We don’t condone anybody being excluded, unless they materially or culturally support the worst kind of human rights in the world,” he said.

The festival has since revised its position, banning political flags and protests at the October event.

“As an organisation, we are big enough to take our platforming responsibility seriously, but we are also humble enough to recognise when we don’t quite hit the mark or when our message hasn’t landed as we intended,” the statement read.

“Earth Frequency Festival stands for unity and everyone is welcome.”

Mr Abad was contacted for comment.

Originally published as Racism feud engulfs Earth Frequency Festival as Israeli act Infected Mushroom walks