Arizona
Matisyahu: Head of Arizona concert venue 'deeply saddened and offended' over antisemitism accusations
PHOENIX – The head of a concert venue in Tucson has issued another statement amid ongoing controversy over the cancellation of a concert by Jewish-American singer Matisyahu on Feb. 15.
We first reported on the cancellation on Thursday, which happened hours before the concert was set to begin. The singer later posted a statement on his social media pages in response to not only the cancellation in Tucson, but a cancellation at another venue in New Mexico.
In the statement, Matisyahu appeared to blame antisemitism as a factor in the two show’s cancelling.
“They do this 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,” Matisyahu wrote, in part.
In her initial statement, the Executive Director of The Rialto Theatre in Tucson, Cathy Rivers, denied that the decision to cancel the concert was not due to politics or religion.
“This decision was made based on safety. The temperature of the day changed, and the tone was not set by us,” read a portion of Rivers’ initial statement.
Head of venue reveals additional details surrounding cancellation
On Feb. 16, Rivers issued a lengthy statement detailing the cancellation.
In the statement, Rivers said “as a member of the Jewish community myself, a female business leader, and a longstanding community partner in Tucson, I am deeply saddened and offended by the public’s accusations of antisemitism as the cause for the Matisyahu concert cancellation.”
Rivers also delved into the circumstances surrounding the cancellation, stating that the venue was made aware of security concerns by Matiayahu’s team on Feb. 12. ahead of the scheduled show in New Mexico that was ultimately canceled.
“With security being a concern for the tour amid online threats of protests from his detractors, The Rialto opted to increase staff security for the concert and the Tucson Police Department was alerted,” read a portion of the statement.
Initially, the venue announced that the Feb. 15 concert would go on as scheduled, but Rivers wrote that staff members later started to call out of work over security worries, and that a local, private security firm had notified the venue that they were contacted by Matisyahu’s team for additional security, and requested to bring firearms.
The venue, according to Rivers, has a “longstanding policy of prohibiting all firearms on our campus.”
“It was at that time that we re-evaluated the risk that this performance would have on Matisyahu, our staff, and our customers for this all-ages concert. Short staffed and with an amplified sense
that the artist himself did not feel safe enough to perform at our venue, we decided that the temperature of the situation had changed drastically enough to warrant calling for the show to be canceled,” read a part of Rivers’ statement.
Rivers said staff members were paid for the hours that they would have worked, and Matisyahu was also paid in full for his would-be performance.
“There was no intention to distance or unalign ourselves with Matisyahu as a performer. This was not done to hurt the artist who we have happily hosted for 13 previous years,” read a part of the statement.
Rivers also said it is “heartbreaking” for her to learn that her decision to “de-escalate a perceived security risk to a performer, our staff, and our customers was met with vitriol by our own community.”
“I see now that I should have been more forthcoming in The Rialto’s initial statement to the community and our ticket holders prior to the Matisyahu concert cancellation. This is a learning experience for us all. I came to understand that our customers and community need to hear the complete story,” Rivers wrote.
Matiayahu has had concert cancellation controversy in the past
Matisyahu, in a photo taken in 2024. (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images)
This is not the first time a Matiayahu concert cancellation has sparked controversy.
In 2015, the Associated Press reported that organizers of an international reggae festival in Spain canceled a Matiayahu concert, because the singer declined “to declare himself regarding the war and in particular the right of the Palestinian people to have their own state.”
Matiayahu, whose real name is Matthew Miller, responded by stating that the decision was “appalling,” and said organizers of the festival were pressured by the pro-Palestinian group and wanted him “to write a letter, or make a video, stating my positions on Zionism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to pacify the [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement] people.”
“I support peace and compassion for all people. My music speaks for itself, and I do not insert politics into my music,” the singer wrote at the time, while questioning whether other festival artists had faced similar demands.
The Rolling Stone later reported that Matisyahu was re-invited to the music festival after the cancellation decision was criticized by the Spanish Foreign Ministry.
The full statement from Cathy Rivers
As the Executive Director of the Rialto Theatre, I made the extraordinarily hard decision to cancel a beloved performer’s concert hours before showtime. I am writing this letter to all who
have called for more information about the cancellation of the Matisyahu concert on February 15, 2024 at the Rialto Theatre in Tucson.
As a member of the Jewish community myself, a female business leader, and a longstanding community partner in Tucson, I am deeply saddened and offended by the public’s accusations
of antisemitism as the cause for the Matisyahu concert cancellation. This would have been Matisyahu’s eighth performance at the Rialto Theatre since 2009. The Rialto was made aware that Matis’ team had security concerns as early as Monday ahead of his Meow Wolf show in Santa Fe. With security being a concern for the tour amid online threats of protests from his detractors, The Rialto opted to increase staff security for the concert and the Tucson Police Department was alerted. We released a statement saying that the show would go on as planned on Thursday morning via social media.
Staff members began to call out of work for the concert citing their own safety concerns. We simultaneously received a call from a local private security firm informing us that they had been
contacted by Matisyahu’s people for additional security. They requested to bring firearms. The Rialto Theatre has a longstanding policy of prohibiting all firearms on our campus.
It was at that time that we re-evaluated the risk that this performance would have on Matisyahu, our staff, and our customers for this all-ages concert. Short staffed and with an amplified sense
that the artist himself did not feel safe enough to perform at our venue, we decided that the temperature of the situation had changed drastically enough to warrant calling for the show to be canceled.
Matisyahu’s team was concerned enough to seek armed security out of concern for his family’s safety. I opted to do the same for my Rialto family.
Our staff was paid for the hours they would have worked for the performance. Matisyahu was paid in full for his performance as well without hesitation, question, or argument on our part. There was no intention to distance or unalign ourselves with Matisyahu as a performer. This was not done to hurt the artist who we have happily hosted for 13 previous years.
The tarnish to The Rialto’s Theatre’s 104-year outstanding reputation as a safe, inclusive, community-driven space for all cannot be overemphasized. This business is built on relationships with performers, agents, and community. To learn that my decision to de-escalate a perceived security risk to a performer, our staff, and our customers was met with vitriol by our own community is heartbreaking.
I see now that I should have been more forthcoming in The Rialto’s initial statement to the community and our ticket holders prior to the Matisyahu concert cancellation. This is a learning experience for us all. I came to understand that our customers and community need to hear the complete story. I hope that I provided the Tucson community and all of our partners around the country and the world with what they have called for.
Arizona
Harkins Theatres invites Sun Devil fans to watch Peach Bowl
Can’t make the trip to Atlanta for Arizona State football’s Peach Bowl matchup versus Texas? Harkins Theatres has you covered.
The Valley-owned theatre is inviting Sun Devil fans to watch the Peach Bowl live on the big screen at two locations: Harkins Tempe Marketplace and Camelview at Scottsdale Fashion Square.
Fans can show off their Sun Devil pride and experience the “ultimate gameday setting” with tickets for $22 that include a complimentary small popcorn.
Kickoff is at 11 a.m. on Jan. 1. A win over Texas would propel Arizona State into the College Football semifinals, where it’ll play the winner of Oregon-Ohio State.
Fans can get their tickets on Harkins’ website or in person at the Camelview at Scottsdale Fashion Square or Tempe Marketplace box offices.
Sun Devils grateful for support
Arizona State getting into the College Football Playoff, or even winning the Big 12 alone, was unprecedented.
The Sun Devils are the talk of the Valley right now, and whether it’s from those traveling across the country to watch in person or cheering from home in the Valley, the team is thankful for all the support they’re getting.
“I’m grateful and blessed to be in the corner that (Sun Devil fans) want to be supporting,” Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo said. “I know what it costs and what it takes to get there. It’s nice to have those people that try their hardest to get there and could be spending every dollar in their bank account to get there.”
Arizona
‘We are united’: how Arizona’s attorney general plans to manage border chaos
Kris Mayes, the attorney general of Arizona, has vowed to fight the incoming Trump administration over key aspects of its immigration policy, including any attempt to set up deportation camps on Arizonan soil or remove thousands of migrant “dreamers” who came to the US as children.
In an interview with the Guardian, Mayes said that any move by Donald Trump in his second presidential term to unpick the rights of dreamers to remain and work in the US would be a “bright red line for me. I will not stand for an attempt to deport them, or undermine them.”
Arizona, a critical border state that will be on the frontline of the struggle over Trump’s plans for mass deportations, has more than 30,000 dreamers, undocumented migrants who entered the US unlawfully as children but who were afforded rights under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca). The program was introduced by Barack Obama in 2012 but has been under relentless attack by Republicans ever since.
“I definitely will be fighting on behalf of dreamers,” Mayes said. “These folks are firefighters, police officers, teachers – they are part of the very fabric of our state and we will protect them.”
Trump tried to scrap Daca protections during his first presidency and was only stopped by a narrow ruling from the US supreme court. He recently softened his position, telling NBC News that he wanted to find a way to allow dreamers to stay in the country, though his apparent U-turn has left many skeptical of his intentions.
The Daca program is already being challenged by Republican states in a lawsuit that is currently before the ultra-conservative fifth circuit court of appeals. The case is almost certain to reach the supreme court, which has a six-to-three supermajority of rightwing justices.
Despite the hurdles facing dreamers, Mayes said she remains optimistic.
“I think the supreme court will ultimately see the merits of protecting them. We want to give the courts the opportunity to make the right decision here, and we’ll be making very strong arguments on that proposition,” she said.
Arizona’s attorney general also had strong words about any attempt by Trump to construct detention camps in her state as part of his plans to mass-deport millions of undocumented immigrants. She said her army of lawyers were also primed to push back on any move to renew family separation, the policy under which thousands of children were taken away from their parents at the Mexican border as part of a “zero tolerance” strategy.
“If Trump tries to engage in family separation, or build mass deportation camps, I will do everything I can legally to fight that. That is not happening in Arizona, not on our soil,” she said.
Mayes added that family separation – which has left up to 1,000 families still rent apart six years later – was “fundamentally anathema to who Arizonans are”.
Mayes and her team have been preparing for months for the anticipated whirlwind of activity as soon as Trump re-enters the White House on 20 January. They have “scoured”, as she put it, Project 2025, the rightwing playbook for a Trump second term compiled by the Heritage Foundation.
She has also been working closely with other Democratic state attorneys general, noting that between them they filed more than 100 lawsuits during Trump’s first presidency, winning 80% of them.
“One of our strengths is that we are doing this very much together, we are united and we are organized,” Mayes said.
The importance of cross-state cooperation is likely to be all the more critical over border issues.
Mayes said that she was working with her Democratic counterparts Rob Bonta of California and Raúl Torrez of New Mexico – with only the Republican attorney general of Texas, Ken Paxton, taking a very different, anti-immigrant approach.
“Three of the four border states have attorneys general in Democratic hands and we are going to fight for due process and for individual rights,” she explained.
A complicating factor is Proposition 314, the ballot measure passed in Arizona in November with a resounding 63% of the vote. It allows state police to arrest any undocumented person who crosses into the US other than at legal ports of entry.
Mayes said that the decision would not deter her from resisting Trump’s unconstitutional moves.
“Proposition 314 tells us that Arizonans are fed up with a dysfunctional border,” she said.
“We are facing a serious fentanyl crisis in our state, and there’s no doubt that Arizonans want our border addressed. But when Arizonans voted for Donald Trump they did not vote to shred the Arizona and US constitution – I strongly believe that.”
What was needed at the border was more federal resources to increase border patrol boots on the ground, boost the interception of fentanyl, and enhance prosecution of drug cartels. What was not needed, Mayes insisted, was Trump’s threatened plan to send in the national guard and even the US military to act as a souped-up deportation force.
“There’s nothing more unAmerican than using the military against Americans,” she said. “It’s clearly unconstitutional, and it’s not something Arizonans want to see.”
Since being elected to the position of Arizona’s top law enforcement officer in 2022, Mayes has established herself as a rising star in the Democratic party capable of negotiating the at times fraught politics of a border state. Her most high-profile act came in April when she indicted 18 people including Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani and former chief of staff Mark Meadows for participating in the 2020 “fake electors” conspiracy.
A similar prosecution of fake electors in Georgia was recently upended after an appeals court disqualified the Atlanta prosecutor in charge of the case, Fani Willis.
Mayes told the Guardian that despite Trump’s victory in November, she had no intention of dropping the fake electors case. “These indictments were handed down by a state grand jury, and you don’t do justice by popular vote. The case is in the courts now, and that’s where it’s going to stay until it’s over.”
Such a prominent prosecution could place her in the crosshairs of Kash Patel, Trump’s pick for director of the FBI. Should Patel be confirmed for the job by the US Senate, he has made it clear he will pursue revenge investigations against those deemed to be Trump’s enemies.
Mayes didn’t want to discuss Patel’s nomination. But she did say: “I’m not afraid of anyone. I’m going to do my job, uphold the law and protect Arizonans. I’m going to do it no matter who is at the helm of the FBI.”
Arizona
Miami Heat convert former Arizona forward Keshad Johnson to two-year contract
Christmas arrived a day early for Keshad Johnson.
The Arizona Wildcats alum has secured a two-year contract with the Miami Heat after beginning the season on a two-way contract. Shams Charania of ESPN was first to report the contract conversion.
Johnson made two appearances for the Heat this month but otherwise has played with the organization’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
He averaged 21.2 points and 8.3 rebounds in the G League. Johnson helped lead the Skyforce to the G League Winter Showcase championship game over the weekend.
Johnson went undrafted after a standout redshirt senior season at Arizona where he averaged 11.5 points and 5.9 rebounds. Johnson played his first four collegiate seasons at San Diego State.
Johnson’s promotion to the Heat means he’ll be teaming up with Pelle Larsson. Miami is one of two NBA teams to feature a pair of Arizona players, joining the Indiana Pacers (Bennedict Mathurin and T.J. McConnell).
The last time two former Arizona teammates played together in the NBA was 2019-20, when Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson were on the Toronto Raptors.
Before that was the 2018-19 season, when Kadeem Allen and Allonzo Trier suited up for the Knicks.
Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill shared a front court with the Houston Rockets across parts of three seasons (2009-12).
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