Benicàssim, Spain — The decision to drop Matisyahu from the line-up of an obscure Spanish reggae festival became so controversial that the U.S. government and even Time magazine weighed in on the debate, seemingly unusual decisions concerning a foreign event of which few Americans are aware.

By Wednesday, just before Rototom Sunsplash issued an apology, the World Jewish Congress demanded action from the Spainish Prime Minister and the U.S. Embassy issued a statement calling the decision “troubling,” as reported in the media.

With accusations of anti-Semitism swirling in the decision to cancel the Jewish reggae singer’s performance, it’s important to look deeper into the origins of the controversy in the Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) movement. The decision to boycott Matisyahu, whose real name is Matthew Miller, was not based on his faith but on his direct support for Zionism and the Israeli government.

Miller was due to perform on Saturday at the Rototom Sunsplash Festival, a reggae music event in Benicàssim, north of Valencia, Spain until organizers canceled the appearance under pressure from local BDS activists. Then, just days after news of the announcement first appeared in the media, festival organizers apologized and published a new invitation for Matisyahu to perform as scheduled, according to Al Jazeera America.

The media and advocates for Israel were not kind to the festival organizers during the days between the initial announcement and subsequent apology. On Tuesday, Time magazine published an Op-Ed by Max Webb, Senior Rabbi of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, where he linked the decision to uninvite Matisyahu to “a wave of anti-Semitism” which he fears is “sweeping across Europe.”

Webb echoed many others in the American and Spanish media in writing,

The Jewish-American rapper Matisyahu was recently disinvited from a concert in Spain because he would not sign a statement endorsing a Palestinian state. Matisyahu is not a citizen of Israel. He does not vote in its elections or create its policy. This was not a statement of belief but an unfairness based on the fact that Matisyahu is a Jew.

Matisyahu defended his actions on his Facebook page on Monday, saying that while the local BDS Movement wanted him to sign a letter or make a video clearly stating his positions on Zionism and the Israel-Palestine conflict, he supports “peace and compassion for all people,” before going on to state, “I do not insert politics into my music.” He also suggested he was singled out as an openly Jewish-American performer.

However, Ali Abunimah, an author and co-founder of the Electronic Intifada, a Palestinian news and advocacy site, argued that the BDS Movement targeted Miller not because he’s Jewish, but because of Matisyahu’s vocal support of Israel’s war crimes:

“Miller was vocal in his support for Israel’s attack on the Gaza-bound flotilla in May 2010, which killed 10 people aboard the Mavi Marmara. ‘Whether or not the ships should have been bringing aid to Gaza, those territorial waters belong to Israel – it’s internationally agreed,’ he claimed in an interview with The Jewish Chronicle.”

Matisyahu performed at AIPAC’s 2015 policy conference, a major source of lobbying for continued U.S. foreign aid to Israel, and has denied the historical existence of Palestine, a popular view among Zionists, reported Abunimah. And not only has Miller tweeted out pro-Israel propaganda that attempts to justify illegal West Bank settlements, but his 2012 hit song “Summer,” from his album “Spark Seeker (which was partially recorded in Israel) was also used in a video from Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Abunimah also revealed that Zed Films, which produced this and other propaganda videoes, is also the producer of the official video of “Sunshine.”

Abunimah concluded that,