Following employee safety concerns over planned protests, a concert at Meow Wolf was canceled about an hour before showtime on Wednesday, Feb. 14.Musician Matisyahu was expected to perform in front of a sold-out crowd before the cancelation. Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber released a statement on Thursday, Feb. 15, on the Meow Wolf decision to cancel the event on the same day as the performance. He expressed no tolerance for racism and discrimination in relation to Matisyahu not performing the previous day."There is a significant difference between protesting against 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. "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."Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines from KOAT Action 7 NewsThe event was expected to have both protesters and counter-protesters, which became a safety concern for employees. Several local pro-Palestinian activist groups credited themselves for pressuring Meow Wolf to cancel the event. The pro-Palestinian and union activists claim to have overwhelmed Meow Wolf with social media posts and phone calls.The groups also claim the company phone line was disconnected on Wednesday, Feb. 14. Their advocacy efforts come amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.One of the groups taking credit for the cancelation is the New Mexico Jews for a Free Palestine. Alex McDonough with the coalition said the groups are speaking up against Anti-Palestinian rhetoric."The anti-racist groups in Santa Fe, what we're saying is, 'You can't only defend one person, one group of people,'" McDonough said. "We're against all racism, we're against antisemitism, we're also against anti-Islamic sentiment, anti-Arab sentiment, anti-Palestinian sentiment."In response to the concert cancellation, the Jewish Community Relations Coalition of New Mexico wrote a letter of disagreement to Mayor Webber and Meow Wolf management. Zach Benjamin with the JCRC-NM said the federation is worried this could impact artists coming to New Mexico in the future."Our concern really is setting a precedent in New Mexico, and really specifically Santa Fe for silencing the voices of artists based on their race, religion, national origin or identity," Benjamin said. "This sets a dangerous precedent for depriving New Mexicans of artists' talents and their voices based on factors that are irrelevant to the art themselves."More than 150 staff members are said to have expressed concern over a lack of safety. This led to the event being canceled.KOAT reached out to Meow Wolf regarding the concert cancelation but have not heard back. Additionally, Matisyahu was reached out to, and KOAT has yet to receive a response.Matisyahu released a statement to his audience on Thursday about the Santa Fe concert cancelation, along with his upcoming performance in Arizona:"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 cancelations. Without our permission or approval, the venue in Santa Fe misinformed our fans canceling 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. 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."Stay updated on the latest news updates with the KOAT app. You can download it here.