The event bosses have apologised to the American singer after officials at Spain's foreign ministry went public with their outrage over the decision, which was made after pressure to drop Matisyahu's Saturday set was put on promoters by the pro-Palestine group BDS when he refused to declare his support for a Palestinian state.

A spokesman for the foreign ministry says, "Imposing a public declaration (from Matisyahu) puts into question the principles of non-discrimination on which all plural and diverse societies are based."

Festival bosses have accepted they made a mistake and released a statement on Wednesday (19Aug15) offering the reggae star his original slot.

It reads: "Rototom Sunsplash rejects anti-Semitism and any form of discrimination towards the Jewish community; we respect both their culture as religious beliefs and we sincerely apologise for what has occurred. Rototom Sunsplash would like to publicly apologise to Matisyahu for having cancelled his concert and invite him to perform at the festival next Saturday 22 August, as was initially programmed in the lineup.

"(We made) a mistake, due to the boycott and the campaign of pressure, coercion and threats employed by the BDS País Valencia because it was perceived that the normal functioning of the festival could be threatened. All of which prevented the organization from reasoning clearly as to how to deal with the situation properly."

It is not clear if Matisyahu will perform at the festival.

Following the cancellation of his set, he told Rolling Stone magazine, "I support peace and compassion for all people. My music speaks for itself, and I do not insert politics into my music. Music has the power to transcend the intellect, ideas and politics, and it can unite people in the process.

"The festival kept insisting that I clarify my personal views, which felt like clear pressure to agree with the BDS political agenda. Honestly it was appalling and offensive, that as the one publicly Jewish-American artist scheduled for the festival, they were trying to coerce me into political statements."