2024-03-04 15:55:35
At the Berlinale on Saturday there were several speeches critical of Israel, some of which did not address the attack by the terrorist organization Hamas. Now those affected and politicians are demanding consequences.
Anti-Israel statements at the Berlinale awards ceremony have sparked massive criticism – and calls for consequences. The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, complained in the “Bild” newspaper on Monday “applause for hatred of Israel” and called for consequences for cultural funding. The federal government’s anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, told the Funke newspapers: “The Berlinale emerges from this evening damaged.”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) also called for clarification. The Chancellor shares the view that “such a one-sided positioning cannot be allowed to stand,” said deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann in Berlin. Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens) announced that the event would be examined.
At the Berlinale awards ceremony on Saturday evening, several speeches that were sharply critical of Israel were given. The filmmaker Ben Russell went on stage with a Palestinian scarf and made allegations of genocide because of Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. Applause came from the audience. You can read more about the incident here.
Schuster expects clear positioning and consequences
The anti-Semitism commissioner Klein said: “Ben Russell and others have abused their right to hospitality with their anti-Israel statements.” Anyone who accuses Israel of genocide is acting “clearly anti-Semitic because they demonize Israel, apply double standards and thereby accuse the Jewish state of all things of genocide like the Shoah,” emphasized Klein in the Funke newspapers.
Genocide would mean “the Israeli army attacking to kill Palestinians – simply because of the fact that they are Palestinians,” Klein said. The fact, however, is that Israel is defending itself after the terrorist attack by Hamas. Klein criticized the fact that the Hamas attack was not mentioned in the speeches.
Central Council President Schuster said: “Incitement against Israel and Jews at German cultural events has become a frightening regularity.” He expects “finally clear positions and consequences for cultural funding from those responsible for politics.”
Söder calls on Roth to take consequences
The Berlinale is supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the State of Berlin. Commissioner Roth announced on Monday that she, together with Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU), “wants to work through these events and talk to the new director.” Roth sees the statements at the award ceremony as “shockingly one-sided and characterized by hatred of Israel.”
Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) called on Roth to take action when subsidizing cultural projects. It also needs to be clarified who receives subsidies and tax money, said Söder in Munich. As a result of the incident, the German film industry received “a serious anti-Semitic blow”.
The deputy parliamentary group leader of the FDP in the Bundestag, Gyde Jensen, sees the Berlinale as permanently compromised. “A comprehensive review will not be enough,” explained Jensen. “The Berlinale has been permanently damaged. A film festival at which open anti-Semitism is applauded is no longer internationally acceptable.”
Volker Beck calls for a concept against anti-Semitism in the cultural sector
The President of the German-Israeli Society and former Green MP Volker Beck called on Minister of State for Culture Roth to present a concept against anti-Semitism in the cultural sector. “It is time to clarify in the funding law that no federal money will be made available for anti-Semitic concepts,” Beck told “Stern”. Since the Kassel art exhibition Documenta, at which there was also an anti-Semitism scandal, there has been a lack of a “cultural policy concept to address anti-Semitism in the cultural sector.”
There were also allegations against the Palestinian filmmaker Basel Adra, whose film “No Other Land” received the Panorama Audience Award in the documentary film category. According to reports, Adra opposed German arms deliveries to Israel. His film deals with the expulsion of Palestinians from villages in the West Bank by the Israeli army.
FDP politician Jensen criticized the award for Adra. “There should be no illusions: if a pro-Palestinian film wins an award today, it will fuel resentment against Israel tomorrow.”