One-sided statements critical of Israel at the Berlinale sparked criticism. Israel’s Ambassador Prosor said the “lesson from Documenta” had not been understood. Minister of State for Culture Roth announced an investigation.
After filmmakers made critical statements about Israel at the Berlinale awards ceremony, Israel’s ambassador made strong accusations against the German cultural scene. “Anti-Semitic and anti-Israel statements” were met with thunderous applause, wrote Ron Prosor on the X platform late Sunday evening.
It seems that the “lesson from the Documenta has not been understood,” said Prosor. “Under the guise of freedom of speech and art, anti-Semitic and anti-Israel rhetoric is celebrated.” The German cultural scene is rolling out the red carpet “exclusively for artists” who are committed to “delegitimizing Israel.”
The Central Council of Jews wrote on Sunday evening on With this, the Central Council is probably alluding to the past documenta fifteen in 2022, which was overshadowed by the handling of art that was criticized as anti-Semitic.
“Incitement against Israel and Jews at German cultural events has become a frightening regularity,” Central Council President Josef Schuster told “Bild”. “Once again, many politically responsible people are cowering at the Berlinale and don’t have the courage to stand up for hatred of Israel in the face of applause.”
Roth announces investigation
Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth announced an investigation into the incidents. “Together with the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner, and the Berlin Senate, who share responsibility for the Berlinale with us, we will now deal with the events at the Bear Awards,” said the Green politician. It should be examined whether the Berlinale has lived up to its claim to be a place for diversity, different perspectives and dialogue or not.
Roth also wants to clarify “how it can be ensured in the future that the Berlinale is a place that is free from hatred, agitation, anti-Semitism, racism, anti-Muslim sentiment and any form of misanthropy.” “The statements at the Berlinale Bear Awards on Saturday evening were shockingly one-sided and characterized by a deep hatred of Israel,” Roth continued.
One-sided accusations against Israel
This year’s Berlinale was particularly marked by political debates. At the opening gala, some filmmakers called for an end to the fighting in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. At the awards ceremony on Saturday, several people on stage carried notes with the inscription “Ceasefire Now” – protesting for an end to Israel’s military actions against the terrorist organization Hamas in Gaza.
What was particularly noticeable was that those involved on stage made one-sided accusations against Israel without mentioning the terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas on October 7, 2023. Among other things, there was talk of “apartheid” or “genocide”.
“Berlin has a clear stance”
The statements provoked widespread criticism in politics. “Berlin has a clear stance when it comes to defending freedom. This also means that Berlin is firmly on Israel’s side. There is no doubt about that,” wrote Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner rbb upon request. “The full responsibility for the deep suffering in Israel and the Gaza Strip lies with Hamas. It is within their power to end this suffering by releasing all hostages and laying down their weapons. There is no room for relativization here,” he said the CDU politician.
“Perpetrator-victim reversal” and “anti-Israel Propaganda”
Sharp criticism also came from Green Party member of the Bundestag Konstantin von Notz after filmmaker Ben Russell spoke of “genocide” in connection with the Gaza war. “It’s simply disgusting and a perfidious perpetrator-victim reversal. Such performances are unbearable,” von Notz wrote on X.
Berlin’s Senator for Culture Joe Chialo also found clear words: “Culture should offer space for diverse political expressions of opinion, but this year’s Berlinale awards ceremony was characterized by self-righteous anti-Israel propaganda that does not belong on the stages in Berlin,” wrote the CDU politician at X. It is to be hoped that the festival management will deal with the incidents consistently.
“I am ashamed that people in my country are celebrating genocide accusations against Israel instead of living up to the mandate of the German genocide and expressing this,” said the cultural and media policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, Helge Lindh, in the “Welt” .
Berlinale distances itself
The Berlinale distanced itself from the prize winners’ statements. These are “independent individual opinions,” said a spokeswoman for the dpa news agency. “They do not reflect the attitude of the festival in any way.” As long as they stayed within the legal limits, they would have to be accepted. At the same time, she also pointed out that expressions of opinion at cultural events could not and should not be fundamentally prevented.
At the beginning of the gala, the co-director of the Berlinale, Mariette Rissenbeek, made it clear that there was no place at the Berlinale for “hate speech, anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim hatred and any form of discrimination.”
Berlinale deletes Instagram post and files criminal charges
An anti-Israel post on the Instagram page of the Panorama section of the Berlinale also caused a stir on Sunday. It was quickly deleted and then circulated as a screenshot on X. One photo showed the slogan “Free Palestine – From the River to the Sea.” The sentence means that there should be a free Palestine in an area from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean – where Israel is now located.
The film festival also distanced itself from this and stated that it had fallen victim to a hacker attack. “The fact that someone is abusing a Berlinale social media channel for anti-Semitic incitement is intolerable,” said the dpa news agency when asked. The posts were immediately deleted and an investigation is underway to determine how the incident could have occurred. “And we have filed a criminal complaint against unknown persons. We condemn this criminal act in the strongest possible terms.”
Sebastian Engelbrecht, BR, tagesschau, February 26, 2024 1:08 p.m