Berlinale accused of spreading anti-Semitism

The Berlin film festival finds itself at the center of a controversy, accused of having served as a platform for anti-Semitic statements by directors during the awards ceremony the day before, in connection with Israel's war against Hamas . “Anti-Semitism has no place in Berlin, and this also applies to artists,” denounced the mayor of the German capital, Kai Wegner, on his X account (ex-Twitter). “What happened yesterday at the Berlinale was an unbearable put into perspective,” he added, calling for accountability from the festival management.

The controversy was fueled in particular by positions taken by filmmakers on Saturday evening, during the festival's awards ceremony, accusing Israel of genocide due to the bombings which left nearly 30,000 dead in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.

At the same time, these directors did not mention that the Israeli offensive was triggered by an unprecedented attack carried out in Israel on October 7 by Hamas, which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,160 people, mostly civilians.

This is particularly the case of American filmmaker Ben Russell, who took to the podium wearing a Palestinian scarf and accusing Israel of genocide. Palestinian documentary maker Basel Adra, who won an award for a film on the expulsions of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, also accused Israel of "massacre" the Palestinian population and criticized German arms sales to Israel. Their positions were applauded by the audience in the room.

An official from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic party, Helge Lindh, described the audience's applause on Saturday as "shocking." “I am ashamed to see that in my country people today applaud accusations of genocide against Israel,” she told the daily Die Welt. The Berlin Film Festival is mainly financed by the German state. He had not yet reacted to the controversy on Sunday evening. An official of the Greens, who are members of the German coalition government, Konstantin von Notz, also denounced “a shame” and “a perfidious reversal” for Jews “from the status of victims to executioners”.