German political class denounces statements deemed anti-Semitic and unilateral. Reactions illustrate great sensitivity on these questions in Germany, 80 years after the Shoah.
American filmmaker Ben Russell had accused Israel, with a Palestinian scarf on its shoulders, of committing genocide in Gaza. The controversy was also fueled by pro-Palestinian positions on a Berlinale Instagram account that were quickly deleted. These condemnations, however, contrast with the loud applause of the public who attended the closing ceremony of the Berlin Film Festival.