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Minister of State for Culture Roth (at the Leipzig Book Fair): "Protest is one thing, the shouted speech of an invited guest is another"
Photo: Hendrik Schmidt / dpa
After booing against Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth at the Jewish music competition Jewrovision, numerous Jewish celebrities have backed the Green politician in an open letter. "Claudia Roth's political biography unmistakably announces her lifelong commitment against anti-Semitism and racism," it says under the heading "Not in our name" in the letter, which is available to the German Press Agency.
The 50 signatories include Daniel Barenboim, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Daniel Kahn, Barrie Kosky, Igor Levit, Rachel Libeskind, Meron Mendel, Eva Menasse, Jerry Merose, Jerzy Montag, Michael Naumann, Susan Neiman, Miriam Rürup, Sasha Marianna Salzmann, Julius Schoeps, Paula-Irene Villa Braslavsky, Albert Wiederspiel, Mirjam Zadoff and Moshe Zimmermann.
Roth had taken part in the event on Friday last week in Frankfurt am Main at the invitation of the Central Council of Jews in Germany. During her greeting, there were loud protests from individuals in the audience. Among other things, reference was made to the debates about Documenta Fifteen in Kassel, where works were criticized as anti-Semitic in 2022.
"Protest is one thing, the shouted speech of an invited guest is another," says the letter, which was published on Friday. In addition, it is claimed that Roth does not take concerns about anti-Semitism in the cultural sector seriously. "We want to clearly contradict this," say the signatories.
"Without agreeing with everything she does, it is thanks to her, among other things, that the future work of memorials and institutions dealing with the history of National Socialist crimes is secured," the letter reads.
"Insist on civilized, respectful debate"
"Despite all the justified concerns about rising anti-Semitism, which is also fueled in digital media, the Minister of State for Culture and the Media cannot be held responsible for controversial content in an open society." Roth has the difficult task of "keeping an eye on democratic norms and the freedom of art in this area of tension, because art is political, but political intervention in art must be avoided".
Cultural workers need a political environment in which they can work unhindered. "Many Jews are helping to shape the cultural scene in Germany – there must remain a liberal consensus that religious communities have no influence on this." Judaism thrives on polyphony, pluralism and debate.
It was pointed out that more than half of the Jews living in Germany did not belong to any Jewish community, saw themselves as secular or rejected "the particularist policy of the Central Council." But we all need to insist on a civilized, respectful debate, and we can't just demand it from the others," the undersigned celebrities demanded.
feb/dpa