The conflict in the Middle East was invited to the Berlinale.

The Berlin film festival found itself at the center of a controversy on Sunday February 25, accused of having served as a platform for anti-Semitic statements by directors, during the awards ceremony the day before, in connection with the 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. “What happened yesterday at the Berlinale constituted an unbearable relativization,” he added, demanding accountability from the festival management.

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

Also read: Israel threatened with disqualification from Eurovision for a song about the October 7 attacks

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.

Documentary author, Palestinian 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 arms sales Germans to Israel.

Their positions were applauded by the audience in the room.

"A shame"

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.

A leader 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".

Read alsoIsrael-Hamas War: in Germany, the difficult criticism of Israel

The Berlin film festival is mainly financed by the German government, which, due to the Nazi horrors, placed the defense of Israel as a reason of state and made the fight against anti-Semitism one of its top priorities.

In a press release sent to AFP in the evening, the Berlinale judged that the filmmakers' statements constituted "individual and independent opinions" of the festival, which in no way represent those of the Berlinale but that it is appropriate "to 'accept' as long as they 'comply with the legal framework'.

Comments “felt to be too biased”

At the same time, the festival management indicated that it “understands the indignation” aroused by the comments “felt to be too biased” made during the awards ceremony.

Further stirring up controversy, an Instagram account for the film festival, “Berlinale.panorama,” also posted controversial photos and images bearing the slogan “Free Palestine from the River to the Sea.” to the Mediterranean Sea, Editor's note) or "Stop the genocide in Gaza".

The festival management indicated that this Instagram account had been “hacked”.

“Comments relating to the conflict in the Middle East have been published which do not emanate from the festival and do not represent its positions,” she said in a press release sent to AFP.

“It is unbearable that people are using a Berlinale social media account to spread anti-Semitic propaganda,” she said, claiming to have deleted the messages and filed a complaint against “this criminal act.”

With AFP

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