Jewish artists sound alarm over Germany's new 'absurd' anti-Semitism resolution

Jewish artists and academics have raised serious concerns about a new German government resolution aimed at combating anti-Semitism, warning it could lead to the paradoxical situation where Jewish and Israeli human rights groups are branded anti-Semitic by the German state.

The controversial resolution, “Never Again is Now: Protecting, Preserving, and Strengthening Jewish Life in Germany,” requires authorities to screen cultural and scientific projects for “anti-Semitic content” before providing funding. Critically, it ties public funding to the highly controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, which critics argue conflates criticism of Israel with anti-Jewish racism.

The resolution explicitly states that organisations questioning Israel’s right to exist or supporting the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement will be denied financial support. This has sparked particular concern in Germany’s cultural sector, where public funding plays a crucial role and private alternatives are limited.

READ: ‘Back to Nazi roots’: Jewish activist decries Germany’s ‘frightening’ crackdown on pro-Palestine voices

Professor Miriam Rurup, director of the Moses Mendelssohn Centre for European Jewish Studies, is reported in the Haaretz warning that the resolution could create an “absurdist” scenario where even organisations like Rabbis for Human Rights could be deemed anti-Semitic, making it “impossible to invite them to a publicly funded lecture in Germany.”

Jewish artist Candice Breitz, who has personally experienced the impact of such policies, offered a stark critique of the resolution. “The Bundestag now delegitimises Jewish points of view that do not align with the ideology of Israel’s far-right government, thus further exacerbating tensions between Zionist and non-Zionist Jews, while underplaying the real and ominous threats that Jewish people face,” she told Haaretz.

Breitz highlighted that since 7 October, 2023, “over a quarter of those denounced and demonised for speaking out in solidarity with Palestinian civilians have been progressive Jews and/or Jewish Israelis,” describing it as “astonishing” given “the history of Germany.”

The resolution has drawn criticism for its development process, which critics describe as “undemocratically negotiated.” Over 4,000 people, including prominent cultural figures such as artist-photographer Wolfgang Tillmans and Holocaust scholar Professor Amos Goldberg, signed a petition opposing the resolution, though their concerns were ultimately dismissed.

While the resolution has received support from Germany’s official Jewish bodies and the Israeli ambassador to Berlin, who called it “vital,” its critics argue it represents a dangerous precedent in weaponising allegations of anti-Semitism against Jews themselves. The legal standing of the resolution has been described as ambiguous, potentially operating as a form of “soft law” that German states might reference, though courts could rule it unconstitutional.

Paradoxically, while the resolution aims to combat anti-Semitism, official data from the German Interior Ministry shows that nearly 60 per cent of anti-Semitic crimes in 2023 were classified as right-wing offences, with crimes driven by “foreign” and “religious ideologies” accounting for 33 per cent, and leftist-motivated crimes comprising less than one per cent of the total.

The resolution has notably received praise from Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party, despite the party including members accused of whitewashing Nazi crimes, adding to concerns about the resolution’s true impact on protecting Jewish life in Germany.

In a related matter, Yuval Abraham, Israeli Jewish filmmaker, has slammed Germany for “emptying” anti-Semitism of any meaning and accused Berlin of inciting violence against him. Abraham, who in February said that he is in fear for his life after calling for equality between Jews and Palestinians during his award acceptance speech, took to X to express outrage at the decision to label the film “No Other Land” anti-Sematic.

“Berlin’s official city portal just wrote our film No Other Land has ‘antisemitic tendencies’,” said Abraham on X. “A film that won the Berlinale and was recently invited to a special screening in the German embassy in Israel. It pains me to see how, after murdering most of my family in the holocaust, you empty the word antisemitism of meaning to silence critics of Israel’s occupation in the West Bank (the topic of our film) and legitimize violence against Palestinians. I feel unsafe and unwelcome in Berlin of 2024 as a left-wing Israeli and will take legal action.”

Berlin’s official city portal just wrote our film No Other Land has “antisemitic tendencies”. A film that won the Berlinale and was recently invited to a special screening in the German embassy in Israel. It pains me to see how, after murdering most of my family in the holocaust,… pic.twitter.com/PhV1FfJjUY

— Yuval Abraham יובל אברהם (@yuval_abraham) November 12, 2024