Berlin Drops Anti-Semitism Clause for Arts Funding After Protests

Berlin city council has withdrawn a proposed anti-discrimination clause requiring arts funding recipients to contractually reject 'any form of anti-Semitism,' following widespread protest from artists and cultural workers. The clause, announced by Senator Joe Chialo on 22 January, would have used the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism, which includes criticism of Israel. An open letter signed by over 3,000 people, including artists Candice Breitz, Iman Issa, Oliver Laric, Jesse Darling, and critics Raimar Stange and Ana Teixeira Pinto, argued the clause would create an administrative basis for canceling events with Israel-critical cultural workers. The clause was dropped due to legal concerns that it was not legally secure. Chialo stated he will continue working for non-discriminatory development of Berlin culture but must take legal and critical voices seriously. The reversal is seen as a win for artists, with calls for a cultural boycott backed by Nobel laureate Annie Ernaux, artist Lawrence Abu Hamdan, and novelist Lana Bastašić, who terminated her contract with S. Fischer Verlag in protest.