After anti-Israel statements at the Berlinale, Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann threatened criminal consequences. The FDP politician told the newspapers of the Funke media group that criminal law is well positioned to punish anti-Semitic statements. The use of the slogan “Free Palestine – From the River to the Sea” could be understood as an endorsement of the killings committed in Israel as part of the Hamas attacks in October 2023.
The slogan could be seen on the Berlinale’s official Instagram account over the weekend. The film festival distanced itself from the posts and said the account had been hacked. They also want to file criminal charges against unknown people. In addition, several award winners commented on the Middle East conflict during the Berlinale Gala on Saturday evening, thereby triggering criticism. Filmmaker Ben Russell accused Israel of genocide. The Palestinian filmmaker Basel Adra called for a stop to arms deliveries to Israel, while his Israeli colleague Yuval Abraham spoke of “apartheid.”
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The minister explained that rewarding and endorsing crimes is a punishable offence. Anyone who distributes propaganda materials or symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organizations such as Hamas is also committing a criminal offense. “The Berlinale suffered serious damage this weekend because anti-Semitism went far too unchallenged,” said Buschmann. The criminal assessment of the incidents is the responsibility of the responsible law enforcement authorities and courts. But the political verdict is clear to him: “Anti-Semitism is intolerable.”
Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth has already announced an investigation into the incidents.
After anti-Israel statements at the Berlinale, Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann threatened criminal consequences. The FDP politician told the newspapers of the Funke media group that criminal law is well positioned to punish anti-Semitic statements. The use of the slogan “Free Palestine – From the River to the Sea” could be understood as an endorsement of the killings committed in Israel as part of the Hamas attacks in October 2023.
The slogan could be seen on the Berlinale’s official Instagram account over the weekend. The film festival distanced itself from the posts and said the account had been hacked. They also want to file criminal charges against unknown people. In addition, several award winners commented on the Middle East conflict during the Berlinale Gala on Saturday evening, thereby triggering criticism. Filmmaker Ben Russell accused Israel of genocide. The Palestinian filmmaker Basel Adra called for a stop to arms deliveries to Israel, while his Israeli colleague Yuval Abraham spoke of “apartheid.”