Following protests: Berlin suspends anti-discrimination clause

Berlin's new Senator for Culture: Joe Chialo
Berlin's Senator of Culture Joe Chialo (image: Kirsten Nijhof/dpa/picture alliance)

The suspension of Berlin's controversial anti-discrimination clause has met with a divided response. The German-Israeli Society (DIG) lamented the move as a missed opportunity. The Left Party parliamentary group hailed it as a path to dialogue.

The Berlin Senate is withdrawing the controversial anti-discrimination clause for publicly funded cultural institutions. The Senate Cultural Administration justified the move on Monday citing legal concerns. However, the goal of non-discriminatory culture remains unaffected, explained Culture Senator Joe Chialo (CDU). The clause was only introduced on 21 December 2023. 

The provision, officially known as the "anti-discrimination clause", required cultural institutions to clearly exclude possible anti-Semitic tendencies in projects when applying for funding. It was adopted in response to the reactions of cultural professionals to the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October and the war in the Gaza Strip. The clause was based on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism. Experts had criticised, among other things, that this definition was too imprecise. More than 5,000 "cultural producers" had written a letter of protest against the clause. 

Culture Senator Chialo emphasised on Monday that he would continue to work towards the non-discriminatory development of Berlin's culture. "However, I must take seriously the legal and critical voices that saw the introduced clause as a restriction of artistic freedom." Such debates are more necessary than ever now, said Chialo. "It's time to act – I have no doubt about that. In this call for discourse, I am relying on non-partisan cooperation." 

The German-Israeli Society (DIG) declared that Chialo had bowed to pressure from the cultural scene with his decision. The DIG regional chairman for Berlin and Brandenburg, Jochen Feilcke, said that in view of the anti-Semitism that has come to light since 7 October, including in parts of the cultural scene, the clause would have been an opportunity to send a clear signal to stop. "Chialo could have let it come down to legal disputes. Unfortunately, he and his administration seem to have lost their nerve." Anti-Semitism is not an opinion, nor can it invoke artistic freedom. The definition used by Chialo also forms the basis for the actions of the federal government and certainly allows criticism of Israel and its policies.

The Left Party parliamentary group in the Berlin House of Representatives called it the right decision. Its cultural policy spokesperson Manuela Schmidt saw it as paving the way for a dialogue on how society and cultural professionals can work together to combat anti-Semitism, racism and discrimination. 

Hartmut Dorgerloh, General Director of the Humboldt Forum in Berlin, was among the cultural representatives who warned of the consequences of the clause.

It was right for the state to remind cultural institutions that they must not promote anti-Semitism when issuing funding decisions. However, the definition of anti-Semitism on which the clause is based meant that international artists could no longer work in Germany. (epd)