Headline: AICA urges Germany to protect artistic freedom while combating antisemitism, warning that current practices risk fostering de facto censorship and self-censorship in the cultural sector.
Executive Summary
Since the Hamas attacks of October 2023, Germany’s cultural sector has experienced a marked increase in restrictions on freedom of expression. Accusations of antisemitism or anti-Palestinian sentiment have led to de facto censorship, de-platforming, and exclusion from cultural events. These developments intensified with the Bundestag’s Never Again is Now resolution of November 2024, which—while aimed at combating antisemitism—has been criticised for adopting a definition that risks conflating legitimate criticism of Israel with antisemitism. The resolution’s condemnation of all boycott advocacy, despite the European Court of Human Rights’ 2020 ruling protecting such speech, has contributed to event cancellations, blacklisting, and a climate of self-censorship across the arts.
AICA supports laws that protect against incitement to hatred, including antisemitism, but insists such measures must be legally grounded, proportionate, and subject to judicial oversight. We call on the German Commissioner for Culture and the Media to promote the arts as a space for diverse political expression, to recognise boycott advocacy as legitimate expression, to seek amendments to the Never Again is Now resolution that safeguard freedom of expression, and to encourage the review of discretionary restrictions imposed since October 2023. Our aim is to balance the fight against antisemitism with the preservation of a vibrant, open cultural sphere.