Faced with the horrors of the Shoah and the massacre of six million Jews by the Nazis, Germany elevated Israel's security to the rank of reason of state.
The chancellor reiterated this on October 10 before parliamentarians, making the fight against anti-Semitism one of his priorities.
A position which came up against international accusations against Israel, notably during speeches at the Berlin film festival.
An investigation has been opened by German authorities to determine how film festival winners were able to make “unacceptable” comments against Israel in the context of its war against Hamas, a government spokeswoman said on Monday.
Since Sunday, the Berlinale has been accused of spreading anti-Semitism after attacks by directors against Israel, who denounced in particular a "genocide" in the Gaza Strip where Israeli shelling left nearly 30,000 dead, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.
A “unilateral position cannot be tolerated”
“It is unacceptable that the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7, which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,160 people, the majority civilians, was not mentioned,” a government spokesperson said on Monday. , Christiane Hoffmann, during a regular press conference.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz believes “that such a unilateral position cannot be tolerated, and that in any debate on this subject, it is important to keep in mind the event which triggered this new escalation of the conflict in the Middle East “, she insisted.
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Green Culture Minister Claudia Roth announced on Monday that she would look into “the incidents that occurred” during the ceremony, in collaboration with the conservative mayor of Berlin Kai Wegner.
Both share responsibility for the Berlinale.
Asked about a possible challenge to the multi-million public funding for the festival, Christiane Hoffmann replied that the current objective was to ensure that such events do not happen again.