Too critical of Israel for some, too soft-spoken for others: PEN Berlin is divided over a Middle East resolution. A conversation with the agitated co-club spokesman Deniz Yücel about a scandal that should interest the entire republic.
Last Sunday there was a scandal at the writers’ association PEN Berlin when voting on a resolution by the association to protect authors in the Middle East conflict. Roughly speaking, some wanted the text to be less critical of Israel, while for others it ended up being far too soft. The former prevailed, 25 losers around the Berlin historian Per Leo resigned from the association, including well-known German intellectuals, but above all seven Arab members, including the playwright Mohammad Al Attar, the journalist Dima al-Bitar Kalaji and the writer Yassin al-Haj Saleh. And in an open letter in the Frankfurter Rundschau On Tuesday, when they said goodbye, they once again criticized the PEN Berlin co-spokesperson particularly harshly Welt-Journalist Deniz Yücel. On the phone, Yücel is still agitated but also thoughtful.