“Oyoun’s funding will be canceled and the room will close next month,” read the Instagram page of the cultural center on Lucy-Lameck-Straße in Neukölln on Tuesday evening. Those responsible write that there are no words for it and that they are still in shock. The news comes after much public criticism of Oyoun’s work since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
Since 2020, the new sponsor of the former Workshop of Cultures has made it its mission to implement “artistic-cultural projects through decolonial, queer*feminist and migrant perspectives” and to create “space for critical debate, reflected experimentation and radical solidarity”. In recent weeks, this space has been made available to, among others, the “Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East,” which is considered to be close to BDS and wrote on its homepage after the Hamas attack: “What happened now was like a prison break, after the inmates were sentenced to life imprisonment simply because they are Palestinians.”
This led the Berlin Cultural Senate to urge the cancellation of the planned “mourning and hope celebration” for the 20th anniversary of the Jewish Voice, which Oyoun in turn viewed as an infringement on freedom of art and freedom of expression. “We were warned by the Berlin Senate that artistic freedom can no longer be guaranteed for topics that are too politically charged,” says a “Statement on Israel, Palestine and Freedom of Speech” by Oyoun. A Senate spokesman did not confirm this formulation when asked.
Consent from all parties
In the culture committee last Monday, Culture Senator Joe Chialo (CDU) reiterated the criticism of the cultural center. The Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion is actively committed to implementing the Berlin state concept for anti-Semitism prevention and against all forms of anti-Semitism, said Chialo. “And when I say against every form, I also mean every hidden form of anti-Semitism.”
The reactions in the House of Representatives also made it clear again how the AfD is using the debates surrounding the war in the Middle East to improve its image and at the same time shoot against the left. “We also view Oyoun very critically,” proclaimed the district chairman of the AfD in Neukölln, Robert Eschricht, that it was a “glowing web of academic anti-Semitism.” You stand on the side of the Jewish community in Berlin.
Contrary to what Oyoun’s Instagram statement suggests, the Senate did not announce a “cancellation” of funds for the cultural center on Monday. However, they are discussing “a new profile” for the state-owned property on Lucy-Lameck-Straße. The funding, which provided around one million euros to Oyoun this year, will expire normally at the end of the year. The awarding of new project funding at the cultural location will follow an orderly process, said Chialo. Oyoun could of course also apply for this.
Everyone can calculate what Oyoun’s chances of receiving new funding are. However, this is not a premature withdrawal of funds, which would hardly be legally tenable. The fact that the Senate reserves the right to make politically motivated funding decisions within the scope of its legal possibilities should come as no surprise to anyone.