Die Berliner Verbündeten sagen es so gut wie ausführlich im „Statement from the Artists Against Antisemitism Berlin for the Berlinale 2026“:
„The speech given by Berlinale award winner Abdallah Alkhatib on Saturday, February 21, 2026, demonstrates once again how far the discourse has shifted towards the acceptance of anti-Semitism. It is a mix of the conspiracy myths and distorted facts that have been relentlessly bombarding us for months now.
Alkhatib presents it as a courageous breach of taboo that he shouts „Free Palestine“ from the stage and calls the German government a partner in Israel’s alleged genocide in Gaza – as if this expression of opinion hadn’t been commonplace for over two years. As if demonstrations under this banner weren’t taking place seemingly every hour. As if any jerk hadn’t been wearing a symbol of watermelon on his jacket for months. As if the topic weren’t a perennial issue in the media, the art world, and at universities. And at the Berlinale. The Berlinale, among others, has quite obviously given Alkhatib and his film very prominent attention and even awarded it a prize. A work that doesn’t even shy away from anti-Israel rhetoric in the end credits – it claims a „genocide“ against Palestinians „since 1948.“ The fact that the festival even shows this film, and that its moderator spread the „genocide“ lie at the premiere screening (as did, of course, the film crew), is already a scandal. And it also shows how much of a willingness already existed in the selection of the „Perspectives“ series to contribute to the normalization of international hate speech against Israel. The award is therefore no longer surprising.
And yet, the award winner presents himself as a martyr who only came to spite the festival and then publicly pontificates about a future: „And one day, we will have a great film festival in the middle of Gaza.“ As if it were Israel, and not Hamas, which has always suppressed artistic freedom in Gaza, and which has closed all theaters and cinemas in the densely populated territory and strictly censors all forms of art. In fact, Alkhatib doesn’t mention Hamas or any other terrorist group even once. He dreams of his alternative vision: „Our festival will stand with the people living under siege, under occupation, and under dictatorships around the world.“ A compelling logic: from the liberation of Palestine to the liberation of the world. Art seems to play a secondary role in this world: „We will speak about resistance before art, about freedom before duty, and about a human being before culture.“
But anyone who has watched the anti-Israel demonstrations since October 7, 2023, knows who or what is hiding behind the code name „Resistance“: Hamas. And so it is no surprise that yet another supposed peace activist remains silent about the mass murders on the streets of Iran. After all, the Islamist regime in Tehran is the biggest financial and ideological supporter of Hamas’s terror.
In conclusion, the filmmaker prophesies with kitschy pathos: „The long-awaited day is coming. And when people ask you what happened, tell them, ‚Palestine remembers.‘ We will remember everyone who stood with us. And we will remember everyone who stood against us. Against our right to live with dignity, or who (…) choose to be silent.“ Is this the promise of a filmmaker concerned with the freedom of his „people“ — to remember those who stood against them or who simply dared to remain silent? Alkhatib issues an open threat to all those who do not support the so-called Palestinian cause. This rejection of any possibility of dialogue, this division of the world into a binary friend-enemy dichotomy, contains essential characteristics of antisemitism. Moreover, it forms the direct basis for making free art impossible. The prize winner isn’t bothered by this; after all, „resistance before art“ is the motto. In an apocalyptic twist, he concludes by linking the fate of Palestine with the world’s final battle: „Free Palestine, from now until the end of the world.“
The vast majority of those present seemed unbothered by the apocalyptic kitsch. Applause. Only Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider left the hall in protest.
Alkhatib reduces a complex, conflict-ridden issue to simplistic slogans and poor revolutionary poetry, because he wants to convince his audience that Israel alone is to blame for the Palestinians‘ inability to live in dignity. But he is not concerned with the fate of the people. His aim is the end of the only Jewish state. We witnessed how this is supposed to happen in practice on October 7, 2023, and in the days that followed. The Nazis demonstrated what the consequences would be.
Abdallah Alkhatib’s speech is no longer the problem. His words reflect the current international level of hatred towards Israel far too well. The real scandal is that more people in the audience didn’t follow the example of Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider and leave the hall. Alongside the open letter from the 80 artists and the numerous one-sided expressions of solidarity against Israel by Geneviève Dulude-de Celles and Emin Alper, Alkhatib’s speech was merely the icing on the cake. And everyone got their piece of the pie.
We hope that this is not the case.
We hope for more dissent.
Thanks to the person who shouted „Free Palestine from Hamas“ after the speech and received applause for it.“