Stifled voices of Berlin’s creative community are still rising for Palestine

Experimental performer and producer Mad Kate tells us about their own take on the role of music and demonstrations, “I started experimenting and working as a musician and physical, explicit body in performance in 2002 in San Francisco and 2004 in Berlin. For me the question of where and how to place my white, American, middle-class body, in order to make an impact and effect change, was always the driving question. For many years I felt that performing in Europe on political stages was ‘enough’. But the silencing of pro-Palestinian voices has grown so extreme that it is clear my body must be in the streets. This is where the physical performance needs to take place, standing up, being out about our beliefs, shouting, and standing witness. Chanting together is just another type of making music. Standing arm-in-arm in protest is just another form of dance.”

Challenges do not come from the inside only though, Berlin is also faced with cancellations from foreign artists who refuse to partake in the genocide normalisation perpetuated by many institutions and festivals who accept questionable compromises to obtain public funding. The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions and Strike Germany – both movements aiming to call out cultural events white-washing the Israeli government – have led some of these actions that are morally justified but also isolate Berlin artists further. Juliana Fadil-Luchkiw, a UC Berkeley PhD Candidate, explains hers and Lena Chen’s decision, “We withdrew from With Legs Wide Open: A Whore’s Ride through History in support of Strike Germany. We took part in this strike because it targets German state funding that directly supports the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. The curation of the show took a feminist and queer lens to discuss sex work history, which is intrinsically intersectional. If feminism is not intersectional, it upholds global white supremacy. How can we begin to discuss any kind of feminist liberation if women in Palestine are experiencing unimaginable violence by the Zionist government? The genocide of Palestinians is inseparable from feminist issues.”

Electronic rock band The Psychotic Monks, who tirelessly speak up for Palestinian liberation, trans* rights, and against the extreme right wing in their native France, made a different choice, they decided to tour in Germany and openly talk about Palestine on stage: “We asked ourselves if we weren’t going to get cancelled […], for us it’s all good as long as we’re not prevented from playing and from conveying ideas.”