Stop the War is concerned that our president, Brian Eno, has been prevented from exhibiting artwork in Germany because of his views on Palestine.
A scheduled exhibition of his in Germany has been cancelled apparently because of his support for the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. It appears that cultural workers in Germany feared that their institution would be punished for promoting someone labelled as “antisemitic”.
Eno is amongst a number of high profile artists and performers who have been denied the right to appear or exhibit in Germany since the passing of a vaguely worded non-binding parliamentary resolution in Germany in 2019, falsely equating the BDS movement with antisemitism.
Stop the War condemns the equating of criticism or campaigning against Israeli policies with anti-semitism. This trend will do nothing to combat the growth of anti-semitism: it is rather aimed at suppressing criticism of Israel’s brutal treatment of the Palestinian people.
We urge the authorities in Germany to take steps towards restoring the rights of expression of Brian Eno and other artists critical of Israeli state policies.