Foreign Office reprimands Goethe-Institut | FAZ | EUROtoday

The Foreign Office is reprimanding the Goethe-Institut for an exhibition with the Palestinian-American artist Basma al-Sharif in Vilnius, Lithuania. At “events organized by German intermediary organizations there should be no doubt whatsoever about the Federal Government’s resolute rejection of anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel,” the ministry stated.

It was made clear to the Goethe-Institut “that greater care is necessary in advance of the planning and conception of events with cooperation partners and is also expected by the Foreign Office,” it stated. The “Bild” newspaper first reported. The Federal Republic’s cultural institute is essentially financed by the Federal Foreign Office from tax income.

It’s in regards to the exhibition “Bells and Cannons – Contemporary Art in Times of Militarization” from mid-October to early March, a cooperation between the Contemporary Art Center Vilnius (CAC), the Goethe-Institut in Vilnius and the Academy of Arts in Berlin.

As a spokeswoman for the Goethe-Institut stated upon request, the CAC curated the exhibition. Al-Sharif was represented there with the work “Deep Sleep”. “There were no works with anti-Semitic content on display in the exhibition,” stated the spokeswoman. However, some posts on the artist’s Instagram account usually are not appropriate with the values ​​of the Goethe-Institut, “specifically the denial of Israel’s right to exist.” The Goethe-Institut was not conscious of the posts. “We deeply regret this.”

The Goethe-Institut rejects any type of anti-Semitism, and the popularity of Israel’s proper to exist is important for the Goethe-Institut, she defined. There had not too long ago been controversy surrounding an look by al-Sharif on the Düsseldorf Art Academy as a consequence of allegations of anti-Semitism. There are additionally discussions about her contribution to the Osnabrück European Media Art Festival.