Euro-scene Leipzig festival cancels Palestinian play after anti-BDS pressure

A Palestinian playwright's performance in an international arts festival in Leipzig has been cancelled following pressure from the German group "Artists Against Antisemitism". 

Ahmed Tobasi, the Artistic Director of the renowned Freedom Theatre in Jenin had been scheduled to perform his play 'And Here I Am' at the Euro-scene theatre and dance festival on 6 and 7 November.

Showing the production would amount to "an unprecedented normalisation of anti-Semitic and anti-democratic terrorist organisations on Leipzig stages", stated Artists Against Antisemitism in a statement published on their website.

The cancellation takes place in the context of widespread repression of pro-Palestine solidarity activism in Germany which has escalated since Israel's war on Gaza began last October, following the Hamas-led attack.

"Tobasi's autobiographical play would have played a small part in counteracting the dehumanisation of Palestinians," says AJ (a pseudonym) – a Leipzig-based artist and activist who spoke to The New Arab.

"That’s why we demand a public apology from the City of Leipzig to both the euro-scene festival and the Freedom Theatre Jenin, and […] a revision of the current definition of antisemitism," they added.

Euro-scene announced the cancellation of Tobasi's play with a press statement that read: "Following accusations of anti-Semitism against the Freedom Theater, the performances of the production AND HERE I AM scheduled for 6 and 7 November will not take place".

It continued that Leipzig City Council's adoption of the 2019 resolution ("Against All anti-Semitism!") had obliged the city's cultural institutions to "distance themselves from any calls for a boycott of Israel in particular."

Germany's Bundestag passed a resolution in 2019 explicitly targeting the BDS movement against Israel as antisemitic. A number of local governments, including Leipzig City Council, passed their own similar resolutions.

These non-binding resolutions called for an end to local government funding for projects that promote the boycott of Israel.

Activists in Leipzig protested the cancellation of Tobasi's play, "Here I am", by setting up a mock open-air stage next to the St. Nicholas Church in Leipzig city centre on Tuesday.

They then screened a recording of Tobasi, whose play depicts the hardships of his childhood and youth growing up in Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

AJ explains they wanted to draw attention to the tightening censorship of the arts, especially of Palestinians, but also "Jewish artists and anyone who doesn't fall in line with the German narrative".

AJ added that the growing censorship was happening in sync with Israel's escalation of violence in northern Gaza – pointing out that there's a "genocide - and we can't really talk about the genocide because of this censorship".

Euro-scene Leipzig is an annual 6-day festival held in the German city "dedicated to the state of our society" which platforms dance and theatre productions and focuses on showcasing "politically relevant performances" according to its website.

On Wednesday, the Bundestag approved a new resolution titled "Never Again is Now: Protecting, Preserving and Strengthening Jewish Life in Germany".

The controversial resolution passed despite vehement opposition to sections of it from legal experts, civil society groups and prominent Jewish intellectuals.

Controversy over the resolution has largely centred on its stated intent to make public grants for culture and science projects dependent on adherence to the widely criticised International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of antisemitism. 

"The Bundestag reaffirms its decision to ensure that no organizations or projects that spread antisemitism, question Israel's right to exist, call for a boycott of Israel or actively support the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement receive financial support" stated the resolution, adopted yesterday.

Over the last year, multiple pro-Palestine events in Germany have seen forced cancellations, with repression of Palestinian solidarity also extending to other sectors of German society, where forced censorship has become commonplace and those who speak out have lost their jobs.