Among a crowd of pro-Palestine protestors, Nan Goldin condemned Israel’s war in Gaza at the opening of her retrospective at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin on Friday evening. The American photographer, who is Jewish, also criticised what she described as German censorship of pro-Palestinian perspectives. ‘The word antisemitism has been weaponised,’ she said. ‘It’s lost its meaning. In declaring all criticism against Israel as antisemitic, it makes it harder to define and stop violent hatred against Jews. Meanwhile, Islamophobia is being ignored.’
Klaus Bisenbach, director of the museum and a longtime friend of Goldin’s, gave a response to the artist’s speech in which he disagreed with her position on the Middle East. ‘For us, Israel’s right to exist is beyond question,’ he said. ‘The Hamas attack on the Jewish state on 7 October 2023 was a cruel act of terror that cannot be justified in any way. At the same time, we sympathise with the civilian population in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, whose suffering cannot be ignored.’ However, he added that he would not block Goldin’s right to speak her opinion: ‘I stand for your right to express yourself freely,’ he said as he was heckled by protestors.
Goldin addressed the cancellation of a number of exhibitions in Germany since the attack by Hamas on Israel. ‘Tongues have been tied, gagged by the government, the police and the cultural crackdown,’ she said. ‘This is a city we used to consider a refuge. Now over 180 artists, writers and teachers have been cancelled since 7 October’. Her speech follows the passing of a controversial resolution by the German Bundestag earlier this month. Intended to address antisemitism in Germany, the new resolution makes public grants for art and science projects dependent on adherence to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of antisemitism, which includes criticism of Israel.
Germany’s minister of state for culture Claudia Roth condemned the chants of the protestors at the exhibition opening, stating to the German press agency DPA: ‘Such behaviour is absolutely unacceptable and an attack on the museum and cultural work.’
Goldin’s exhibition, Nan Goldin. This Will Not End Well, will be on display at the Neue Nationalgalerie until 6 April 2025.
