In late 2024, Germany’s Bundestag adopted a cross-party, non-binding resolution calling on all levels of government to ensure public funding for cultural, academic, and scientific projects is conditioned on adherence to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. The move, prompted by a spike in antisemitic incidents following the Hamas attacks in Israel, quickly reverberated across Germany’s cultural sector.

Definition and Concerns
The resolution centers on the IHRA definition, which controversially includes some criticism of Israeli policy as potential antisemitism. A key clause states funding should be withheld from projects “that spread antisemitism, question Israel's right to exist, call for a boycott of Israel, or actively support the BDS movement”. While not legally binding, it is widely expected to influence funding practices nationwide.

Reaction from Civil Society and the Arts
The new framework has sparked alarm among artists, academics, and human rights advocates. Critics, including Amnesty International Germany and PEN Germany, warn that the resolution creates legal and practical uncertainty, compromises free debate, and encourages institutional self-censorship. Jewish groups divided, with some welcoming stronger antisemitism safeguards, while others, like Jewish Voice for Just Peace, reject the conflation of Jewish identity with Israeli government policy.

First Effects in the Sector
Although the law is non-binding, cultural bodies and universities have begun screening applications and altering guidelines, often erring on the side of compliance. Museums and theatres have adjusted or canceled programs about Palestine or the Middle East. In one notable case, Berlin’s Oyoun collective lost public grants following accusations of antisemitism—an ongoing legal fight now emblematic of the resolution’s impact.

The Documenta Exhibition as Flashpoint
Nowhere is the new climate more visible than at Documenta, Germany’s flagship quinquennial art exhibition. In early 2025, Documenta adopted a code of conduct that requires all staff and collaborators to follow the IHRA definition, reserving the right to contextualize or withdraw works in case of violation. This development, following the Taring Padi mural controversy at Documenta 2022, highlighted the rising tension between safeguarding against hate and preserving critical artistic voices. While curators must show plans to uphold artistic freedom, critics see the code as formalizing self-censorship and narrowing debate.

Ongoing Debate and Next Steps
Debate continues as legal experts and advocacy groups, including the German Cultural Council, call for merit-based rather than politically filtered grant processes. Lawsuits challenge the denial of funds on ideological grounds. Despite being a resolution, its influence grows as state and municipal institutions swiftly adapt, making Germany’s approach to antisemitism a test case for balancing historic responsibility with democratic liberties.

Germany’s 2024 Bundestag resolution urges public funding for cultural and academic projects to align with the IHRA antisemitism definition. While non-binding, it’s dramatically reshaping arts policy and sparking heated debates on free expression, funding, and legal clarity, especially at Documenta.
How should democracies balance the fight against hate with artistic freedom?
#artisticfreedom #Germany #IHRA #culturalpolicy #humanrights #censorship #Documenta #freedomofexpression

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Berlin’s Oyoun collective

Berlin’s Oyoun collective, a leading venue for queer*feminist, migrant, and decolonial arts, abruptly lost its government funding and cultural home at the close of 2023. The decision followed Oyoun’s hosting of a “mourning and grieving” event organized by the Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East on November 4, 2023, a Jewish anti-Zionist group that Berlin Senate officials associated with support for the BDS movement. The Senate requested Oyoun cancel the event, deeming it “too politically charged.” After Oyoun refused, the case became the subject of public and political controversy.

In mid-November 2023, Berlin’s Cultural Senator Joe Chialo announced that funding would be cut and the space “re-advertised,” and conveyed to Oyoun that, while their grant had originally been secured through 2025, support would end as of January 1, 2024. The Senate initially cited the event’s association with Jewish Voice as the motivation for a legal review and subsequent funding decision; after significant backlash and legal scrutiny, the Senate argued funding was ending purely because the “funding period expired”, a claim challenged by Oyoun, which maintains their commitment was legally binding through 2025.

Importantly, Berlin’s legal review found no evidence of antisemitic activity by Oyoun or at the event, with media investigations echoing that conclusion. Despite this, the venue was asked to vacate its premises by the end of 2023, and funding for December was withheld. The collective, comprising over thirty staff, many from marginalized backgrounds, rapidly transitioned to legal battles, fundraising, and advocacy efforts. Solidarity campaigns and open letters have attracted thousands of signatures and substantial financial support, but Oyoun’s future remains uncertain, pending ongoing court challenges.

The case has become emblematic of Germany’s debates on artistic freedom and antisemitism, with critics warning that the dynamics leading to Oyoun’s defunding threaten pluralism and freedom of expression throughout the country’s cultural sector. Berlin’s handling of the case continues to raise pressing questions about government roles in regulating speech, the use of funding as leverage, and the consequences of broad and politically contested definitions of antisemitism.

Germany’s Antisemitism Policy: Funding, Art, Debate

Berlin’s Oyoun collective

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