Artist rejects award, protests Germany's silencing of pro-Palestine voices

Arab American artist and curator Fareed Armaly has rejected a prestigious award by the Academy of Arts in Berlin to protest censorship and cancel culture phenomenon targeting pro-Palestinian voices in Germany.

The Academy of Arts in Berlin released a statement on Thursday, acknowledging "with respect and deep regret" Armaly's decision to decline the prestigious Kaethe Kollwitz Award.

In a letter to the institution, Armaly, born in the US, explained his reasons for declining the award, criticising what he called a "disturbing trend of censorship in Germany" and "intolerable interference" aimed at silencing pro-Palestinian voices.

"For several years now, there has been a highly politicised, reactionary shift in official cultural policies, aimed at silencing advocates for Palestinian rights under international law," he said in his letter.

"In such a context of intimidation, liberal cultural institutions appear to adopt complacency and self-censorship. All this, consciously or unconsciously, structurally performs the ongoing dehumanisation of Palestinians by obscuring and abstracting their agency and voice," he added.

Blind eye to war crimes

Germany has been a staunch ally of Israel, and government officials have repeatedly said the country bears special responsibility for Israel due to the country's Nazi past.

In recent months, German authorities have intensified restrictions on pro-Palestinian activities—banning hundreds of protests, cancelling cultural events, and imposing travel bans on prominent international figures invited to speak at pro-Palestinian events in the country.

Critics accuse Berlin of giving a blanket support to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial policies, and turning a blind eye to war crimes committed by the Israeli military in Gaza.

Armaly has exhibited extensively in international institutions and distinguished platforms, including Documenta 11.