Overview

• HKW and Jan Böhmermann canceled Chefket’s Oct. 7 concert after Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer relayed the federal view that his shirt’s Palestine map without Israel was antisemitic.
• Artists including Blumengarten, Domiziana, Wa22ermann, Mine, Akryl, Drunken Masters, Tape Head and NONI withdrew from the series in protest, leaving the exhibition without a music lineup.
• Several performers framed their decisions as solidarity with civilians in Gaza or as objections to political pressure, while also rejecting antisemitism.
• HKW said it heard objections “especially from Jewish circles” and could no longer guarantee the event’s integrity on the sensitive anniversary date.
• PEN Berlin criticized the exclusion as a missed opportunity for open dialogue, with a discussion with Minister Weimer scheduled at HKW on Oct. 8.