Overview

• Minister Wolfram Weimer wrote to the Haus der Kulturen der Welt accusing rapper Chefket of sharing a T-shirt motif that, in the federal government’s view, denies Israel’s right to exist.
• Weimer called holding the concert on the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel a provocation and urged the venue to prevent any antisemitic expressions.
• HKW director Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung replied that there is no place for antisemitism at the institution and that antisemitic acts on stage would not be tolerated.
• Ndikung affirmed that Jan Böhmermann and his Gruppe Royale have artistic freedom in curating the series Die Möglichkeit der Unvernunft.
• The series runs from 27 September to 19 October, Chefket remains listed for 7 October, and no cancellation has been announced, with reporting based on a letter seen by dpa.