Germany: Kulturfabrik Kampnagel offers anti-Semite a podium

Zamzam Ibrahim compared Israeli policy with the crimes of the Nazis

A series of discussions entitled “Focus on climate justice: How low can we go?” will take place at Hamburg’s renowned Kulturfabrik Kampnagel from January 25 to 27.

The British-Somali activist Zamzam Ibrahim will speak at the start of the artistic climate summit. Amelie Deuflhard, the artistic director of Kampnagel, sees the 29-year-old as a suitable guest, as she has spent the last ten years campaigning for various issues in the areas of social justice, education and the environment as a representative of students and young people.

However, Stefan Hensel, Hamburg’s anti-Semitism commissioner, sees the invitation as a scandal. Ibrahim is a well-known and staunch supporter of BDS, who openly holds anti-Semitic views and denies Israel’s right to exist. Ibrahim has publicly advocated a boycott of Israel following her election as president of the British student union NUS.

According to investigations by Die Welt, the activist claimed on Iranian state television that Israel was carrying out “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” in the Gaza Strip. According to the newspaper, she has previously compared Israel’s policies to the crimes of the Nazis.

For this reason, Stefan Hensel, the artistic director of Kampnagel, Deuflhard, and the Senator for Culture Carsten Brosda (SPD) demanded that Zamzam Ibrahim be disinvited from the event. According to “NDR”, the Senator for Culture then sought a meeting with Deuflhard. The director assured him that she would work against anti-Semitic statements and that the focus of the event was on climate change. Deuflhard was aware of Zamzam Ibrahim’s views, but did not consider her to be anti-Semitic.

The President of the German-Israeli Society (DIG), Volker Beck, does not share this assessment. Palestinian is not anti-Semitic. For this reason, I cannot understand the statements made by Intendant Amelie Deuflhard. He writes that Deuflhard interprets Israel-related anti-Semitism as “criticism of Israel” in her public statements.

Beck considers the statement that Zamzam Ibrahim is not talking about the Middle East conflict, but about climate change, to be irrelevant. According to Greta Thunberg’s comments, this seems naive and ignorant. The president of the DIG said that he did not want to hear Houston Stewart Chamberlain of the Rose Society speak about root growth or Alfred Rosenberg of the Society of Archaeology speak about the Doric column order.