Abraham said he had planned to return to Israel the day after the closing ceremony, but that he changed his plans during a stop-off in Greece, when he learned that Israeli media outlets were describing his speech as antisemitic, with some citing German officials.
As well as receiving death threats on social media, Abraham said several individuals turned up at his family members’ home in Israeli, causing them to vacate the premises out of fear for their safety.
Abraham’s Palestinian film-making partner, Basel Adra, said during Saturday’s ceremony that he struggled to celebrate his film’s success while people in Gaza were “being slaughtered and massacred”, and urged Germany to cease arms exports to Israel. Abraham said he was concerned for the safety of Adra, who has since returned to his village in the West Bank, which is surrounded by Israeli settlements. Claudia Roth, Germany’s federal commissioner for culture, at the Berlin film festival
“Basel lives under occupation and the army or settlers can take revenge against him at any moment,” Abraham said. “He is in much greater danger than me.”
The backlash against the Berlinale ceremony in Germany also involved calls for the resignation of the minister of state for culture, Green party politician Claudia Roth, who was seen applauding Abraham and Adra’s speech in footage of the event.
German minister says she clapped Israeli film-maker, not his Palestinian colleague, at Berlinale
