German Architectural Foundation Rescinds Award to British Artist Over His Israel Boycott Support

Shiryn Ghermezian

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Pro-Hamas demonstrators marching in Munich, Germany. Photo: Reuters/Alexander Pohl

The Erich Schelling Architecture Foundation, located in Karlsruhe, Germany, announced on Monday that it has unanimously decided to rescind an award to British writer and artist James Bridle because of his support for boycotting Israeli cultural institutions.

The foundation hands out awards for architecture and architectural theory once every two years, and the awards have a total endowment of close to $32,000. An international jury of seven individuals picks the winner, and Bridle was set to receive the prize for architectural theory at this year’s award ceremony, set for Wednesday. The foundation praised Bridle, saying his “publications on the complex relationships between society, technology, and ecology have greatly enriched the current discourse.”

However, a day before the award ceremony, the foundation announced that it would not distribute a theory prize this year, which Bridle had won. The institution said it made its decision after discovering that Bridle co-signed an open letter in late October, in which thousands in the literary industry pledged to boycott Israeli cultural institutions in response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

The open letter was published by the online magazine The Literary Hub and falsely accused Israel of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and apartheid. It also claimed, without providing evidence, that Israeli cultural institutions have been “crucial in obfuscating, disguising, and artwashing the dispossession and oppression of millions of Palestinians for decades.”

The Erich Schelling Architecture Foundation released a statement on Monday explaining its decision to rescind Bridle’s award because of his anti-Israel stance. The institution cited its “awareness of Germany’s history and of the responsibilities resulting from that history.”

“James Bridle’s signature on a call to boycott Israeli cultural institutions is directly at odds with this responsibility — and it is the reason the foundation is unable to award him the prize,” it noted. “This was decided unanimously by all of the foundation’s committees. We respect the right to express James Bridle’s political position, especially as the foundation is not accusing James Bridle of antisemitism. But the foundation can neither support nor be associated with a call for the cultural isolation of Israel.”

In a second statement released on Tuesday, the foundation said a “one-sided call for a boycott” of Israel is a “refusal to engage in dialogue.”

“Many people in Israel have friends in Palestine / the Gaza Strip — and vice versa. They must be supported,” the foundation added. “So that new friendships can develop as a basis for peace. The Schelling Foundation is of the opinion that a unilateral call for a boycott is not a suitable way to initiate or support peace initiatives.”

Bridle has responded to the news and told The Guardian: “Although they are clearly not prepared to state it outright, the foundation’s decision is an accusation of antisemitism, which is abhorrent. It is particularly so given the organization’s own history.”

The Erich Schelling Architecture Foundation is named after the late German architect Erich Schelling. He was a member of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party in Germany as well as the Nazi’s SA paramilitary wing. He was also involved in the construction of a building that included the publishing house of the Nazi party daily newspaper, Der Fuhrer. He died in 1986, and the foundation was founded by his widow.

The controversy surrounding Bridle’s award came after the German parliament passed a resolution earlier this month to combat antisemitism in Germany. The resolution states: “The Bundestag [German parliament] reaffirms its decision to ensure that no organizations or projects that spread antisemitism, question Israel’s right to exist, call for a boycott of Israel, or actively support the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement receive financial support.”

Earlier this year, Germany’s federal domestic intelligence agency classified the BDS movement against Israel as a “suspected extremist case.” BDS seeks to isolate Israel from the international community as a step toward its eventual elimination. Leaders of the movement have repeatedly stated their goal is to destroy the world’s only Jewish state.

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