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Tuesday, July 23

Oyoun wins legal victory in fight against funding withdrawal

The Berlin Senate withdrew funding from the left-wing space last year amid unfounded accusations of antisemitism. Now, Oyoun has won the right to have their case reheard.

Photo: @natgass

Tuesday, July 23

Israel and free speech: Oyoun wins legal victory in fight against funding withdrawal

Since October 7 and the outbreak of Israel’s war on Gaza, the issue of cultural funding in Berlin has become highly fraught. The Berlin Senate has repeatedly attempted to use its power over funding allocation to curb speech of which it does not approve, withdrawing money to artists and cultural centres who take an opposing line. In Berlin, the most prominent target was Oyoun, the left-wing centre in Neukölln that was notified that they would have their funding withdrawn after they refused to cancel an event from the organisation “Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East”.

Since their funding was pulled last year, Oyoun has been fighting for the right to maintain a pro-Palestine stance in an environment that is almost universally hostile to that opinion. In May they marked another small victory, winning a court case against the Tagesspiegel, who had falsely accused Oyoun of making antisemitic statements.

Now, Oyoun has won another significant legal victory – they will now be permitted to appeal the withdrawal of their funding. Oyoun wrote on Instagram: “On 18 July 2024, the Constitutional Court of Berlin (VerfGH) has just ruled: Our constitutional complaint was successful! The Higher Administrative Court (OVG) must therefore rehear our case.”

Accusations of antisemitism at Oyoun have been repeatedly brought out to justify a removal of their funding, but do not appear to have any legal basis. Internal documents recently exposed in reporting from nd show that, shortly after taking power, Berlin Culture senator Joe Chialo initiated a legal audit of Oyoun’s funding to find out whether funding could be withdrawn or revoked on these grounds. The legal review found that it could not, stating “no violations of criminal law or other applicable law are apparent”. Funding was then cancelled anyway, on technical grounds, with Joe Chialo calling for a new “operating concept”.

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Ein Beitrag geteilt von Oyoun (@oyounberlin)