RSS
Fury as Berlin International Film Festival Awards Ceremony Descends Into Anti-Israel Rhetoric
Film directors Ben Russell (far left) and Servan Decle (far right) wearing Palestinian keffiyeh scarves at the Berlinale film festival. Photo: Reuters/Monika Skolimowska
German politicians and Israel’s Ambassador in Berlin expressed disgust on Monday after the Berlinale annual film festival ended over the weekend with a series of speeches by film directors denouncing alleged Israeli “apartheid” as well as the ongoing “genocide” in Gaza at an awards ceremony.
One filmmaker — the American director Ben Russell, whose documentary “Direct Action” was shown at the festival — sparked particular ire when he took to the stage wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf.
“Of course we also stand for life here and we stand against genocide and for a cease-fire in solidarity with all our comrades,” Russell declared to applause and cheers from the audience.
Another American director, Eliza Hittman, invoked her Jewish identity to condemn Israel’s defensive war in the Gaza Strip, triggered by the Oct. 7 Hamas pogrom in Israel that claimed the lives of more than 1,200 people.
“As a Jewish filmmaker who won the Silver Bear in 2020, it is important for me to be here,” Hittman said. “There is no just war, and the more people try to convince themselves there’s a just war, the more they commit a grotesque act of self-deception.”
Separately, Israeli director Yuval Abraham — who co-directed the film “No Other Land” with his Palestinian colleague Basel Adra — called for a “political solution to end the occupation.”
Said Abraham: “I’m Israeli, Basel is Palestinian. In two days, we return to a land where we aren’t equal. I’m living under civilian law, and Basel lives under military law. We live 30 minutes from one another, but I have voting rights. Basel does not have voting rights.” He added: “This situation of apartheid between us, this inequality has to end. We need to call for a ceasefire.”
On Monday, festival organizers said it planned to file criminal charges against a group of hackers whom they claim broke into their Instragram account to spread pro-Palestinian messages.
One post declared, “Genocide is Genocide. We are all complicit,” while another stated: “From our unresolved Nazi past to our genocidal present — we have always been on the wrong side of history. But it’s not too late to change our future.”
Responding to the scenes at the festival, Israel’s Ambassador in Germany, Ron Prosor, declared in a post on X/Twitter that the lessons from the 2022 Documenta art festival, where a series of antisemitic artworks were on display, had not been absorbed.
“Once again, the German cultural scene showcases its bias by rolling out the red carpet exclusively for artists who promote the delegitimization of Israel,” Prosor wrote.
In a separate statement, the Central Council of German Jews expressed regret that the festival — one of the most prestigious international events in the film world alongside the Venice and Cannes film festivals — was being “misused for ideological agitation against Israel and Jews.
“Hatred against Israel and Jews at German cultural events has become a terrifying regularity,” the council said.
German politicians who condemned the festival included Berlin’s Mayor Kai Wegner, who stated that “what happened yesterday at the Berlinale was an unacceptable relativization. There is no place for antisemitism in Berlin, and that also applies to the arts.” Meanwhile, the German capital’s minister for culture, Joe Chialo, said that the awards ceremony at the festival was “characterized by self-righteous anti-Israeli propaganda.”
The post Fury as Berlin International Film Festival Awards Ceremony Descends Into Anti-Israel Rhetoric first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
RSS
Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
RSS
Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.