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German Architectural Foundation Rescinds Award to British Artist Over His Israel Boycott Support
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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3rd Round of Nuclear Talks Between Iran, US Concludes in Oman
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
i24 News – The third round of talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program has concluded on Saturday, US media reported.
The two sides are understood to have discussed the US lifting of sanctions on Iran, with focuses on technical and key topics including uranium enrichment.
On April 12, the US and Iran held indirect talks in Muscat, marking the first official negotiation between the two sides since the US unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term.
The second round of indirect talks took place in Rome, Italy, on April 19.
All parties, including Oman, stated that the first two rounds of talks were friendly and constructive, but Iranian media pointed out that the first two rounds were mainly framework negotiations and had not yet touched upon the core issues of disagreement.
According to media reports, one of the key issues in the expert-level negotiations will be whether Washington will allow Iran to continue uranium enrichment within the framework of its nuclear program. In response, Araghchi made it clear that Iran’s right to uranium enrichment is non-negotiable.
The US, Israel and other Western actors including the United Nation’s nuclear agency reject Iranian claims that its uranium enrichment is strictly civilian in its goals.
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Hamas Says It’s Open to 5-Year Gaza Truce, One-Time Release of All Hostages
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – The Palestinian jihadists of Hamas said they were willing to secure an agreement with Israel that that would see them remain in charge of the enclave, a source told international media. The deal would include an internationally guaranteed five-year truce and the release of all Israeli hostages in a single batch.
The latest bid to seal a ceasefire follows an Israeli proposal which Hamas had rejected earlier in April as “partial,” urging a “comprehensive” agreement to halt the war ignited by the October 7 massacres.
Israel demands the return of all hostages seized in the 2023 attack, and the disarmament of Hamas, which the jihadists rejected as a “red line.”
An earlier Israeli offer, rejected by the Palestinian terrorists, included a 45-day ceasefire in exchange for the return of 10 living hostages.
More than a month into a renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza after a two-month truce, a Hamas official said earlier this week that its delegation in Cairo would discuss “new ideas” on a ceasefire.
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Suspected Chemical Blast at Iran’s Bandar Abbas Kills 4, Injures Hundreds
People walk after an explosion at the Shahid Rajaee port in Bandar Abbas, Iran, April 26, 2025. Photo: Mohammad Rasoul Moradi/IRNA/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
A huge blast on Saturday likely caused by the explosion of chemical materials stored at Iran’s biggest port, Bandar Abbas, killed at least four people and injured more than 500, Iranian state media reported.
The explosion, which hit the Shahid Rajaee section of the port, occurred as Iran began a third round of nuclear talks with the United States in Oman, but there was no immediate indication of a link between the two events.
Hossein Zafari, a spokesperson for Iran’s crisis management organization, appeared to blame the explosion on poor storage of chemicals in containers at Shahid Rajaee.
“The cause of the explosion was the chemicals inside the containers,” he told Iran’s ILNA news agency.
“Previously, the Director General of Crisis Management had given warnings to this port during their visits and had pointed out the possibility of danger,” Zafari said.
An Iranian government spokesperson, however, said that although chemicals had likely caused the blast, it was not yet possible to determine the exact reason.
Iran’s official news channels aired footage of a vast black and orange cloud of smoke billowing up above the port in the aftermath of the blast, and an office building with its doors blown off and papers and debris strewn around.
Bandar Abbas is Iran’s largest port and handles most of its containers in transit.
The blast shattered windows within a radius of several kilometers and was heard in Qeshm, an island 16 miles south of the port, Iranian media said.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency posted footage of injured men lying on the road being tended to amid scenes of confusion.
State TV earlier reported that poor handling of flammable materials was a “contributing factor” to the explosion. A local crisis management official told state TV that the blast took place after several containers stored at the port exploded.
As relief workers tried to put out fires, the port’s customs officials said trucks were being evacuated from the area and that the container yard where the explosion occurred likely contained “dangerous goods and chemicals.” Activities at the port were halted after the blast, officials said.
DEADLY INCIDENTS
A series of deadly incidents have hit Iranian energy and industrial infrastructure in recent years, with many, like Saturday’s blast, blamed on negligence.
They have included refinery fires, a gas explosion at a coalmine, and an emergency repairs incident at Bandar Abbas killed one worker in 2023.
Iran has blamed some other incidents on its arch-foe Israel, which has carried out attacks on Iranian soil targeting Iran’s nuclear program in recent years and last year bombed the country’s air defenses.
Tehran said Israel was behind a February, 2024 attack on Iranian gas pipelines. And in 2020, computers at Shahid Rajaee were hit by a cyberattack. The Washington Post reported that Iran’s arch-foe Israel appeared to be behind that incident as retaliation for an earlier Iranian cyberattack.
Israel has indicated it is nervous about the outcome of US-Iran talks, demanding a full dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear program. Tehran says the program is used solely for peaceful purposes, while international observers say it is getting closer to being able to build a bomb.
There was no immediate comment from Israeli military or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office when asked for comment on whether Israel was in any way involved in Saturday’s explosion.
Oil facilities were not affected by the blast on Saturday, Iranian authorities said. The National Iranian Petroleum Refining and Distribution Company said in a statement that it had “no connection to refineries, fuel tanks, distribution complexes and oil pipelines.”
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