Gaza Appeal by Milo Rau Faces Widespread Rejection

The open letter by director and playwright Milo Rau, published on October 4th, among others on the homepage of the Wiener Festwochen, "on resistance against the war crimes in Gaza" has sparked a broad front of rejection in the Austrian cultural scene. The signatories of a counter-declaration accuse Rau of making one-sided accusations and engaging in historical relativism with his allegations that the cultural scene is silent about the events in Gaza.

"We call for raising our voices, especially now, in artistic discourse for differentiation and against one-sidedness," states this "rejection," which has been signed by several dozen artists and cultural figures such as theater director Thomas Birkmeir, actress Dörte Lyssewski, and composer Johannes Maria Staud, as well as authors like Elfriede Jelinek, Karl Markus Gauß, Olga Flor, Monika Helfer, Michael Köhlmeier, Doron Rabinovici, and Vladimir Vertlib.

Open Letter from Airan Berg

Theater maker Airan Berg responded with his own open letter. "You have traded the moral high ground for the verbal sword - and in doing so, you play plaintiff, judge, and dramaturge in one," it states. "You had your stage; you made your statement. But by doing so, you turn a publicly funded institution into a platform for one-sided agitation. The audience, the artists, and the taxpayers deserve neutrality, integrity, and a willingness to debate - not a personal moral lesson. Essentially, I think you should step down."

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.