The irony of Masha Gessen almost not being awarded the prize because of their writings on Gaza is almost too thick to cut
  • SLfgb@feddit.nlOP
    2·
    7 months ago

    Reading the article in Nachdenkseiten, it is my understanding that the local council cancelled the venue and wrote an open letter, followed by the local branch of the foundation pulling support. The Berlin branch of the foundation then took it upon themselves to still host an award-ceremony for Gessen in a secretive location for a small crowd. Hence the headline referring to a back-alley.

    • library_napper@monyet.cc
      1·
      7 months ago

      Yes, again they didn’t let the venue bully them and they supported Gessen the whole time.

      So, yes, Arendt would have received this award in 2023 because of the people behind the award and their commitments.

      • SLfgb@feddit.nlOP
        1·
        7 months ago

        I think that’s debatable. I don’t get the impression that Gessen would have won the award if she had written her Gaza article before her winning it was decided by the jury. The fact that the original ceremony was cancelled from political pressure speaks to that fact. Credit to the Berlin crew to throw host another ceremony event albeit a small one.

        Masha Gessen in Berlin: Der Versuch, mich mundtot zu machen, ist misslungen https://web.archive.org/web/20231218235218/https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/kultur-vergnuegen/debatte/masha-gessen-in-berlin-der-versuch-mich-mundtot-zu-machen-ist-misslungen-li.2169713 Masha themselve said at the event that

        Dieses öffentliche Gespräch sei nicht auf Einladung der Böll-Stiftung zustande gekommen

        transl.: This public forum today is not on invitation of the Böll-Foundation.

        So I don’t think it’s at all obvious that Hannah Arendt would today qualify for the ‘Hannah Arendt prize’ in Germany, given her body of work that is critical of the creation of the State of Israel.