Germany charges Turkish origin comedian for criticising Israel

Kaya Yanar, a well-known German comedian with Turkish roots, is facing charges over a video on YouTube in which he accuses the Israeli government of lying and falsifying evidence about its war on Palestine's Gaza.

Charges were filed in Germany against the comedian for incitement to hatred, Swiss daily 20 Minuten reported on Thursday. According to the daily, police and public prosecutor in Osnabruck, in the German state of Lower Saxony, confirmed the receipt of the lawsuit.

In the video titled "Lie!" Yanar plays a Turkish driving instructor accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government of killing innocent people in Gaza who have nothing to do with Hamas while lying and falsifying evidence to cover up the genocide.

"'Never again' is now, and that's why I'm calling for a ceasefire," says Yanar at the end of his video, using the well-known slogan urging no more Holocausts.

Speaking to German daily Der Westen on Friday, Kaya said he only meant to counter attempts to justify the war on Gaza. He had already reacted to the criticism of his video by German-Jewish newspaper Judische Allgemeine on Instagram.

"The accusation of antisemitism that some keyboard acrobats from German editorial offices are now trying to conjure up is unfounded and hurtful," Yanar wrote.

"How can you conclude from a criticism of a government's military action that you hold the people of Israel and even beyond that all people of the Jewish faith responsible for it? This way of thinking feels racist to me and is not my way of thinking," he added.

'Cancel culture' hits critics of Israeli atrocities

In Germany, there have recently been more and more examples of a so-called cancel culture in connection with statements critical of Israel.

In Frankfurt, three mayoral candidates want to prevent Pink Floyd singer Roger Waters from performing in the Festhalle. The 80-year-old musician is a critic of Israeli politics and supports the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign.

The German Heinrich Boll Foundation came under fire last month for withdrawing from an award ceremony because of a prize winner's critical remarks on the Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Bosnian novelist Lana Bastasic announced three weeks ago that she terminated her contract with a German publisher in protest of its silence on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

"I feel that it is my moral and ethical duty to terminate my contract with S. Fischer. Not only has the publisher failed to be vocal about the ongoing genocide happening in Gaza but they have also kept quiet on the systematic censorship happening in Germany for the last two months," Bastasic, 37, said on Instagram.

She said cutting ties as an all-out boycott of German cultural institutions over the government’s pro-Israel stance divides opinion.