The Israeli writer Orit Arfa, who lives in Berlin, has made a music video to promote her new book. It contains suggestive scenes that were filmed in the “Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas” (Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe).
We regard this as an unacceptable misuse of this very particular place. It is indeed a site in the middle of the city, and part of “life in the city” therefore also takes place among its stelae – but it is not meant to be used as a location for fun, for parties or for filming romantic scenes.
We therefore wrote to Ms Arfa and asked her to replace the scenes in question. Unfortunately she does not wish to do so, and has in turn used her reply to advertise her book. The intention behind her cinematic statement may be understandable; nevertheless we believe that the video hurts people’s feelings and that one must be keenly aware of this. Since there are a number of people who do not know or do not understand the significance of the memorial, it must be treated with care and responsibility.
Yes, there are other and perhaps more urgent problems in our country, but the one does not make the other any less important.
