The cultural center Oyoun located on Lucy-Lameck-Straße in Neukölln announced the closure of its facility next month due to the cancellation of its funding. The news was shared via Instagram on Tuesday evening, and the responsible parties expressed shock at this development.

Since 2020, Oyoun has been sponsored by an organization with a mission to implement “artistic-cultural projects through decolonial, queer*feminist and migrant perspectives” and to create “space for critical debate, reflected experimentation and radical solidarity.” However, recent criticism has focused on Oyoun’s work, particularly because it made space available to groups like the “Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East,” which is associated with BDS, after the Hamas attack.

The Berlin Cultural Senate had urged the cancellation of a planned “mourning and hope celebration” for the 20th anniversary of Jewish Voice, which Oyoun viewed as an infringement on freedom of art and expression. Despite an Instagram statement indicating that funds were canceled on Monday, the Senate is discussing a new profile for Oyoun’s property on Lucy-Lameck-Straße. The funding provided around one million euros to Oyoun this year will expire normally at the end of the year, but it seems unlikely that Oyoun will receive new funding given the circumstances.