Poland canceled the performance of a friend of Israel

In Krakow, a meeting with Nobel laureate Herta Müller was canceled due to concerns about protests by pro-Palestinian activists. The event was supposed to take place on October 17, 2025, at the International Cultural Center as part of the festival “Games with Kantor: Romania — Ghosts of the Past.”

Meeting Cancellation

The organizers, the Tadeusz Kantor Art Documentation Center “Cricoteka” and the International Cultural Center, announced the cancellation, describing the situation as “beyond our control.” The obstacle was the potential anti-Israel protests in connection with Müller’s open letter, in which the writer supported Israel. This document was published in 2024 and caused a negative reaction.

In the letter, Müller argued that the war in Gaza did not begin in Gaza itself, but on October 7, when Hamas terrorists attacked Israel. She described this event as a horrific massacre, noting that the attackers celebrated their actions as heroism. Activists sharply criticized this opinion, accusing the writer of trivializing genocide.

Reasons for Pressure

Müller’s previous speeches, in which she condemned the violence on October 7 and spoke out against anti-Semitism, served as a reason for the decision to cancel the meeting. The newspaper Die Welt highlighted this in its materials.

To avoid conflict, the organizers proposed pre-recording Müller’s speech and broadcasting it during the festival. The director of “Cricoteka,” Natalia Zajecka, pointed to negative comments on social media that contributed to the overall atmosphere of tension. She also noted the threat that the visit could end with verbal attacks and banner actions. The writer’s safety became a priority.

Müller’s Reaction

The cancellation of the event outraged the writer herself, and she stated in an interview with Die Welt that it was an attack on freedom of speech. Müller, known for her opposing stance against suppressing voices and criticizing dictatorship, noted that as a writer, it is important for her to openly discuss complex topics.

Profile of Herta Müller

Herta Müller is a Romanian writer of German origin, whose work covers many aspects of human fate under dictatorship conditions. In 2009, for her novel “I Still Don’t Believe It,” she became a Nobel Prize laureate in literature. The Swedish Academy noted her “poetic passion” and “prosaic detail” in describing the suffering of the dispossessed.

Müller left Romania in 1987 and then moved to Berlin. In her works, she often focuses on her experiences in her native country, and her strong voice against injustice remains relevant in modern realities.