Published
Tue, Dec 19, 2023, 14:35
- The venue has distanced itself from an inflammatory email sent to Karneval de Purim by a member of staff.
Berlin venue ZENNER has apologised for an "antisemtic statement" sent to a Jewish promoter by one of its employees.
Representatives from Karneval de Purim, a party centred around the Jewish holiday of the same name, wrote to ZENNER to enquire about hosting an event at the venue. A member of staff known simply as "Kim" replied saying it would be unsuitable.
"I find it quite incredible that you're willing to celebrate a Jewish carnival with the current state of affairs," Kim wrote. "Nothing personal but not at ZENNER."
Karneval de Purim addressed the situation on Instagram last Saturday, December 16th, sharing a screenshot of the email alongside a lengthy statement that derided ZENNER's "clear attempt to expel Jews from the public sphere."
ZENNER responded with its own Instagram post the following day. "We would like to apologise for the clearly antisemitic statement in the email from our employee," the statement read. "An open and transparent culture of failure and criticism is important to us. We see our responsibility here for the actions of our employee and have opted for an accompanying consultation in order to deal with the incident responsibly and sustainably."
The venue also said there would be an internal review process and "further training and sensitisation of our entire team" involving diversity consultancy firm Same But Different.
Karneval de Purim then sent a second statement, accepting ZENNER's apology while acknowledging that "one cannot entirely blame an institution that employs dozens of people for the actions of one incompetent manager." However, the statement declined ZENNER's offer to host the party there and said it's unclear whether it will take place at all given the "current political climate."
Founded in 2015, Karneval de Purim has grown into one of Berlin's largest Jewish parties. It's previously taken place at KitKatClub, Ritter Butzke and BASE MENT.
Read the full statements from Karneval de Purim and ZENNER.