News from Berlin
Arundhati Roy cancels Berlinale participation due to Wim Wenders’ statement
Indian writer Arundhati Roy has canceled her participation in the Berlinale film festival because she was offended by a statement made by jury president Wim Wenders regarding the Gaza war. As Spiegel Online reported, the 80-year-old director was asked about the German government’s stance on the Gaza war. Wenders replied that filmmakers should stay out of politics. Arundhati Roy (author of The Great God of Small Things) called the statement that art is not political “unbelievable,” according to Spiegel Online. Roy wrote the screenplay for the 1989 film In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones, which is being screened as part of the festival’s classic film program. Source: deutschlandfunk
Tesla vs. IG Metall
Police were called to the works council meeting at the Tesla plant in Grünheide near Berlin. Plant manager André Thierig, writing on the “X” portal, accused a representative of the IG Metall union of recording the meeting without authorization. Tesla contacted the police and filed a complaint. IG Metall called it a smear campaign and rejected the accusation. A new works council is to be elected at Elon Musk’s only European Tesla factory at the beginning of March. A conflict has existed between Tesla and the IG Metall union for some time. Tesla refuses to introduce a collective bargaining agreement. Source: t-online
News from Germany
4,200 Germans Serve in Israel’s Military
More than 50,000 soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) hold at least one other nationality in addition to their Israeli citizenship. By far the largest group consists of US citizens (more than 13,000). Germany ranks fourth with a total of 4,193 soldiers. These figures come from the response to a 2025 Freedom of Information Request submitted by an Israeli NGO. Such double citizenship poses a question: many European countries are obligated to investigate crimes against humanity as soon as their own citizens are involved. Currently, investigations are underway against several Israelis with dual citizenship who are suspected of involvement in war crimes. Source: nd
Migration: CDU wants tough rules at EU borders
The CDU wants to push through a further tightening of migration policy. A resolution is targeted for adoption at the CDU conference on February 20 and 21. According to Bild, the CDU wants asylum seekers attempting to enter the EU from safe third countries to be immediately turned back at the EU’s external border without any checks. The motion proposes, among others, advanced language skills and at least five years of residence without social assistance for naturalization. It also establishes certain principles for those who have already been naturalized: for example, participants in demonstrations demanding the caliphate or Sharia law, as well as those convicted of antisemitic crimes, should lose their passports. Source: merkur
Afghan killed for opposing royalist Iran’s “Lion and Sun” flag
A 43-year-old Afghan citizen named Morteza Sadeghi, owner of the Sepideh restaurant in Hamburg, died after being stabbed multiple times on February 12. He had lived in Germany for more than 35 years and founded the restaurant about 25 years ago. Preliminary information indicates that the confrontation occurred when Sadeghi opposed a royalist Iranian immigrant’s request to erect the “Lion and Sun” flag of the overthrown Iranian monarchy in his restaurant, leading to a fight and ultimately his murder. Reports indicate that the suspect fled the scene after the incident, and efforts are ongoing to identify and arrest him. Source: ava
Government in Germany announces further rent regulations
In June 2025, the CDU/CSU-SPD coalition extended the rent brake law (Mietpreisbremse) until 2029. Now, Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) has announced a “second package” regulating index-linked rental contracts, furnished apartments and short-term lets. According to the draft law, seen by public broadcaster ARD, landlords will, for instance, be able to annually increase index-linked rents by a maximum of 3.5% of the previous net cold rent. Hubig said, in an interview with ARD, that the law should be ready by parliamentary recess this summer. Opposition parties point out that the proposed reform is too slow and still too lax. Source: iamexpat
German integration course admissions are frozen until further notice
The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) has confirmed that it is not currently admitting new students to German integration courses and that admissions are paused until further notice. The BAMF stopped integration course admissions in December 2025. Integration courses are designed by the German government to help anyone who has recently arrived in Germany to adjust to everyday life. “We don’t know the reason for the suspension,” Institute for Language and Communication (ISK) representative Gerd Heymann told Correctiv, a German investigative journalism nonprofit organization. Source: iamexpat
