This land was never called Israel, never. Israel is only the name of the Prophet Yacoub, or Jacob....

Being a Jew, I feel I have the right to ask this question...What is wrong with Jewish people, especially in Israel?. Just because you WISH the Palis and Arabs and the world would accept you and live civilly, respectfully through our constant appeasement---it will NOT make the world like us, never mind stop hating and wishing us dead. It is no surprise that Germans are continued anti-semites. There is something inherently flawed in their character and they have proven this twice in the last century, without doubt. Face the truth. MOST of the world is anti-semetic and stop putting our lives on the line and pretending otherwise. This is the definition of insanity. This time too the results will not be any different from all the other appeasing times. Our survival comes first--yet Germans are patrolling your waters and Katuyshas will again and Kassams are still falling on your heads. Was the world's deafening silence is response to Iran's cry for genocide not convincing enough?Beware and protect. Hopefully Hashem will change all of this soon--that is the only way it could happen. In the meantime, remember, almost the entire world, from the UN, to Germany, to France to all your next door neighbors---anti-semites and JEW killers--only because we are Jews. The cross of the chosen people. G-d help us NOW. B;H;

One way or the other they want to wipe us out. Cancel that abb-ass' passport or let her run for the knesset.peretz could always appoint her minister of culture.

We Arabs are not anti-semitic, or to be true anti Jewish.... You have to understand that. Jews are Human being just like every body else. the problem however is that some Jews see themselves as superior to others and when the chance comes and they have power, they become the most oppressive in nature. This is not worse than Nazi appetite. There are some Jews, particularly the zioinists, who have indeed hijacked Judaism. They are using a Jewish faith to justify whatever of plans they do still have in their bag. A destruction of the Palestinians, muslims and christians, have resulted in a continuing refugeee problems.. Why should a Russian, just because he has Jewish faith, have the right to settle in this land, when a Palestinian who has his grand grand fathers on this lands for thousands of year not return to his land from a refugee campl that is not far away, in most cases within 50 miles of his home town. Being in Jordan Syria or Lebanon. As long as zioinism behaves like this, no Peace, no solution. Simply the Palestinians will not give up.

excuse me but the land was called eretz yisrael from antiquity , meaning the land of Israel you can't erase that from the Bible

All of this to tell us that one jury member calls herself a Palestinian? This is truly devastating news! Should Israel recall its ambassador?

As a "Palestinian" you have a disturbing ignorance of your own heritage, history and the land of Israel. The name "Palestine" is the 'anglicised' term for "Syria Palaestina", the name given by the Romans when they defeated the kingdoms of Israel & Judah in AD135. A name given to utterly remove any Jewish connection from the territory, when Jerusalem was simultaneously renamed "Aelia Capitolina". From that time even to the rebirth of the Jewish State in 1948 a Jewish presence STILL remained in the Land despite the area being conquered by numerous foreign occupiers. After the Roman occupation ending in 330AD, the region that eventually became known as "Palestine" was then occupied by numerous empires; Byzantines (330-638AD), Arabs (Fatimids & Abbasids), and Turks (Seljuks) (638-1099AD), Crusaders (1099-1291AD), Mamluks (1291-1516AD), Ottomans (1516-1917AD), British (1917-1948AD). Israel was REBORN in 1948 and exists to the present day. "Palestine" itself has NEVER existed as a 'sovereign' nation with it's own people, culture and capital city. Until 1948 it was just a regional land occupied by foreign empires. Despite the repeated use of the term "Palestine" in political and media circles, it is a fact that "Palestine" as a social, political, national, regional, religious or geographic entity of any description does not exist at this time and has not done so since 1948.

In the original christian bible, it was Palestine. In the Torah, Moses did not enter the land as of yet. He died in the desert. So I wonder where in the bible is that. Of course the bible has been written many times, and the words keep changing, and is not untouched and preserved...

You say: "After the Roman occupation ending in 330AD, the region that eventually became known as "Palestine" was then occupied by numerous empires; Byzantines (330-638AD), Arabs (Fatimids & Abbasids), and Turks (Seljuks) (638-1099AD), Crusaders (1099-1291AD), Mamluks (1291-1516AD), Ottomans (1516-1917AD), British (1917-1948AD). Israel was REBORN in 1948 and exists to the present day. " Well, all Turks, Seljucks, Abbasid, Ummayids, etc... were Muslim sultans or Caliphates.... The country was part of that Caliphate and was not really considered occupied in the sense you describe. Palestine has been the name of a region rather than a state... The state it self or the politically entity itself representing that region has taken different shapes at different time.... The region has been continusly called Palestine since a time long before the Romans.... I do not know where you get your info from...!

Israel can't make a film interesting enough for the festival so why not just scream "Anti-Semite!" After all everyone is an anti-Semite now like evil hate mongers like Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu, so obviously the Berlin film festival must be since Israel can't produce a film worth seeing... pah. So much for the "tough Jew" notion - quite a few Israelis, like the author of this whiny article, have become a bunch of cry babies...

What this article seems to be aspiring to is a general trend that I've noticed in Australia too. Supporting the Palestinian cause and demonising Israel seems to be in vogue and fashionable amongst the arts community and undergraduate students. Generally if you're an arts student you have to be left wing and left wing means anti-Israel these days. I've seen the words "Intifadah" being kidnapped as a term for general political dissent, rebellion and it being used to be identified with socialist, feminist, gay rights causes , i think this is dangerous and needs to be dealt with. I don't know a single arts student that is not jewish that doesn't have these sort of leanings. This all comes bungled up with anti-american, anti-imperialism, anti-corporate thinking etc... you get my drift. Something needs to be done about this sort of thing which is a worldwide trend, we can't simply dismiss them as irrelevant and misguided because these are the antisemites of the future!

You don't know the facts! Only the lies you've been taught!

The Germans are furious that the Jews have never forgotten the Holocaust. It rubs them the wrong way. By bashing Israel they are able to get their revenge.

Germany screams about Iran in public; yet they trade billions with Iran. They are two faced hypocrites.

As a Jewish refugee from Iraq, I am sick and tired of you Palestinians crying that you are victims. Get a grip of yourselves, work, and get on your 2 feet like the 1 million Jewish refugees did who had to flee from the Arab countries. If you don't stop dreaming about returning to Israel you will stay in the refugee camps forever.

In Arabic, we say Filistin.... This is similar to Palestine in English. Palestine or Filistin comes from Philistine. Philistine is the coastal region that was occupied by the Philistines... The Philistines are human being who lived in the Land of Canaan around the same time the Israelites left Egypt. There is no point really here to make a point by discussing which names comes first! Palestine is surely a name that is older than Israel. No question about that.

"Long Live Palestine" ... Palestine is Not Born Yet !!!!! and for your personnal knowledge the state of Israel existed 2000 years ago and after so may years in exile jews went back to their ancestral homeland and renamed the land " Stae of Israel"... Please dont look foolish and learn a bit of Israel History... after all knowing Israeli and jews might help you build your own country that you would like to call Palestine... Good luck to u

I would say what you have said is correct. I cannot disagree with that. I feel sorry for your suffering because I know how it feels to be a refugee. What have happened to you is not caused by us the Palestinians beleive... I feel sorry again for your suffering, and I think you understand our point.... Shalom Lakha

...whether Mr. Beck or any of you who spills hatred here has ever been to Germany. Why the hell should I care if the jury of a semi-important film festival is not into Israeli (I'd be surprised when they had banned Jewish directors in general) movies. The world has more important topics to discuss about (well, I guess, some of you lack the ability of discussing in a calm and reasonable manner anyway) So long, Michael.

not even Romans, except for a very short time right after the destruction of Judea. The Ottomans never used the term 'Palestine,' either. The only people known to have called themselves Palestinians were the Jews under the British occupation. Where do you people get your education? Don't you read any books other than your propaganda?

What Ivan in his post says about Australian arts students equally applies to American students as well. I know it for a fact. Propaganda works and the bad-guys have been at it continuously since 1948. What you are seeing now are the results of this continuous, deliberate subversion. Of cause, should islam prevail, those art-students will be among the first to loose their heads.

They disappeared from history long, long before Rome renamed the land Palestine. You are NOT a European, at least you are NOT Philistine European-- what you call now Palestinians is a mongrel mixture of various ethnic groups from Afghans to Maroccans and Algerians, with Egyptians, Syrians, Arabs, various Southern Slavs and Greeks who became Muslims and Lebanese forming a middle. This accounts for you NOT having a distinct language, history or culture. Oh yes, you can add some Jews converted to Islam along the way into the mix as well. But not Philistines.

Only you insist on identifying yourself as a refugee, because it allows you to do nothing constructive with your life and to justify murder and terror. You have more land than you know what to do with. Jordan is more than twice the size of israel with fewer people. Why don't you build a flowering country the way Jews did in Israel, instead of being on the international welfare for 60 years.

For the most part, Israelis make lousy films. And if Germans are not interested in them ( as well as Americans, Brits and many others), it does not mean that they are anti-Semites. Stop crying like children and grow up. Produce good films, and you will have the praise of the world. Produce bad films, and nobody will notice you.

ITS IN THE BIBLE IN EVERY BOOK AND YOUR BIBLE IS EVEN BASED ON OUR BIBLE. ALL THE GINTILES KNOW IT IN THEIR BACK OF THEIR MIND. THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO, WE ARE BACK IN THE PROMISED LAND. IF YOU ARE SCARED YOU CAN READ IZIKIEL 38-38. AND YES I AM ONE OF THOSE JEWS THAT YOU WROTE ABOUT. GOD BLESS ISRAEL AND OUR ONLY FRIEND AMERICA.

THEY EVENTUALLY SAY - GOOD WE'RE GLAD WE DID IT

is justified to protest against governments that establish apartheid-like conditions to control the lives of people because they are not like themselves. There were all kinds of boycotts of South Africa. Perhaps when the world realizes the horrific apartheid conditions under which the Palestinians are forced to live, there will be a more concerted effort to boycott Israel.