For years, Sarah Maria Sander believed Germany’s cultural world was a place for open debate, artistic freedom and progressive values. Then came Oct. 7.
The 30-year-old Jewish German actress and journalist from Berlin says her outspoken support for Israel after the Hamas attack cost her friends, colleagues and eventually the lead role in a film based on her own life story.
Interview with Sarah Maria Sander
(Video: Yaron Brener)
What began as a dream project — a screenplay she co-wrote with fellow actor Rainer Begoihn and planned to star in — turned into a bitter legal and personal battle after she traveled repeatedly to Israel during the war, filmed life under rocket fire and publicly defended Israel on social media and in interviews.
“They found out what I was doing for Israel and they told me that it was not good for them to work with me because they were scared that other actors, agencies, film festivals would have a problem with me,” Sander told ynet Global in an interview. “They kicked me out of this project, which was based on my script, and in this film I was also supposed to play the lead role.”
Sander’s story has drawn attention in Germany and Israel as part of a broader debate over antisemitism, free speech and the treatment of pro-Israel voices in Europe’s cultural institutions since Oct. 7. She says the backlash against her exposed what she describes as deep hypocrisy inside Germany’s arts scene.
“When it comes to Israel, it’s definitely not the case,” she said of the industry’s self-image as progressive and tolerant. “Almost all this film industry and art industry in Europe, especially in Germany, is very, very pro-Palestine and very much on the radical left side of the political discussion.”
After Oct. 7, she said, she saw “almost no empathy with what happened in Israel.”
“I lost a lot of friends and colleagues because of my work for Israel,” she said. “A lot of artists have no idea about Israel. They have all these assumptions. We think our artists are very progressive and very political, but sadly, when it comes to Israel, this was not the case. It was very biased and very hateful.”
Sander said she had agreed at one point to remove the Jewish identity of the main character from the script, a decision she now says she would not repeat.
“I try not to regret things because every decision you try to learn something from,” she said. “I would definitely not sign a contract with this production company ever again. I’m smarter now, I think, and I’m also braver.”
She said Jewish and pro-Israel artists in Europe may need to build their own spaces. “I realized that they already kicked me out,” she said. “I’m already this person they don’t want to work with. I think Jewish voices or pro-Israel voices in the art industry, they have to create their own projects because it’s almost not possible in Europe right now to be a Jewish or pro-Israel voice and be part of this normal art industry.”
Sander said she is pursuing the matter in court with her lawyer after being removed from the contract. A court has ruled there were insufficient grounds to block distribution of the film, which is expected to be released.
The actress said the pain was intensified by the casting of a pro-Palestinian actress in her place. “The director and the producer told me that an artist should not be political, and that’s the reason why they kicked me out,” Sander said. “But then you see the other actors and you see on social media that they clearly have a political view and they are pro-Palestinian. So it’s all so biased. It’s a lie.”
She said she does not regret her decision to support Israel. “I would always do the same,” she said. “I would always try my best to help Israel, especially after Oct. 7. This is just the sad reality that we are dealing with, but it shows a lot. It shows the hypocrisy.”
Sander said many young German artists appear to support the Palestinian cause because it is fashionable. “It’s cool, it’s trendy to be pro-Palestinian,” she said. “They’re not even connected to the Middle East. It’s just German young left artists that think it’s the right thing to do to wave a Palestinian flag.”
Asked whether Oct. 7 changed her view of Europe, Sander said the attack and its aftermath exposed attitudes that had previously been hidden. “I was not so naive before Oct. 7, but I think Oct. 7 really opened all of our eyes in Europe because the masks just fell down,” she said. “We saw the faces of the people, of our friends, of our colleagues.”
She said Jews and Israelis need greater solidarity. “It’s so important that the people in Israel understand the struggles of the Jews in the Diaspora and the Jews in the Diaspora understand the struggles of people in Israel,” she said. “We need this unity. We need to be together and strong. It could help fight all this antisemitism in the world.”
Sander said the question of whether Jews can remain in Europe is deeply personal. “Aliyah and moving to Israel is the most beautiful thing, but it has to come from something positive,” she said, using the Hebrew term for Jewish immigration to Israel. “It has to come from the wish to be in your homeland, to live in Israel. It’s very sad if it comes from, ‘I’m scared for my life. I’m scared that I will be attacked in Europe.’”
She said she still hopes antisemitism in Europe can be fought, but added: “To be more realistic, it doesn’t look so good.”
As for herself, Sander said she thinks daily about moving to Israel. “I love Israel. I would move here today,” she said. “The only reason why I’m still in Germany is I think there’s almost no German-speaking voice that advocates for Israel. There are a lot of wonderful people who do that in English and in other languages, but in German there are not so many.”
“I hope that with my work I can help not only Israel but also the Jews in Germany,” she said. “That’s why I believe this work is important and I have to be in Germany to do this work. A few years probably I will still stay in Germany, but I’m thinking every day about moving and what the future will bring.”