Open letter to Chancellor Merz: 162 other stars sign Israel-appell

The open letter published at the end of July to Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (69), whose first signaters include Joko Winterscheidt (46) and Klaas Heufer-Umlauf (41), is now supported by numerous other stars. In the letter, an immediate stop of German arms exports to Israel and instead increased humanitarian aid measures for Gaza are required.

With the title “Don’t let Gaza die, Mr. Merz”. These include filmmakers such as Sandra Hüller, Fatih Akin, Nilam Farooq and Katharina Böhm as well as music stars such as Clueso, Yvonne Catterfeld and Nina Chuba. Model Lilly Becker can now also be found on the list. The director Ari Folman, who was awarded a Golden Globe, also signed the call.

The total number of prominent supporters of the open letter thus increases to over 360. In Chancellor Merz, it says, among other things,: “They have taken a position in the past few days and criticized the Israeli government. We appreciate that, but one thing is clear: words alone do not save life.”

At the same time, the supporters condemn “the gruesome crimes of Hamas” and demand that “everything has to be done politically and diplomatically” to free Israeli hostages. At the same time, they emphasize that no crime legitimizes “to punish millions of innocent people collectively”.

However, the open letter is not free of criticism. Voices, for example, condemn that after the attack of the terrorist organization Hamas on a music festival in the Negev Desest near the Gaza strip on October 7, 2023, no comparable initiative was launched. Over 1,200 people were killed in the attack, hundreds were kidnapped.