Arabian Panther: "Berghain Canceled My Gig Because Of My Pro-Palestine Stance"

Arabian Panther alleges that Berghain’s head booker only told Ritmo Fatale boss Kendal the true reason.

Berlin nightlife institutions tend pride themselves on inclusive policies and programming. French-Lebanese artist Arabian Panther nonetheless claims that storied superclub Berghain canceled his event there on account of his support of the Palestinian movement.

The club, which has been no stranger to online controversy lately, had called off French label Ritmo Fatale‘s curated night on Friday, January 12. In a statement, Arabian Panther alleges that they cited “renovation work” as the cause of the cancelation despite the club operating as usual that Friday and Saturday.

In conversations leading up to the cancellation, however, Berghain’s head booker Tim Rosenberger allegedly told Ritmo Fatale boss Kendal that it was due to Arabian Panther’s pro-Palestine stance. Resident Advisor writes that they spoke to Kendal, who verified Arabian Panther’s side of the story.

Arabian Panther wears a kūfīya during performances and can be seen waving Palestinian flags in Instagram posts dating back to 2019. When asked, Rosenberger allegedly told Kendal that no single social media post was to blame for the club’s decision, clarifying, “no, it’s global.”

“Kendal explained that my commitment to the Palestinian cause has been part of the soul of my musical project since the beginning of it, five years ago and is inseparable from it,” Arabian Panther writes in his statement. “I always play with a black kūfīya on my head visible on all my photos, videos.”

“My first tracks were signed on the first Palestinian techno label, Harara in 2018,” he goes on. “All my communications were already public when he submitted my profile to them last summer.”

This wouldn’t be the first time a Berlin brand has distanced itself from an artist for their views. In September, we reported that DJ Assault had been pulled from the lineups of Kater Blau and HÖR for unspecified social media commentary.

Berghain has not publicly responded to Arabian Panther’s statement at the time of writing.