Hundreds of people came together in a “Queers for Palestine solidarity block” at the Berlin Radical Queer March on Saturday, 27 July. The march is billed as an anti-capitalist, critical alternative to the mainstream CSD (Christopher Street Day, or Pride) celebration. However, in the days leading up to the march, organizers of the march joined right-wing parties and the German Bundestag in labeling the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign for Palestinian rights as “anti-Semitic.” (It should be noted that the Israeli Embassy in Berlin is a sponsor of the mainstream CSD event.)
Berlin Against Pinkwashing and an array of diverse organizers called for a Queers for Palestine solidarity block at the march, expressing radical anti-racist, anti-colonial liberatory politics. The support for the block exceeded the expectations of many, especially in a city where support for Palestine is facing growing repression as well as growing popularity, from the political ban imposed on Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat to the anti-BDS resolution passed by the Bundestag.
Photo credit: Samidoun
Indeed, shortly after the march took off from Mariannenplatz – and it was clear just how large the Queers for Palestine contingent was, forming a significant percentage of the entire rally – some organizers and participants of the main march attempted to violently attack and tear down the signs of marchers carrying signs with slogans like “Queers for a Free Palestine” and “Jewish Lesbian for a Free Palestine.”
Soon after the launch of the march, a squad of police clad in full riot gear blocked off the path of the block, separating it from the head of the march and preventing the hundreds of participants from moving forward, as well as the many more marchers behind the block.
Police demanded that the block exclude itself from the march. Reports indicate that organizers talked to the police and declared the Queers for Palestine block to be not part of the Radical Queer March, exposing the block participants to police scrutiny and potential violence. This reliance on the police came despite the fact that the Queers for Palestine block included many people of color, refugees, migrants, asylum seekers and other people particularly vulnerable to police repression.
After a tense showdown, the police finally moved to the side – apparently after the reconsideration of organizers of the main march – allowing the block and the march to pass through and continue on the route. Despite the repression and tension (as well as violent anti-Palestinian, racist attacks that took place at several points along the route), the spirit of the block was overwhelmingly positive and creative, with rainbow signs and colors, balloons and flowers and clear expressions of solidarity with Palestine.
Photo credit: Samidoun
Banners reading “Support LGBTQI* Palestinians – Boycott Israel – #BDS” and “No Pride in Israeli Apartheid” were held high along with Palestinian and rainbow flags, while marchers chanted “Queer liberation – end the occupation!” “No pride in apartheid!” “Yes, yes BDS!” and “No justice! No peace! No racist police!”
Photo credit: Samidoun
The block was received enthusiastically by people in the communities surrounding the march. People opened their windows to wave Palestinian flags and cheer on the demonstrators, while several people came down to join the demonstration after seeing the marchers. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes all of the organizers and participants in this block to challenge racism, settler colonialism and all forms of oppression.
Our Lives, Our Streets! Palestine Solidarity in the Radical Queer March Berlin 2019
More than 500 people showed up for the Queers for Palestine block in the Berlin Radical Queer March on Saturday, July 27, 2019. From the anti-deutsche “radical queers” who evidently called the police to block us, to the cancellation of the queer after-party at Liebig34 in protest of the queer march organizers calling in cops in riot gear – it’s been a critical day for Berlin. The time of silence on Palestine is over! The time of the White left dictating people with lived experiences of racism and colonial oppression how to be free is over!
Like other radical queer and trans folks, feminists, anarchists and revolutionaries of all sorts, we were excited about the Radical Queer March in Berlin. We were taken aback by the level of aggression and outright physical violence we were to experience from fellow queer organizers and demonstrators in an attempt to silence and exclude us. Unfathomable that “radical queers” would call the cops on queers of colour, migrants and refugees. But we did it. We marched together, felt our collective power and are thrilled, energized and hopeful for the future.
Photo credit: Samidoun
WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE THE MARCH
Here’s what happened: On July 15, the organizers stated on their Facebook page that they would not tolerate anti-Semitic groups and content in the march and characterized the campaign for BDS as inherently anti-Semitic. This shameful accusation made it clear that radical queers committed to freedom and justice for Palestine – including Palestinians, Arabs, Jews, Black and POC folks and white allies – are not welcome nor safe at the March.
Pride is political and radical queer politics must be anti-colonial and anti-racist, so we decided to reclaim our space and spontaneously called for a block of ‘Queers for Palestine’ via social media.
In response to the organizers conflating support of BDS with anti-Jewish racism and explicitly excluding supporters of BDS, two types of responses appeared on the Facebook event page for the march. On the one hand, extreme hateful comments (and even graphic visual materials showing naked, tormented corpses of allegedly gay-bashed queer Palestinians) smearing BDS supporters as racists and demanding our exclusion from the march.
White Germans had the audacity to compare Jewish supporters of BDS to Nazis. Through the same twisted racist lens, they dared branding any opposition to Israeli colonial state violence as bigotted and even genocidal. Forgetting that many of us, as Queers who have lived under the authority of those groups, have fought, and continue to fight, against their bigoted politics and practices that affect us largely.
On the other hand, dozens of individuals – primarily Arabs and other POCs and Jews – kept pointing out that the campaign for BDS isinspired by and in the proud tradition of other successful anti-racist and anti-colonial boycott movements, including the South African anti-apartheid movement.
BDS is supported globally by a myriad of social justice organizations and giants of anti-racist-liberation struggles from Desmond Tutu to Angela Davis. BDS is a nonviolent tactic to pressure Israel to comply with international law: (1) End the illegal occupation of Palestinian land 2) Equal rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel and 3) the right of displaced Palestinian refugees to return to their ancestral homes. Yet, those accusing BDS and its supporters as antisemitic showed no interest and effort to engage beyond the same lazy, racist soundbites.
Some examples of queer supporters of BDS refusing to let White Germans define racism and shame us into silence about injustice in Palestine :
“If the organizers of this event deny the rights of Palestinians, queer or not, for self determination and to resist a racist occupation in non-violent means, there is nothing radical or queer about this event.”
“Being pro-Palestinian and pro-BDS does not equal anti-semitism. Making claims like these undermine the very real presence of both anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim sentiments that are rife in Europe at the moment”
“I’m another Queer Jew, who will not throw my Palestinian siblings under the bus. I cannot attend this March, unless it stands for the marginalized and oppressed!”
On July 25th, the organizers released a statement (in German and English) apologizing “for the undifferentiated, across-the-board equation of BDS with antisemitism” yet insisting they “regard certain methods and lines of arguments of parts of the BDS movement” as antisemtic – such as accusing Israel of pinkwashing.
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE MARCH
We expected a bunch of you to show up. We did not expect the amazing – indeed, historical! – turnout of over 500 people. We showed that much of queer Berlin is in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle for liberation and fed up with the suffocating politics of White entitlement in the city. Queer-fabulous and confidently we stepped into our power, on our streets. A beautiful colorful riot!
Photo credit: Samidoun
One of the participants shared his account: “I walked around the entire march, to the expected predominance of Whiteness and in contrast of the Queers for Palestine block that was a beautiful and heart-warming mix of queers and our allies. Queers that were White, Black, Brown, PoC, Latinxs, migrants, refugees, Palestinians, Israelis, Jewish, Turkish, US citizens, Iranians, Indigenous, undocumented, sex-workers, anarchists, antiFa.. and the list goes on. Many people showed up the Queers for Palestine block as a response to the way White Germans have been attacking the block for days.”
Once the March began, one of the organizers attempted to tear down placards reading “Queers for a free Palestine. Fight against: racism, islamophobia, homo/transphobia, antisemitism, apartheid!” Queer women* of color and Jewish women defended themselves against this act of physical violence. It became crystal clear that we were not safe in this march. Unsuccessful in forcing us to take our placards down, the organizer went to talk to the police.
Soon after, the police blocked our path in full riot gear and demanded that we allow the rest of the march to pass through and stay behind ourselves.Apparently, some of the organizers declared our block to not be part of the march. With our spirits running high yet afraid of possible police violence, we decided to stay put and demanded our right to continue marching. After a scary, nerve wracking showdown, the organizers called off the cops and we marched on.
Consider the absurdity and grossness of this situation: queers of color, migrants and refugees, unsafe at a “radical queer march”, exposed to the violence of the organizers and having to face the cops (and in full riot gear). The very fact that we need to defend ourselves against physical and police violence at a “radical queer march” is infuriating and deeply shameful. Not to mention the enormous stress and risk posed on participants of our block, including asylum seekers, refugees, and undocumented individuals.
The organizers could have called for a plenum after the march to allow for open engagement and debate on these important issues affecting us as queers in the city and as activists committed to justice globally. Instead they deployed the police, an institution known for its latent and active support of racist, right-wing and ultranationalist groups in Germany, let alone its structural role in society and longstanding, ongoing histories of violence against Black and non-Black people of colour, trans and queer folks, migrants and refugees. We are sad and appalled in the face of this shameful betrayal in the name of ‘radical queer’ politics.
We reject the racist criminalisation and stigmatisation of the struggle for a free Palestine and its supporters, in particular Palestinians who are conflated with being Muslim and who are always already constructed as uncontrollably violent and racist. We also reject the constant policing of Jewish voices in Germany. White Germans, self-appointed as the defenders against anti-Semitism, continue to attack Jewish people that don’t subscribe to their political agenda of Zionism. We are in solidarity with each other, against White policing and hijacking of BIPoC and Jewish voices. We march together.
The anarcha-feminist house project Liebig34 canceled the post-march queer party in protest of calling the cops. They announced the following on Twitter: “No cops at Pride! We don’t think it’s time for party after what happened today at #radicalqueermarch. So we cancel the party at #Liebig34”. We thank Liebig34 for this act of solidarity.
AND WHAT ABOUT THE NATIONAL SYMBOLS?
Yes, we were aware of the organizers’ request to avoid national symbols and names of nation-states on posters and in chants. When we say “queers for a free Palestine”, it is not about nationalism; it is about freedom from colonialism, occupation and apartheid. Throughout the 20th century, the white European left had a hard time understanding that decolonization struggles cannot be reduced to nationalism. Colonized peoples have been explaining this many times over. Enough is enough! Then the blatant double-standard in regards to Israeli flags with rainbow colours waived by a contingent of protestors at the march. Even though we were hundreds of protestors, our block had no nationalistic or racist poster, signs or chants. We showed up as an explicitly anti-racist queer-feminist block protesting racist and colonial injustice right where we belong: at the radical queer march in our city.
BREAKING THE SILENCE
For decades, Berlin’s leftist and queer spaces successfully silenced any meaningful discussion about Palestine and the German state’s political, financial and military support of Israeli colonial state violence. For a whole slew of reasons, the issue was both ignored and anxiously suppressed. This was possible as long as this was a ‘theoretical’ discussion between primarily white Germans.
That time is over. Berlin is not so white anymore. There are too many Palestinians and other Middle Easterners, Black people and POCs, migrants and refugees, Jews and Jewish Israelis, to single this issue out for ‘protection’ from open discussion and debate. For us it’s not a theoretical debate we can afford to put aside – it’s about our lives, and for some a matter of both life and death. These are our streets, our pride weekend and we will bring our own fabulous chairs if we don’t get seats at the table.
Once again, queer people of colour in support of Palestine and their allies are accused of “hijacking” the parade and of “destroying the alternative CSD”. This is a further demonstration that for some, our rights, our voices, are secondary props that are welcomed as long as we are silent, without stepping into our power as full humans with our own politics and desires. This feeds into the very mainstream integration discourse of the German state whose racist politics these same White voices proclaim to oppose otherwise. If anyone hijacked the parade and caused this division, it is those who are refusing to listenand engage in actual debate. It is those who ostracise, marginalise and criminalise voices of colour to the benefit of White feelings of comfort and ongoing White dominance.
We are here. We are queer. We are internationalists marching for intersectional feminist politics, for trans liberation, for sex workers rights, for freedom of movement and the right to stay, for a free Palestine, in solidarity with LGBTQI communities in Turkey, Russia and everywhere, for freedom and justice for all. And we will not be silenced!
This was a spontaneous action. We are individuals, primarily queer women*, active for a free Palestine in various groups, and outraged at the shameless instrumentalization of the language of anti-racism to further racist and colonial politics. We are not a standing group (yet), but we want to stay in touch with you all and claim our space as queers committed to anti-racism and liberation for all!
Special thanks to Berlin against Pinkwashing for the beautiful placards. Thank you to all participants for showing up – we truly didn’t expect such an impressive turnout. It was an honour to take the streets together and it sure brought much joy! Thank you to all the activists working for years to break the silence on Palestine in Berlin. We know that such powerful actions build on years of hard work and activism.
What is BDS?BDS is the Palestinian-led movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel until it complies with International Law. It targets institutions, not individuals. In many countries, radical queers march under banners of Palestine solidarity and BDS. Read more: https://bdsmovement.net/
Over 40 Jewish organizations, interntionally, including some that support BDS and some that don’t, responding to the stigmatisation of BDS as antisemitic
Pinkwashing is a term coined by LGBTIQ activists to describe the way nation-states and corporations are exploiting LGBT rights to market themselves as liberal and progressive, while committing human rights violations. Every year, the Israeli state has a stand in the Gay and Lesbian city festival in Berlin and participates in the main pride event.
Join Within Our Lifetime, Palestinian Youth Movement, Labor For Palestine and more on Monday, July 29, in front of the Consulate General of Lebanon in NYC in solidarity with Palestinians across camps in Lebanon that are rising up to demand the repeal of the Lebanese Labour Law to ban Syrian and Palestinian refugees from working without visas that has led to mass unemployment and a crackdown on refugee workers.
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are barred from 72 regulated professions, including medicine, public transit, farming and fishery, and the implementation of this Lebanese labor law barred Palestinians (and Syrian refugees) from working at all without costly and difficult-to-obtain work visas. These protests, led mostly by youth in the camps, which are home to nearly a half-million Palestinian refugees, also come in rejection of the harsh conditions that have impacted Palestinian refugees after the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993. In fact, the situation of deprivation, repression and despair has forced many Palestinian refugees in Lebanon to migrate to Europe or elsewhere, seeking human dignity.
Palestinian organizations in Lebanon have expressed specific demands, including:
– the granting of clear legal status to Palestinian refugees with civil, economic and social rights;
– amending Lebanese labor law to cancel the work permit requirement for Palestinian refugees and end their exclusion from regulated professions
– ending ongoing discrimination against Palestinian refugees in a range of areas, including allowing them to own property.
They pledged to continue to protest until the dignity of Palestinian refugees was respected, emphasizing that this campaign is part and parcel of the struggle to return to and liberate the entire land of Palestine and reject all attempts to undermine the Palestinian cause. (The statement was signed by the Al Naqab Center for Youth Activities, Arab Palestinian Cultural Club, Palestinian Cultural Club – Beirut, Palestinian Cultural Club at AUB, Palestinian Cultural Club at LIU, Camps Boycott and the Palestinian National Theater – Lebanon.)
Check out the following statements for more information on the situation in Lebanon:
Welcome Janna Jihad to Southern California as part of her US tour! The organizers are honored to host 13 year-old Palestinian journalist and youth activist Janna Jihad, the youngest accredited journalist in the world and ambassador of Shamsaan, a South African children’s rights organization. Janna has been reporting since she was 7 years old, when two of her relatives were killed by Israeli occupation forces in the Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh.
Many organizations are involved in bringing Janna to SoCal, including Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition; Palestinian Youth Movement, Majdal Center, Karama, Jewish Voice for Peace, Mondoweiss, LA4Palestine, Answer Los Angeles, Jews for Palestinian Right of Return and more! See the posters for these events below:
Janna Jihad Tamimi, 13 year-old Palestinian activist, one of the youngest accredited journalists in the world, and Ambassador of South African children’s rights organization (Shamsaan – meaning “2 Suns”) will speak in Dearborn during her month-long tour of the United States this month.
Janna hails from the village of Nabi Saleh, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which from 2009-2016 conducted weekly protests against Israel’s occupation and confiscation of Palestinian land and resources. Janna is the cousin of Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi, who was famously imprisoned after confronting an Israeli soldier. Janna will be on tour for the very first time in the USA.
Last summer Janna undertook a successful speaking tour to South Africa, where, among other things, she participated in Nelson Mandela’s centenary birthday freedom walk. In addition to her stop in Michigan, Janna is scheduled to speak on Capitol Hill and dialogue with noted personalities such as Dr. Marc Lamont Hill and Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman during events sponsored by Amnesty International, the IMEU, and others. But, primarily, Janna hopes to engage with broad sections of the American public, and especially with activists fighting for justice in their own communities, and with youth.
As a Palestinian child living through the brutal injustices of military occupation that impacts all aspects of her life on a daily basis, Janna began recording, reporting on and sharing her lived reality, from the age of 7, shortly after two of her relatives were killed by Israeli forces. Janna now enjoys a global following, serves as ambassador of the South African Palestinian children’s initiative, Shamsaan and has been awarded internationally for her media role. In a political climate where adults are inert with despair, Janna continues her passionate fight for the freedom of her people, stands up for human rights and speaks out against the various mechanisms used by Israel to violate the rights of Palestinians, particularly, children.
The event will include a director’s cut screening of the documentary film Radiance of Resistance featuring the Tamimi family followed by a discussion with Janna.
THERE’S NO PRIDE IN APARTHEID!
CSD Berlin is commemorating 50 years to the Stonewalll riots but at the same time it also pinkwashes 70 years of colonialism, occupation and apartheid! Just as in previous years, CSD Berlin embraces the criminal Israeli embassy as its “proud partner”.
Let’s continue the Stonewall legacy by raising our voices against all forms of oppression and show that the Berlin CSD will not serve as a platform for glossing over Israeli crimes against humanity. We will stand tall and bring our BDS message to the heart of the CSD.
Afterwards we’ll join the ‘radical march’. Can’t Pinkwash This! #JusticeIsIndivisble #BDSYes
We are calling on all queers* committed to anti-racism and anti-colonialism to join our Pro-BDS/Palestine soli block at the ‘Radical Queer March Berlin 2019.’
The organisers of the ‘radical’ march are mobilising the language of anti-racism to silence queer support of BDS and the Palestinian liberation struggle. Bring your signs, bring your friends and show up for solidarity for Palestine and against the shameful attempt at appropriating anti-racism for furthering racist and colonial politics.
Let’s reclaim feminist queer politics, gender liberation and radical sexuality from the grip of nationalisms and corporate culture. Let’s take a position against ALL forms of state violence. Stonewall was a riot.
Der diesjährige CSD Berlin erinnert an 50 Jahre Stonewalll- Ausschreitungenund gleichzeitig werden 70 Jahre Kolonialismus, Besatzung und Apartheid mit dem Hinweis auf Rechte für LGTBQI* Menschen weggewischt (pinkwashing)! Wie in den Vorjahren sieht der CSD Berlin die kriminelle israelische Botschaft als “stolzen Partner”.
Lasst Sie uns das Erbe von Stonewall fortsetzen, indem wir unsere Stimmen gegen alle Formen der Unterdrückung erheben und zeigen, dass der Berliner CSD nicht als Plattform dienen darf, die israelischen Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit zu beschönigen. Wir werden dagegen aufstehen und unsere BDS-Botschaft ins Herz des CSD bringen.
Im Anschluss gehen wir zum ‘radical march’.
Demonstrate 12pm in Piccadilly Gardens This Saturday 27th July
Stop Israel’s House Demolitions in Sur Baher, East Jerusalem – the Biggest single ethnic cleansing since 1967.
Caterpillar bulldozers have been identified and are right now being used to demolish 70 Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem, in order to expand Israel’s illegal settlements, which are illegal under international law.
HSBC invests around £100million worth of shares in Caterpillar. It’s time for HSBC to end their complicity. Take action: bit.ly/HSBComplicity
From a family in Sur Baher:
“When the house is demolished, we will be in the streets.”
“We heard very loud bangs coming from a building right next door to where we are now, and that was a large mechanical digger used to rip off part of the roof of that building, which was home up until this morning to two families.”
Protest called by:
Manchester Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Manchester Palestine Action
Manchester Jewish Action for Palestine
Palestine is under attack. From the “Deal of the Century” to the home demolitions in Sur Baher to the attempts to liquidate Palestinian refugees’ right to return home, Palestinians are resisting an intensified assault on their rights and, indeed, their very existence. This attack is not confined to the borders of occupied Palestine or even to the refugee camps in the Arab countries surrounding Palestine where Palestinians have been forcibly exiled for over 71 years. The ongoing siege on Palestinian organizing, struggle and resistance is also taking place in countries around the world – and Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat is being targeted in Germany as part of that very same attack.
On 22 June, Barakat was scheduled to give a speech in Berlin, Germany on Trump’s “deal of the century” and the Bahrain economic normalization conference. Instead, he was stopped by dozens of police, taken to a police station and given an 8-page document banning him from political events, speeches and activities until 31 July and informing him that his residency in Germany will not be renewed. This action comes directly following the incitement of the Israeli anti-BDS ministry, the so-called “Ministry of Strategic Affairs,” waging a global propaganda and disinformation campaign against Palestinian writers, activists and human rights defenders, as well as the Palestine solidarity movement. We are urging you to join us in taking action on July 28-31 in solidarity with Khaled Barakat and for freedom of expression, opinion and conscience for Palestinian rights!
Barakat was told that violations were punishable by up to a year in prison. Under German law, non-citizens can be barred from political activity if it could harm the “security or stability” of Germany. The accusations, which purport to show that his political activity is “dangerous,” do not do so; instead, there is mainly a list of speeches and public events, most available in video and audio recordings online. Despite claiming that Barakat’s speech could increase tensions or “political conflict” between Jews and Palestinians and Arabs in Germany, the document points to absolutely no negative repercussions whatsoever of all of his previous speeches in the country.
The document also accuses Barakat of being a member of the Palestinian leftist party, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Despite noting that the PFLP is, in fact, not banned in Germany, it notes that it is listed on the EU terrorist list and thus presents a danger, even though none of the listed allegations indicate any danger at all. It could not be more clear that this is the latest attempt on Palestinian expression and advocacy and the further restriction of freedom of speech, expression and association in Germany. Of course, this cannot be separated from the German state and capital’s own imperialist actions and interests in the region, including its ongoing alliance with the U.S. and Israel.
This is only the latest in a series of attacks on Palestinian rights in Germany, including the following:
On 10 July, Barakat spoke at the European Parliament, along with Samidoun activists Charlotte Kates and Mohammed Khatib, at the invitation of MEP Manu Pineda. Now, the parliamentarians who raised the issue of the silencing of Palestinian speakers at the European Parliament are themselves being attacked by the Israeli state demanding their silence – at the same time that Israel demolishes homes in Jerusalem, and shoots dead Palestinians marching for their right to return in Gaza.
Khaled Barakat has filed an urgent appeal in German courts against this political ban. This escalation in Germany reflects a serious danger that outright bans, police repression and residency revocation are becoming a police state norm for suppressing unwanted Palestinian political speech that defends rights, justice and liberation. German and international lawyers have highlighted the violation of fundamental human rights inherent in this political ban.
Internationally, your statements and voices of solidarity are critical in helping to fight back against this intensified repression. From the anti-BDS resolution of the Bundestag, to the account cancellations and forced resignations of Jewish groups and leaders who criticize Israel in any way, to the criminal prosecution of people who interrupt Israeli officials responsible for the war on Gaza to the deportation of Rasmea Odeh, it is critical to confront the escalating repression in Germany with international solidarity. These attacks will not silence Khaled Barakat or the Palestinian people – but it is critical that we build our international movement to defend Palestine, especially as it is targeted for liquidation.
Many organizations have spoken out – see below for an (incomplete and growing) list. You can help to fight back and stand against the political targeting and silencing of Palestine!
Take Action July 28-31:
1. Protest against the political ban on Khaled Barakat! Hold a demonstration, protest or event for free speech on Palestine. These attacks are taking place around the world, and Khaled’s case is part of them. You can also include a statement on Khaled’s case or the signs below as part of a broader protest in support of Palestine, against the home demolitions in Jerusalem or with Palestinian refugees in Lebanon struggling for their rights. Email us at samidoun@samidoun.net or contact us on Facebook about your event or action.
2. Call the German embassy or consulate in your area and speak up about the ongoing attack on Palestinian rights in Germany.Use this link to find the German embassy or consulate in your area! For easy reference, the German embassy in the US can be reached at +1 (202) 298-4000; the German embassy in Canada at +1 (613) 232 1101; and the German embassy to the UK at +44 20 78 24 13 00. Find the German embassy or consulate near you at: https://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-of/germany
When you call, say, “My name is _____ and I am calling from _____. I am calling about the ongoing attacks on advocacy for justice in Palestine in Germany. In particular, the political ban on Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat in Berlin. This type of political ban is clearly undemocratic and a direct violation of fundamental human rights. Palestinians must have the right to speak, and the political ban must be lifted.”
3. Deliver a letter to the German embassy or consulate in your area on behalf of your organization against the political ban on Khaled Barakat and in support of Palestinian rights. Here is a quick sample letter that you can use or adapt as you wish:
Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
ADDRESS
To whom it may concern;
We are writing to express our deepest concern about the ongoing repression of Palestinian rights and advocacy in Germany. We are very concerned that a police state atmosphere is being developed to silence Palestinian activism, an atmosphere that reflects racism, repression and discrimination.
In particular, we write to demand an end to the political ban imposed on Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat. The allegations against his speeches and writings are false and inaccurate; his writings challenge colonialism and injustice and present a vision of universal justice and liberation.
We also express our utmost concern about the resolution passed by the Bundestag in May 2019 condemning the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement as anti-Semitic. In reality, the BDS campaign is a Palestinian-led, anti-racist, global movement for justice and equality.
Once again, we are appalled by the ongoing silencing and suppression being directed at Palestinians and advocates for Palestine in Germany, and we see that fundamental human rights are at risk and already being violated.
Further, we also urge the Federal Republic of Germany to uphold human rights in international forums and take meaningful action to stop ongoing Israeli attacks on the Palestinian people, including supporting a military embargo on Israel.
4. Take an individual or group photo or video with the campaign poster (below), make your own sign and share on social media! Tag us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to show us your solidarity with Khaled Barakat and support for Palestinian rights!
You can show your solidarity with the graphics below! Print the signs and posters and bring them to a demonstration, or take a selfie and post on social media. You can use the cover photo on your Facebook or elsewhere to show your support for Khaled Barakat and your opposition to the escalating attempts to criminalize support for justice in Palestine in Germany and around the world. Download the images below:
Solidarity sit-in in support of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike, Dheisheh refugee camp. Photo: Hadf News
On 24 July, Palestinian prisoners Jafar Ezzedine and Ahmad Zahransuspended their hunger strikes after receiving a commitment from the Israeli occupation forces to end their administrative detention, imprisonment without charge or trial. Ezzedine had gone without food for 39 days and Zahran for 32 days. Both have spent years in Israeli prison in the past. Hassan al-Zaghari also suspended his hunger strike on 26 July after an agreement to end his administration and not renew his detention again, securing his release in six months. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes Jafar Ezzedine, Ahmad Zahran and Hassan al-Zaghari on their victories over injustice and arbitrary imprisonment and looks forward to their liberation.
One day later, reports noted that four more Palestinian prisoners had joined the five remaining striking prisoners; there are currently 8 Palestinians on hunger strike against imprisonment without charge or trial. Israeli administrative detention orders are issued for one to six months at a time on the basis of so-called “secret evidence” and are indefinitely renewable; Palestinians have spent years jailed with no charge and no trial under repeatedly renewed detention orders.
Abu Aker reported that he was transferred in the middle of the night while suffering from severe headaches and body pain as a result of his strike. He has lost at least 16 kilograms (33 pounds) since the beginning of his hunger strike and reports various types of retaliation: he was barred from recreation and even buying cigarettes for seven days, jailers have placed food in his room in repeated attempts to tempt him to eat (even telling him “today the food is tasty” and was denied underwear, toothbrush and toothpaste. Hassanat also reported losing 17 kilograms (35 pounds) since starting his strike and noted that the guards put meals at his door in order to pressure him to break the strike.
Abu Aker and Hassanat were reportedly taken on 25 July to the Ramle clinic along with Halabiya, whose health condition was already precarious. A leukemia survivor, he also suffered burns as a child over 90 percent of his body. His daughter, Majdal, is now six months old but has not met her father; she was born while he has been jailed without charge or trial under administrative detention.
Meanwhile, Sultan Khallouf of Burqin has been on hunger strike for nine days in Megiddo detention center. He immediately launched an open-ended hunger strike after his administrative detention order on 18 July to reject his imprisonment with no charge or trial on the basis of so-called “secret evidence.” He was arrested by occupation forces on 8 July and is a former prisoner who spent four years in Israeli prisons. He is married.
Palestinian hunger striker Munir al-Abed
Ahmad Ghannam, 42, from Dura near al-Khalil, also joined the hunger strike against his ongoing imprisonment without charge or trial, as did Ismail Ali, 30, of Abu Dis, Jerusalem (also the hometown of Huzaifa Halabiya.) Munir al-Abed, 22, and Hamza Awad, 23, both from the village of Kobar near Ramallah, have been jailed without charge or trial since February 2019. They launched their hunger strikes on 21 July to demand their liberation from administrative detention.
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network salutes the victories of Jafar Ezzedine, Ahmad Zahran and Hassan al-Zaghari. We know more such victories are possible for all Palestinian prisoners and against the system of Israeli colonial administrative detention. We urge all to stand with these courageous prisoners who have put their lives on the line to seek freedom and an end to the unjust system of administrative detention. International solidarity can help them win their struggles, so all of our participation, protests and petitions can play a role in helping them to seize victory for justice and freedom.
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are barred from 72 regulated professions, including medicine, public transit, farming and fishery, and the implementation of this Lebanese labor law barred Palestinians (and Syrian refugees) from working at all without costly and difficult-to-obtain work visas. These protests, led mostly by youth in the camps, which are home to nearly a half-million Palestinian refugees, also come in rejection of the harsh conditions that have impacted Palestinian refugees after the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993. In fact, the situation of deprivation, repression and despair has forced many Palestinian refugees in Lebanon to migrate to Europe or elsewhere, seeking human dignity.
Palestinian organizations in Lebanon have expressed specific demands, including:
– the granting of clear legal status to Palestinian refugees with civil, economic and social rights;
– amending Lebanese labor law to cancel the work permit requirement for Palestinian refugees and end their exclusion from regulated professions
– ending ongoing discrimination against Palestinian refugees in a range of areas, including allowing them to own property.
They pledged to continue to protest until the dignity of Palestinian refugees was respected, emphasizing that this campaign is part and parcel of the struggle to return to and liberate the entire land of Palestine and reject all attempts to undermine the Palestinian cause. (The statement was signed by the Al Naqab Center for Youth Activities, Arab Palestinian Cultural Club, Palestinian Cultural Club – Beirut, Palestinian Cultural Club at AUB, Palestinian Cultural Club at LIU, Camps Boycott and the Palestinian National Theater – Lebanon.)
Palestinian writer Khaled Barakat is continuing to fight back against a political ban imposed on him by Germany, while Israeli officials are attempting to pressure the European Parliament over inviting Palestinian speakers to discuss the repression they face in Europe as well as under Israeli occupation. Barakat, who has filed an urgent appeal in German courts against the ban on his participation in political events and activities on Palestine, spoke in the European Parliament on 10 July about the repression faced by Palestinian activists, along with Samidoun international coordinator Charlotte Kates and European coordinator Mohammed Khatib.
Khaled Barakat, Manu Pineda, Charlotte Kates and Mohammed Khatib at the European Parliament. Photo: Izquierda Unida Europa
Not satisfied with the political ban in Germany, Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Gilad Erdan wrote a letter to the European Parliament’s president full of typical smear attacks, demanding that Barakat be barred from speaking to the parliament. During his presentation, Barakat specifically addressed Erdan’s role in promoting the censorship of Palestinian activists around the world.
Erdan even reportedly called for MEP Manu Pineda of Spain, who invited Barakat to speak, be removed from his position on the Commission on Foreign Affairs, despite the fact that the Israeli state has no authority or participation in the European parliament. The attack on freedom of expression at the European Parliament came at the same time that Erdan expressed his support for Israeli home demolitions targeting Palestinians in Sur Baher, Jerusalem, claiming that “we have the right to demolish any building or house that threatens our security.”
Even as Erdan and the Israeli state are intensifying their repressive attacks, people around the world are standing in solidarity with Khaled Barakat and the Palestinian people’s struggle for liberation. As part of the Collectif Palestine Vaincra delegation to Lebanon, parliamentarian Osama Saad expressed his support for Khaled Barakat’s struggle against the political ban and the campaign to fight repression in Germany, as did organizers of the Campaign to Free Georges Abdallah in Lebanon:
Lebanese MP Osama Saad. Photo: Collectif Palestine VaincraMembers of the Campaign to Free Georges Abdallah in Lebanon. Photo: Collectif Palestine Vaincra
Writer and activist Irene Clausen published an article in Danish left publication, Konfront.dk, focusing on the political ban on Barakat and other forms of repression in Germany. Earlier, on 6 July, activists with Boykot Israel in Copenhagen highlighted Barakat’s case and other repressive actions in Germany, including the Bundestag’s anti-BDS motion, as part of its monthly supermarket protest:
Photo: Boykot Israel Denmark
In Edinburgh, members of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign protested for freedom of expression on Palestine and highlighted the Khaled Barakat case. The Scottish PSC issued a statement of solidarity:
Photo: Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign sends warm greetings in solidarity with Khaled Barakat, and wish him and his comrades in Germany well in their struggle against increased repression by the German establishment and Bundestag.
Barakat is yet another victim of the Zionist sponsored attacks on Palestinian resisters, solidarity activists and supporters of BDS internationally.
We are facing unprecedented attacks by an Israeli state along with it’s allies, intent on silencing those who dare to speak out against its countless crimes and to tell the truth about its Apartheid structures and it’s increasingly barbaric racist practices.
Here in Scotland,we will continue to stand firm on our principles of support for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, and defend free speech on Palestine. We will defy attempts by the political establishment, the powerful Zionist lobby and their media lackeys to smear us and others who speak out as anti-semitic.
They cannot and must not win this battle.
Stand strong Khaled Barakat and All who are lovers of justice and humanity.
The Portuguese Communist Party also affirmed its stand in support of Barakat and the Palestinian people’s struggle:
The Portuguese Communist Party expresses its solidarity with Khaled Barakat and with all other friends and supporters of the Palestinian people’s just struggle against Israeli occupation and repression, and for the creation of an independent and sovereign State of Palestine, as reaffirmed by numerous UN resolutions.
The PCP condemns the mounting repression and persecution of supporters and activists of solidarity movements with the Palestinian people’s struggle, in numerous countries of the European Union and in the USA. It is intolerable that the struggle against Israel’s crimes and its permanent violation of International Law is outrageously being equated with antisemitism. This form of repression is not just a sign of increasing collaboration of governments with Israel’s criminal policy. It is also an expression of authoritarianism, which is inseparable from the deepening structural crisis of capitalism and from the ever stronger currents that are pushing for violence and war worldwide.
In reaffirming the PCP’s permanent solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinian people for their inalienable rights, we pledge to further strengthen the solidarity, namely in Portugal, with the Palestinian resistance and against Israel’s politics of oppression and occupation.
International Department of the Portuguese Communist Party
The Revolutionary Communist Group (RCG) in Britain also issued a statement of solidarity with Barakat, highlighting the connections to the repression of activists who defend Palestinian rights in Britain and emphasizing the importance of clear opposition to Zionism:
The RCG sends its solidarity and stands firmly against the latest actions of the imperialist and pro-Zionist German government to censure and silence comrade Khaled Barakat. As the crisis of imperialism deepens, European ruling classes have set their sights on stamping out any resistance and, under the guise of tackling antisemitism, seek to crush pro-Palestine and anti-Zionist sentiment. In this mission, they are aided by opportunist currents such as the British Labour Party and the German Social Democrats, who spuriously equate opposition to Israel with anti-Jewish racism. The same political forces are silent on the internment of Palestinian political prisoners, on the drive to war on Iran, and line up with the counterrevolutionary coup-plotters in Venezuela.
In the absence of a strong anti-imperialist current in Britain, we have seen a witch-hunt against critics of Israeli colonialism and local Labour MPs have stood on platforms alongside street fascists and Zionists. Meetings of the RCG and other groups such as the International Solidarity Movement have been attended by undercover cops as local councils, Labour and Tory, adopt pro-Israel motions. Rather than accepting self-censorship in the name of a form of BDS stripped of its principles, we fight for an anti-Zionist Palestine solidarity movement. The actions of the German state are outrageous and reactionary, and are a shape of things to come across Europe unless a new movement is built. We stand with comrade Khaled, Samidoun and all who campaign against this censorship.
Fraternally,
Revolutionary Communist Group/Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism!
The Gruppe ArbeiterInnenMacht, the German section of the League for the Fifth International and REVOLUTION – international Communist youth organization, issued a statement in support of Khaled Barakat:
Defend Khaled Barakat, the freedom of speech and movement!
‘Oppose Germany’s and Israel’s racist offensive
To Khaled,
we stand next to you, we offer our solidarity and our support!
The order (see link: https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/riri-hylton/germany-threatens-journalist-prison-speaking-about-palestine) by the Federal Republic of Germany, which attempts to stop you from raising your voice against the atrocities against the Palestinian people by the Israeli state and with the support of the German government, which limits your freedom of movement in Germany, with the ultimate aim to deport you is a criminal act, which we vigorously condemn.
Nevertheless, this attack comes as no surprise. It is not the first attempt of the German state and Zionist nationalists to oppress the freedom of speech and solidarity with the Palestinian liberation movement with all means necessary. It is part of an orchestrated campaign, which is orchestrated by the far right Netanyahu government, supported by the imperialist governments, build on lies and carried out with vicious repression.
The German state claims that “the public should be protected from your expected anti-Semitic and anti-Israel statements.” We know you as a courageous socialist and humanist. Someone who fights with conviction not just against the oppression of the Palestinians by the Israeli state, but against all forms of oppression. The claim you are anti-semitic is as laughable as the claim “Trump and Netanyahu want peace in the Middle East.”
At the same time it is Trump, Netanjahu and the officials of the German government who actually cooperate openly with antisemitic governments such as in Hungary or Poland. While the German state is “blind on the right eye”, fascists murder and the antisemitic Alternative für Deutschland is preparing to capture provincial governments, it is internationalists like you who are the target of repression.
While the danger for Jewish people is growing under the threat of growing fascist street movements, it is not this actual danger but the Palestinian rights movement that is branded antisemitic. The basis on which this aggressive ideological advance is made, is the advance of the far-right in Israel and the ever more aggressive offensive by the Israeli state against the Palestinian population. The Israeli state is realising a one state solution based on Apartheid, and activists like you who fight for a democratic one state solution are branded antisemitic. This of course is only possible if one accepts the reactionary idea that anti-zionism is antisemitism.
Opposing the idea of an exclusionary Apartheid state, which aims to establish a “Jewish State” by oppression, expulsion and constant war against the Palestinians is as anti-semitic, as opposing Daesh is anti-muslim. Naming it as such, reveals the true agenda of the German state, its agenda is not the protection of minorities and the struggle for democratic rights. It turns reality on its head to further German imperialism’s foreign and domestic agenda.
Socialists, and in fact all democrats, have to vigorously oppose this campaign. This is not an isolated issue. Standing with you Khaled, means standing with all those who are victims of racism and imperialism. We call on all left and labour organisations to support your struggle and the struggle of the Palestinians and Jewish anti-zionists for justice. Everyone who wants to fight for justice in Germany has to take a clear stance against the racist endeavour Israel. This is not because Israel in itself is “special” because it claims to be a Jewish state, it is important because the partnership with Israel is a centerpiece for Germany’s industrial arms complex and German imperialism’s Middle East strategy.
It is a shame, and it is telling that the attack against you is happening in Berlin, where a Red-Red-Green alliance (SPD, LINKE, Grüne) are forming a coalition. The blame has to go directly to the interior minister Andreas Geisel (SPD) and the minister of justice Dirk Behrendt (Grüne), but also to the two Berliner staunch zionists Klaus Lederer who is Minster for Culture and Stefan Liebich, the Left Party’s speaker for foreign affairs. They have been two of the most prominent figures in oppressing any solidarity with Palestine in the Left Party, and supporting the smear campaigns in the broader left against anti-imperialists. They, alongside the Senate in general and the Israeli Embassy should be the recipients of protests in Berlin.
We call on all those who are disgusted by this attack on the freedom of speech in general, and the racist context in particular to build a united front in defence of democratic rights both in Germany and in Palestine. We urge you to sign the resolution “Antizionism is not Antisemitism” (set link: http://arbeiterinnenmacht.de/2019/06/13/internationale-solidaritaet-gegen-die-angriffe-der-sogenannten-antideutschen-antizionismus-ist-kein-antisemitismus/) which was firstly signed by a series of internationalist organisations in Germany, and supported in particular by the comrades Charlotte Kates and Khaled Barakat. Every organisation which claims that “Such issues dont matter in Germany” does not deserve to call itself left. Indeed it does not deserve to be called democratic.
A clear line has been drawn now, and we are proud to stand on the righteous side, together with comrades like Khaled Barakat.
Immediate withdrawal of the orders against Khaled Barakat, for an unlimited extension for his and Charlotte Kates right to stay!
Withdraw or acquit all pending cases against activists who are criminalised for their solidarity with the Palestinian liberation movement!
The PFLP is not a terrorist organisation, BDS is not anti-semitic! For an end of all criminalistion of the Palestinian liberation movement, Jewish anti-zionists and anti-imperialist activists!
Let us come together to fight for a the only viable solution, a united, socialist and secular Palestine from the river to the sea!
Workers of the World Unite!
Gruppe ArbeiterInnenmacht, German section of the League for the Fifth International
REVOLUTION – Internationale Kommunistische Jugendorganisation
Earlier, in Toulouse, France, activists with the Collectif Palestine Vaincra painted a mural in solidarity with Palestine, with “Solidarity as a weapon” followed by calls to support Khaled Barakat and the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign:
Welcome Janna Jihad to Southern California as part of her US tour! The organizers are honored to host 13 year-old Palestinian journalist and youth activist Janna Jihad, the youngest accredited journalist in the world and ambassador of Shamsaan, a South African children’s rights organization. Janna has been reporting since she was 7 years old, when two of her relatives were killed by Israeli occupation forces in the Palestinian village of Nabi Saleh.
Janna Jihad Tamimi, 13 year-old Palestinian activist, one of the youngest accredited journalists in the world, and Ambassador of South African children’s rights organization (Shamsaan – meaning “2 Suns”) will speak in Dearborn during her month-long tour of the United States this month.
