From Repression to Resistance
The struggle against Israeli apartheid in Berlin continues
As the reality of Israel’s illegal and systemic apartheid becomes widely known, political activists who speak up about Israel’s crimes against humanity face state persecution, even in the so-called western liberal democracies.
Israel’s inability to justify its inhumane acts against Palestinians people leaves it with only one option: To silence opposition. The “war on BDS” and the recent attempts to ban BDS in Europe and the US are a direct result of this policy, which doesn’t exclude anti-Zionist Israeli-Jews.
However, the attempt to crush dissent and breaking down global solidarity with Palestinians did not succeed in silencing us. On the contrary, we chose to expand the fight against apartheid by using our privileges and actively resisting with the means we have: Direct actions, civil disobedience, and confronting apartheid state representatives and their supporters.
Our tactic is guided by a radical and revolutionary humanistic obligation not just to criticize the policy of the government of Israel in the 67' occupied territories (like white-washing liberal-Zionists organizations do), but to challenge the very nature of that ethnic supremacist state. Because of the embedded political threat that this approach poses, we often met violence in the form of arrests, beatings, criminal trials, exclusion from local groups, and public smearing.
On May 2019 we confronted the Israeli lobby in Germany by disturbing a public propaganda event and confronting Apartheid Ebassador in Berlin, Jeremy Issacharoff:
This action resulted in the violent arrest of activist ronnie barkan. Watch the police gagging and taking Ronnie to custody:
Our collective met Jeremy Issacharoff once again in August as we protested in front of the apartheid-sponsored film festival in Berlin:
Earlier this year we stood trial at the Berlin Criminal Court, where we confronted the justice authorities for our action at The Humboldt University in 2017 against MK Aliza Lavie, an Israeli official that allegedly carries responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
As the tables are slowly turning on Israel, it is ever more crucial to bring Israeli crimes to public awareness and demand accountability for Israel’s actions.
With each solidarity action, we make another step towards the abolishment of apartheid and the beginning of a new era in Palestine: A humane and equal Palestine for all the sons and daughters of the land.
“Es lebe die Freiheit!”
Yours,
Stav
There is much work ahead of us. Want to support our radical Berlin collective? This is how you do it.
