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Victory for Jewish Voice – and a heavy blow to the German Staatsräson!

A Berlin court overturns the “extremist” designation of Jewish Voice


01/05/2026

As criticism of Israel continues to be criminalized, Jewish anti-Zionists are increasingly coming into the crosshairs of the intelligence services and political actors.

A heavy blow to Germany’s Staatsräson: On Monday, the Berlin Administrative Court ruled against the Federal Republic of Germany and in favor of Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East (JS). The domestic intelligence agency must remove its designation of the Jewish association as a “proven extremist endeavor”—the highest level of surveillance—from its 2024 report. There, JS had been listed in the sections on “left-wing extremism,” “foreign-related extremism,” and in a footnote on “extremist pro-Palestinian groups”—marking the first time since the secret service’s founding in 1950 that a Jewish group was included in its spy report. JS has now successfully challenged this in court.

The anti-Israeli and anti-Zionist positions of Jewish Voice did not justify its listing, the judges argued. The court found no call for violence, nor any endorsement of violence as a political means, in JS’s statements or its statutes—a requirement for listing an organization as a “proven extremist endeavor.” Much of the proceedings revolved around the question of where Jewish Voice stands on the so-called “right to exist” of Israel. For an anti-Zionist group, its position on this “right” is not difficult to guess. And, neither in international law nor in national legislation, is such a “right to exist” codified. It quite simply does not exist—which is why, one might argue, right-wing Staatsräson hardliners have to drift into the metaphysical and treat it as if it were divine: praising the invisible and persecuting its rejection as blasphemous heresy. Anyone who publicly “denies the right of the State of Israel to exist” is to be made criminally liable in the future, according to a draft law by the CDU-led Hessian state government—which would amount to punishing the denial of the existence of unicorns with up to five years in prison. A turn to mysticism and superstition shapes Germany’s march toward authoritarianism.

The initial inclusion of Jewish Voice in the domestic intelligence report triggered fierce criticism of the state and strong solidarity with JS from within the Palestine solidarity movement. In contrast to Germany’s treatment of Staatsräson-aligned Jewish organizations, this attack carries a distinctly sinister undertone. The Central Council of Jews in Germany represents around 89,000 members across 105 organized communities, which tend to be more conservative and pro-Israel in orientation—amounting to just over 40 percent of all Jews living in Germany. It receives 22 million euros annually from the state, constituting the dominant share of its budget. By contrast, an association of progressive, often secular Jews advocating for a just peace and opposing the crimes of the Israeli state is targeted by Germany’s domestic intelligence service: the Federal Republic, as the state continuation of the Third Reich, is once again dividing Jews into good and bad.

The court’s decision on Monday is “a scandal,” fumed Israel’s right-wing ambassador in Berlin, Ron Prosor, on X. “Does the perpetrator first have to quote ‘Mein Kampf’ before people are willing to clearly call out antisemitism?” Prosor asked, with breathtaking crudity toward the Jewish group, many of whose members’ relatives were persecuted, gassed, and tortured by Hitler’s henchmen. In a direct attack on the separation of powers, the right-wing Prosor assails the court’s decision and could thereby arguably run counter to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which in Art. 41 explicitly states that diplomats “have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of [the receiving] State”—but international law, as we know, hardly counts for the right-wing “value partners” within the Israeli government.

The significance of Monday’s proceedings for a potential ban of Jewish Voice was also discussed repeatedly during the hearings. Surveillance and data collection by the domestic intelligence agency would form the basis for such a ban procedure, the lawyer for the respondent explained. Bans have already targeted groups within the Palestine solidarity movement, such as the prisoner support network Samidoun, which is close to the Palestinian PFLP. Give it a few more years of rightward discursive shift and steroid-fueled pro-Israel self-radicalization in politics and media, and the German state will surely feel empowered to ban Jewish organizations again as well—all in the name of anti-antisemitism, of course.

Beyond the attacks by the domestic intelligence agency, Jewish Voice is also facing pressure from other actors. The group has been repeatedly debanked: in 2024, Berliner Sparkasse froze its account, and earlier the Bank für Sozialwirtschaft had already done so. Hesse’s “antisemitism commissioner,” Uwe Becker, called in January for JS to be banned entirely, claiming it acts “very clearly against the spirit of understanding between peoples.” In September 2024, the right-wing CDU politician honored soldiers of the Israeli army in a café in Frankfurt am Main; he said he had thanked “the soldiers for their service in defending Israel,” referring to a military that at that point had already been committing genocide for eleven months and was boasting of grave war crimes via livestreams on TikTok and Instagram. Last September, he also called for a ban on the Palestinian keffiyeh in German streets, arguing that it “glorifies terror.” Does Becker consider such openly racist attacks to be in line with “the spirit of understanding between peoples”?

While JS succeeded on Monday in having its designation removed from the 2024 domestic intelligence report, the chamber rejected its second request—to also prohibit the German government, on a preventive basis, from mentioning JS in its future spy reports and in other statements by the Interior Ministry. It therefore remains to be seen whether the domestic intelligence agency will include JS in its 2025 report. Its publication is expected in the coming months. Politically, that is certainly desired, but JS would also challenge such a designation in court. And it remains questionable whether the German state will prefer to spare itself another humiliation like the one on Monday.

For the intelligence agency’s lawyer, Wolfgang Roth of the law firm Redeker Sellner Dahs—which has repeatedly represented the German state in cases involving complicity in Israeli crimes, including over German arms deliveries to the Israeli regime for the genocide in Gaza and in the BT3P lawsuit against the 2019 anti-BDS resolution—delivered a truly poor performance. His argument, repeated several times, was that while JS had never actually uttered the words they would like to put in their mouths, it nonetheless did so—wily, as it were—“implicitly”; that “between the lines, everything is clear,” and that this is precisely the space where violence is “promoted.” All of this strongly recalls former Berlin State Minister for Culture Joe Chialo, who accused the left-wing migrant cultural center Oyoun in Berlin-Neukölln of harboring “hidden antisemitism.” Once again: the state, as it moves toward authoritarianism, must rely on elves and goblins to justify its repression—we may not be able to see them, but they are really there, scout’s honor, pinky swear!

Even if Monday’s ruling is to be welcomed, no one should be under any illusions. Isolated indications that the judiciary is (still) not fully politicized along Staatsräson lines, and that the separation of powers can still function, do not obscure the broader trend we are witnessing in this sick country. Germany is marching toward authoritarianism, and the broad-based attack on Palestine solidarity serves as the testing ground: brown, foreign, left-wing, majority-minoritized—the perfect object (because it lacks a lobby) for establishing the baton as the new normal in this country.

Yet, according to several polls, the population largely holds critical views of the Israeli government and its support by Germany—Staatsräson is a reactionary instrument of power wielded by political and media elites, forced through against the population and necessarily tied to a perversion of the concept of antisemitism. And increasingly, Jewish individuals are becoming targets of these attacks. The German state is, of all things, fighting Jews in the name of combating antisemitism.

Stop the techno-violence

An interview with Engineers Against Apartheid


30/04/2026

As the Ulm 5 are facing prison time over a break-in at an Israeli weapons firm, it’s becoming harder to ignore how closely the same technologies we use daily are tied to companies and states embedded in the economy of war and genocide.

Just two weeks ago I read a story on my Apple iPhone, through a link on my Meta-owned Instagram account, about Volkswagen (VW), a car I learnt to drive in. The article concerned the German carmaker’s recent announcement that production at their Osnabrueck plant will soon shift from cars to missile ​defence systems for Israel. 

Another German institution on the wrong side of history, surely not? You’d think that past context — see Volkswagen’s role in the Second World War — might encourage some kind of restraint, though at this point, why even bother finishing that thought. 

What this announcement actually makes clear is that the boundaries between civilian production, consumer technology, and violent supply chains are far more porous than they appear. We’re already entangled in an oligopoly of unethical phone and social media companies whose business models depend on extraction and exploitation across the Global South. The IOF’s weaponisation of technology across Palestine — and now in Lebanon — has shown how quickly systems built for everyday life can be folded into infrastructures of genocide. And in the United States, ICE is increasingly integrating cloud and AI systems to further authoritarianism. 

So when a car company like Volkswagen announces that it will shift production from vehicles to missile defence systems, it doesn’t read like a sudden turn. It reads more like a continuation of something already happening: the slow tightening of the relationship between a promise of the future and the machinery of war and oppression.

FANUC

One company identified as being deeply embedded in the production of dual-use products (products that have both civilian and military applications) is FANUC, a Japanese robotics manufacturer you might not recognise by name, but whose systems sit quietly at the centre of global manufacturing.

Founded in the postwar period, FANUC operates across hundreds of facilities worldwide. It produces robotic arms and automation systems that underpin everything from automotive assembly lines to high-speed industrial production, with clients spanning the aerospace, pharmaceutical, and food and beverage industries. Describing themselves as a smart solution to boost efficiency, their machines make production faster, cleaner, and more precise.

In reality, the same robotic arms that assemble these everyday consumer goods are part of the same production infrastructures of military use now growing and expanding like never before. Unlike Volkswagen’s recent public announcement, however, this part of FANUC’s business isn’t openly declared. Layers of subcontracting, industrial supply chains and denial, make responsibility difficult to trace.

But this isn’t a speculative connection, it’s one already being documented. International observers, including BDS Japan and United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, have identified FANUC among the companies linked to Israel’s military operations in Gaza and its broader regime of occupation. In the report, From economy of occupation to economy of genocide, Albanese notes that robotic systems supplied by companies like FANUC are present in production environments connected to manufacturers such as Israel Aerospace Industries and Elbit Systems, as well as major defence contractors including Lockheed Martin.

UN human rights experts have also argued that, following the International Court of Justice’s 2024 ruling on the illegality of Israel’s occupation — which obliges states not to aid or assist it — governments should implement a full military embargo, including on dual-use technologies, and ensure that corporations within their jurisdictions comply.

Despite this pressure, the call for a military embargo has not only been ignored but recent findings point further in the opposite direction. In its report on nuclear weapons production and financing, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) found that the USA, Japan, and Germany are among the world’s top investors in companies involved in the production of nuclear weapons. It’s a scary prospect, but given the record-breaking profits being made in conventional weapons financial markets, it’s unsurprising that numerous companies who use automated production lines and robotics are players in both markets.

#StopFANUCNow and Engineers Against Apartheid

On the ground, campaigns such as #StopFANUCNow have emerged to challenge the use of dual-use industrial robotics in weapons production. Focusing on FANUC’s role in global supply chains, the campaign calls for greater accountability and the exclusion of industrial robots from military applications. In Japan, activists are also pressuring industry leaders and lawmakers, arguing that the robotics sector has both the capacity and responsibility to prevent its technologies from being integrated into military supply chains.

Engineers Against Apartheid (EAA) — a US-based network of engineers and workers, are also part of a wider wave of organising within the tech and engineering sector. Opposing the violence in Palestine and the role of corporate actors in sustaining it, their work focuses on US-based engineering, but the concrete realities of these infrastructures can be applied anywhere.

Across the USA, Germany, and Japan, the same industries that once promised prosperity and postwar stability are now part of automated production systems that move between consumer manufacturing and defence supply chains. We spoke with EAA about what it means to confront these systems from within, and how resistance becomes possible in industries still framed as neutral.

Hello, can you introduce yourselves?

Engineers Against Apartheid (EAA) is an organization made up of working class individuals in the engineering and manufacturing sectors of the greater Detroit area in Michigan. Michigan is one of the main hubs for automotive and defense design and manufacturing – making it a strategic exporter of technology throughout the USA and the rest of the world. EAA’s purpose is to raise awareness of complicit Michigan companies that have global impact, not only in the sale of products for genocide, but also the adoption of Israeli technology used and tested in the ongoing genocide in Palestine. EAA’s main goal is to discourage engineers from working in the defense industry and to raise awareness of how non-defense companies are involved in the ongoing genocide.

Can you talk about how you got involved with the #StopFANUCNow campaign?

EAA is one of the main organizations in Michigan researching company involvement and technology usage in the ongoing genocide in Palestine. Due to this, BDS international reached out to EAA after the UN report by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, From the Economy of Occupation to the Economy of Genocide, was published. The report presented FANUC Corporation as one of the key contributors to the genocide by manufacturing the robots that build bombs for companies with genocidal intent, such as Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. After further research, it was revealed that FANUC Corporation has a subsidiary North American branch headquartered near the Detroit area, which is also surrounded by FANUC manufacturing and shipping facilities. EAA was presented with the opportunity to support and escalate the BDS call to demand that FANUC divest from genocide.

Why is the participation of engineers and tech workers in such campaigns crucial?

Many engineers and tech workers do not typically view themselves as contributors to war crimes because they are not the ones making the direct decisions to murder civilians nor do they ultimately pull the trigger. While the contribution of engineers and tech workers is not so obvious, there are many historical cases, such as South African or Nazi Germany, where engineers played a key role in the design, deployment, and maintenance of weapons that maintained the oppressive regimes. Even in today’s case of the USA, there is a mass movement of tech workers resigning over the use of AI to mass surveil civilians nationally and slaughter civilians internationally. Historically and currently, it has never been more apparent that the genocidal regimes are upheld by workers who believe they don’t have the power to make change. It is time for engineers to understand, step up, and fight back. They are on the front lines and they have some of the greatest power to make the world a safer place.

FANUC robots are marketed for civilian manufacturing, yet they’re used to make weapons deployed in genocide. Who is responsible — the company selling the machines, the buyers using them for war, or the engineers designing the systems?

The responsibility of stopping genocide must fall on all parties, the company, the buyer, the workers, and even the local communities to those companies. It’s why there are so many organizations directed at bringing in different types of groups. It’s important to have pressure points in every area directed at these corporations.  Ultimately, the corporation will make the final decision to end their complicity But, in a capitalistic economy corporations tend to lean towards greed and building capital for the upper class. These days, those qualities are fulfilled by murdering civilians, starting wars, stealing resources, and stealing labor. Whether it comes to workers rights, communities protections or global impact, the average person – whether worker or community member – needs to understand that these companies must be taught how to operate ethically and morally. The only way that can be taught is by affecting what is most valuable to these companies – their money.

How do you see the broader tech and manufacturing industry enabling militarized violence through dual-use technologies?

The western world, especially the upper class in those societies, operate and maintain their superiority by building technologies that police the world, even their own civilians. At this time, there is nothing ethical about technology. From social media to home security to AI used in war zones, everything is being used to manipulate, train and pacify the global community. Even technology such as smartphones and automotive vehicles are built off the unethical treatment of people in the global south. If there is a seriousness in building a safer and more just future, these technologies must be ethical from their inception.

Dual-use technologies often move through several layers of suppliers and subcontractors. Do you think that complexity is accidental, or does it help companies avoid responsibility for how their technology is ultimately used?

This has been one of the difficulties in tracking how many companies are involved in the ongoing genocide in Palestine. One of these difficulties is found through the automotive industry for specific companies like Ford, Hyundai, or Toyota. There had been clear documentation of these companies vehicles being used as military vehicles for the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), but clear documentation/evidence of their contracts are difficult to find.  For example, there is an Israeli weapons manufacturer named Plasan North America that retrofits Ford vehicles for the IOF. The difficulty in obtaining information is that Ford Motor Company is a publicly traded company while Plasan North America is privately traded company, which does not allow you to determine whether there is a contract between he two companies to obtain Ford vehicles or whether they are bought from Plasan off the lot. There are many avenues for companies to complicate information that should be easily accessible for the community and to the workers. 

Do engineers and tech workers have the ability to resist complicity in systems of violence? How do you approach that tension?

Historically, there has been a level of manufactured superiority in the engineering field.  Engineers are taught early on in their education that they are the more educated workers that aren’t subject to poorer or dirty working conditions that are more commonly associated with the poor, lower class individuals. Engineers in the automotive workers are also not typically unionized; they are taught to view unions as institutions workers use to avoid doing their job while still getting paid. Corporations have done a great job in separating and villainizing workers who demand ethical practices, and many engineers have accepted these accusations as the norm. It is important that we as engineers continue to challenge these views and being working with each other across roles.  The only people who benefit from our separation are executive boards of the corporations we work for.

What tactics have been most effective in challenging companies complicit in armed conflicts, and what lessons can other activists take from your work?

The most dangerous thing we can do in a system that benefits of hyper-individualism is build community with each other and fight back. Many corporations deploy tactics that separate workers, communities, families, but its important that we continue to build with each other and take care of each other in times of hardships. This will grant people more confidence in their ability to fight back. In the end, corporations are for-profit; their goal is to make more money no matter what. Everyone should understand that their livelihoods are at risk and we should fight back while we still have the opportunity.

What can the public do right now to stop this complicity?

Keep speaking up. Keep fighting back. If you know that your company is complicit, inform your coworkers. We need more direct actions. Workers need to strike, the public needs to build pressure, communities need to purge these corporations from their cities. The global majority needs to rise in actions because everyone is at risk.

You can support the #StopFANUCNow campaign and sign the petition here. And you support the Ulm 5 here.

1-3 May 1929: Blutmai (or “Bloody May”)

This week in working class history


29/04/2026

International Workers Day, or May Day, has been celebrated by Berlin’s working class since 1890 through strikes, marches, and demonstrations. However, on 1 May 1929, following orders of the Prussian interior ministry and Berlin’s police chief, both from the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Berlin police violently enforced a ban on public demonstrations. This led to the single bloodiest episode of police violence in Berlin’s history, later known as Blutmai (“Bloody May”).

In the wake of clashes between communist and Nazi paramilitary wings following a speech by Adolf Hitler in late 1928, open-air political gatherings were prohibited in Berlin by the chief of police and member of the SPD, Karl Zörgiebel. He explicitly extended the ban to demonstrations on May Day, citing the likelihood of violence being instigated by the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). While the SPD planned indoor assemblies on May Day, the KPD called on workers to defy the ban and take to the streets in peaceful demonstration, as was tradition. With tensions rising, Zörgiebel brought in police from surrounding areas of the Prussian state, declaring that they were tasked with stopping an insurrection by the KPD.

On the morning of 1 May 1929, workers gathered and formed processions heading toward the city centre. The police, far outnumbering the protesters, attacked the columns marching through the city and civilians caught in the vicinity, leading to demonstrators being repeatedly chased into nearby streets before reassembling again. Police tactics became increasingly violent, and finally at midday, the police opened fire without distinguishing between protesters and bystanders. The violence was especially concentrated in Wedding and Neukölln, where police fired into buildings and at protesters in the street with armoured vehicles, and workers erected barricades.

In the days that followed, clashes continued and the police carried out extensive house-to-house searches, resulting in mass arrests and further shootings. By the afternoon of 3 May, the fighting had largely ended. Police bullets from the street skirmishes and searches had left over 30 dead—none of whom were KPD members. Over 1,200 people were arrested, but only a fraction of these had any connection to the KPD. No deaths were counted on the side of the police, nor were any officers later investigated or charged.

The Blutmai of 1929 marked a major sharpening of hostilities between the SPD and KPD during the final years of the Weimar Republic. This deepened divisions within the German left and further weakened possibilities for resistance against the rising Nazi movement. The events also highlighted the willingness of the SPD to employ state violence to repress radical working-class movements, echoing the party’s role in the suppression of the German Revolution of 1918–19 and the murders of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. This May Day, let us honour those and other victims of police brutality, and remain aware of those who would benefit from our division.

The defence team of the Ulm 5 go on the offence

The trial of the Ulm 5 started in Stuttgart-Stammheim yesterday, and The Left Berlin journalists were there.

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28/04/2026

Roser Garí Pérez reports from inside the court, while Yasemin Özdemir, Compañera Emiliana, and Pepe T. were at the protests outside

Kafkaesque scenes in court

by Roser Garí Pérez @rosergariperez

The lawyers of the Ulm 5 following a sham-show of the ruling court have written a statement. It is printed in full below.

It has been clear since the arrest, extreme charges and prolonged cruel pre-trial over the six months limit detention that the trial against the Ulm 5 was not going to be fair. And today’s legal shit-show did not disappoint.

We started the day with a rally outside court with people that have come from all over Germany greeting the courageous Ulm 5 on their way to their show trial. The early hours did not diminish people’s solidarity and energy and the Ulm 5 were greeted with chants “Free the Ulm 5” and “Free Palestine”. Some of the people continued the rally, while others headed to the court room. Keffiyehs of some people were taken away as they entered the court.

The show trial was riddled with irregularities before it even began. Starting with the fact that despite communication with the court about the conditions of the principle of publicity, and the right to have pens provided and paper allowed were not met, the number of seats available for the public were 6 less than previously communicated. 62 people in the public were surveyed by over a dozen heavily equipped security personnel, with even police coming in at one point. The trial did not seem to attract any attention from mainstream German media, apart from a representative from Deutsche Press Agentur (DPA) and SWR. The report from DPA is as Staatsräson-influenced as it gets with sentences worth repeating in a journalism class of what biased media looks like. Nevertheless, all mainstream German media is repeating it without question: Painting the public solidarity and the amazing team of lawyers as problematic, while defending the actions of a judge that seemed overwhelmed for such an important trial.

The moment that the sharply-dressed human rights defenders Vi, Daniel, Zo, Crow and Leandra came in they were greeted with a standing ovation from the solidarity public. They were brought in shackled and put in a bullet proof glass cage, separated from their lawyers – even after their lawyers having fought for them prior to the trial, to be sitting next to them to have a fair defence It is crystal clear that the judge and prosecutor office are trying to paint them as dangerous criminals. Even though the shackles were removed the first image for the German press was set.

Despite repeated attempts by the ten-lawyer team to be heard and present their official motion to have the clients sit next to them, the judge denied them not only the possibility of presenting this motion until the charges were heard, but the possibility of presenting a motion to present a motion. Meanwhile their microphones were turned off, not allowing the public, including the press, to follow accurately what was happening. Their own defendants could also not hear them properly. After almost an hour of a pitiful spectacle of the German state, and not being able to even be respectfully heard, the team of lawyers in a power move left the room.

The judge stuttered about a 20 minute recess only to change her mind within seconds and say 2 hours. The 14 security personnel escorted the public out, and then threatened us with violence if we did not leave the room fast enough. During this recess lawyers came to the rally to speak with the press present (that wanted to actually do their job) and held some speeches, informing the people of what was going on.

When the recess was over, and we were allowed to return, to our surprise the lawyers had made a power ranger move and sat themselves in the security glass box. This was met with barely contained fury by the judge, who did not let them speak and gave them 5 minutes to take their previous seats. They just stood up and had a chat waiting for the 5 minutes to be over.

After that the judge called it a day, and the show trial will resume on the 4th of May. 

By refusing to bow to injustice, and positioning their defendants dignity and wellbeing as the main focus, the team of lawyers — considering how well prepared they seem to be — are playing 3D chess against a state playing peek-a-boo with the only thing they have going for them, their hate of any solidarity with the self-determination and right of life and land of the Palestinian people.

Demonstrating Outside the Court makes a difference

by Compañera Emiliana, and Pepe T. 

We travelled as a group of activists from the solidarity movement in Berlin to Stuttgart to show the Ulm 5 their support and to join other regional groups. The goal was to be present and loud while the Ulm5 were transported separately to Stammheim for the first hearing. It was clear that the morale of the Ulm 5 was uplifted and it was a joyful moment for the movement to see them through the vehicle windows: Their faces full of joy, smiling and showing a victory V with their handcuffed hands. 

During the “show” that happened inside the court, the solidarity group held a rally outside, listening to some speeches, music, and writing them letters. There were chants demaning justice for the Ulm5, for a free Palestine, to end Germany’s active role in the Gaza genocide and for shutting Elbit Systems down (Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, supplying the vast majority of arms used in the war in Gaza, and famous for their killer drones).

A great part of the group came all the way from Berlin and a good-sized rally as well as a full courtroom of observers was able to be achieved, for them to be present alongside the Ulm 5‘s family and the solidary press. Nevertheless, there is much more potential for increasing the presence of activists at the court hearings, for at least keeping a very good presence of observers for all the dates. 

Consider joining the upcoming court hearings, since our presence is paramount for the best chances of success for the Ulm 5 and the antizionist and antigenocide movement in all of Germany and worldwide. Direct action is the most effective but also the most risky way of activism, so the least we can do is do all we can to support them, at best with our presence, moral backing and our encouragement. Free the Ulm 5! Free Palestine!

“Ulm 5, we are proud” 

by Yasemin Özdemir

The chant that echoed loudly through the otherwise quaint residential area of Stammheim-Stuttgart, where the Ulm 5 are being tried inside the maximum security prison court. “Only a few meters away from where the RAF activists were tried”, an Anarchist comrade explained about the historical significance of this location on the 10 hour ride from Berlin. Transported by the most solidary and well organized activists from the Solibus, the Pro-Palestine community showed up in full conviction and affection for their comrades.

The sense of purpose and community was palpable, the common goal clear. We will leave no one behind if it’s up to us, and certainly not to the German state. Beyond full solidarity with the Ulm 5, the movement has understood that the state aims to end direct action by anti-zionist activists through heavy criminalization, invoking paragraph 129. If that becomes the sentence, this would be disastrous.

After a short night in a hall in Karlsruhe, where comrades improved the walls with missing Palestine stickers and a little round of antiD cleansing, the bus left to arrive at Stammheim by 7:15, making sure to catch the Ulm 5 arriving. One by one they were driven in by unmarked cars from different prisons across the South. Each car was welcomed with steadfast chanting and declarations of loyalty and love. Nothing was more important than showing them we were there.

The rally outside began, often invoking chants against Elbit Systems, the actual perpetrator of war crimes operating from Ulm. It is the lack of state and corporate accountability in ending the Gaza genocide, that the brave people have to step up and obstruct genocide at a high cost, their freedom. After having to tow an entire row of parked cars from the lot, because the cops ‘forgot to prepare for our rally’ we joined the Stuttgart team. Banners lit up the parkplatz while Lowkey’s famous song led the Versammlungsleiter to receive an Anzeige. Comrades from Shut Elbit Down and the Bündnis gegen Waffen gave moving speeches that tied the Ulm 5 case seamlessly to the militarization of our economy. Afterwards, it was time to settle down in the sun and wait for news from inside.

After 2 hours the family, legal defense team, press, court observers and others came out, exclaiming about the farcical nature of the proceedings. But despite that they were also thrilled. Thrilled for the glorious way the Ulm 5 showed up and how iconic they looked, despite these harsh months alone (not to diminish how disturbing and tough they were). A video journalist from Junge Welt mentioned how emotional it was to capture them on camera and groups sprawled around him to see the photos, some tearing up at the sight. The lawyers gave an update, how they had to stage a walkout because the judge wouldn’t let them sit next to their defendants, upsetting the obstructive judge. An “offensive defense”, and a “revolutionary spirit” were some of the jubilant ways the defense team was being described, leading to elation and standing ovations.

Finally, the recess was over and the queue to go inside did not diminish this time. Shortly after, it was over. The defense team in a surprising act of defiance got behind the glass and took their rightful place next to their defendants.

See you on May 4th.

Press release: Start of proceedings against the “Ulm 5” at the Stuttgart Regional Court – Motion for recusal against the presiding judge

During today’s opening of the trial at the Stuttgart Regional Court in the case against the “Ulm 5,” events escalated rapidly.

Prior to the hearing, the defence had attempted to contact – both by writing and by calling – the presiding judge in order to discuss various matters, in particular the seating arrangement in the courtroom. However, these requests went unanswered.

Instead, the court unilaterally scheduled a so-called “inspection appointment” without coordinating with the defence.

From the outset, the defence emphasised that the defendants should be seated next to their lawyers in order to ensure unobstructed and confidential communication in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

This fundamental right was not, in the eyes of the defence, guaranteed under the planned seating arrangement in the courtroom today.

Motions to change this and other related objections were not given consideration. The defence was not given the floor, and the microphones were not switched on, even though, according to the presiding judge, anything not spoken into the microphone would not be translated and would “disappear.”

The defence sought dialogue with the court not only prior to and during the main hearing in order to reach a constructive solution, but also during the recess. The court did not respond.

The defence views this conduct as an unacceptable violation of the defendants’ right to a fair trial and has therefore filed a motion for recusal against the presiding judge.

The undersigned are available for further inquiries.

  • Dr. Maja Beisenherz, München, Info@beisenherz.eu, 0177 / 70 95 812
  • Michael Brenner, Nürnberg, michael.brenner@anw-nbg.de, 0911 / 37 66 42 77
  • Mathes Breuer, München, breuer@kanzlei-abe.de, 0175 / 52 46 963
  • Anna Magdalena Busl, Bonn, busl@anwaltsbuero-bonn.de, 0176 / 23 23 32 35
  • Benjamin Düsberg, Berlin, mail@rechtsanwalt-duesberg.de, 0157 / 30 30 8383
  • Carolin Kaufmann, Berlin, kaufmann@akm-berlin.de, 0172 / 47 21 420
  • Rosa Mayer-Eschenbach, München, eschenbach@kanzlei-abe.de, 0176 / 65 35 94 43
  • Christina Mucha, Memmingen, info@kanzlei-mucha.de, 08331 / 69 08 136
  • Nina Onèr, Berlin, kanzlei@ninaoner.de, 01520 97 33 278
  • Matthias Schuster, Berlin, mail@anwalt-schuster.de, 0176 / 24 75 8230
  • Martina Sulzberger, Augsburg, kanzlei@anwaeltin-sulzberger.de; 0821 / 50 87 385O

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Videos and Pictures from the Trial

Videos before the trial: Hebh Jamal

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Photos from inside the court: Ignacio Rosaslanda https://www.instagram.com/nachonal_geographic

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Photos from outside the court: Compañera Emiliana

Elbit Systems and the Ulm 5

The Israeli weapons manufacturer powering genocide and the activists who tried to disrupt it


27/04/2026

As the trial of the Ulm 5 starts, we take a closer look at Elbit Systems and how it powers not only the genocide in Gaza but also violence worldwide. 

At the bottom of this page, you will find a link to an article about how you can get active against Elbit in Germany and support the Ulm 5 as best as you can.

What is Elbit Systems?

Founded in 1966, Elbit Systems Ltd. is Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer. As of 2026, it is the largest Israeli company by market value. 

Elbit is the main provider of Israel’s drone fleet: its Hermes drones form the backbone of Israel’s military capabilities, enabling constant surveillance and targeted strikes against the Palestinian population. The company also produces a wide range of other combat systems—from AI surveillance technologies, to bombs and advanced systems for the military’s Merkava tanks. 

Elbit has played a central role in the mass murder and displacement of Palestinians long before October 2023, through its ammunition, drones or surveillance systems. The company regularly markets its weapons as “battle proven”, a chilling euphemism indicating they have been tested in operations against Palestinians.

Since October 2023, the company has increased its deliveries to the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD) and its arsenal has been widely used in both Gaza and the West Bank. 

Powering genocide and murder at the borders

Elbit is not only a key provider of the technology powering the genocide in Gaza, it is also a major global arms exporter. The company has subsidiary factories around the world and sells its weapon systems to numerous countries, including France, Germany, Azerbaijan, and Austria. The company’s weapons are deployed globally to hunt people at the borders or target dissent—as in Brazil, where Elbit drones were used to crack down on protests during the World Cup. Elbit has also sold weapon systems to Myanmar’s military junta following the 2021 coup and supplied tanks to the Duterte regime in the Philippines. 

In the EU, Elbit has benefited from funding through the FP7 (2007–2013), Horizon 2020 (2014–2020), and Horizon Europe (2021–2027) programmes. In 2020, Frontex awarded €50 million to Elbit and IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries) to acquire drone technology for its border operations. As a reminder, EU border policies have killed more than 60,000 people between 1993 and 2025 alone, with Frontex being Europe’s main border police force and the EU’s largest agency.

And Europe is not the only region where Elbit is deeply integrated into the border surveillance apparatus: the company’s technology is also deployed in the US, where it supplies the Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) with autonomous, AI-powered surveillance towers at the Mexico border.

Elbit in Germany

Elbit acquired the German radio communication division of Telefunken, a company with a long history of enabling genocide, and rebranded as Elbit Systems Deutschland in 2020. The subsidiary is headquartered in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, where it produces military communication devices, radars and laser target designators, among other technologies. 

The company also maintains offices in Berlin and Koblenz, and has recently opened a branch in northern Germany, without publicly disclosing its exact location for fear of protests. It’s important to note that technology built by Elbit in Germany doesn’t stay in Germany, and that shipments to Israel have been documented. 

Meanwhile, Germany is negotiating a multi-billion deal with Elbit for the purchase of up to 500 rocket launchers. The weapons will be produced in Germany and used to equip the German army as well as NATO partners, thus helping the country to reach its stated goal of becoming the biggest armed force in Europe.

This highlights the level of interconnection between Germany and the Israel military industrial complex: Germany purchases weapons from Elbit, builds Elbit technology on its territory, while also exporting weapons to Israel (Germany is Israel’s second-largest arms supplier after the United States). 

Support the Ulm 5 and Shut Elbit Down

In September 2025, five activists entered Elbit’s Ulm offices. The aim of the non-violent action was to disrupt the flow of arms to Israel and stop the genocide in Gaza. Ever since, Daniel, Zo, Crow, Vi and Leandra have been held in pre-trial detention in separate prisons in south-west Germany. 

Alongside trespassing and property damage, the Ulm 5 have been charged with membership of a criminal organisation, underSection 129 of the German Criminal Code. This charge carries a potential sentence of up to five years in prison and has historically been used as a tool of political repression.

According to the lawyers and families, the activists are facing restrictive conditions and, in some cases, violations of their human rights, such as solitary confinement, restricted visitation and inadequate medical care. 

The Ulm 5 need our support. Similar non-violent actions have been successful around the world—in the UK, for example, Elbit was forced to shut down branches following campaigns by Palestine Action. The activists of Palestine Action were recently found not guilty of violent disorder. Additionally, since 2009, several funds have divested from Elbit after sustained pressure from campaigners. 

But in Germany, where any mention of the word “genocide” remains taboo and Palestine solidarity is consistently criminalized, support for the Ulm 5 has been limited, to say the least. What happens to them now is only the beginning and a template for how Germany will likely continue to punish political dissent—even when that “dissent” means fighting for human rights and the respect of international law. 

How can you help?

For information and resources on how you can support the Ulm 5, see here.