A number of left-wing bars and youth clubs in Berlin have formed a coalition against “threats, violence, and boycott.” These are all non-Jewish, antideutsch spaces who claim that they are victims of antisemitic attacks because they have been criticized for supporting genocide. These “anticapitalist” spaces have been praised in the right-wing bourgeois press, while queer groups are boycotting them. The most strident antideutsch space is the bar Bajszel in Neukölln. Can you tell us about the last time you were at Bajszel?
In September 2023, I went to an event at Bajszel about Mythos#Israel1948. This pamphlet claims that the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in 1948, the Nakba, is in fact a myth. The panel speakers, all non-Jewish, talked for about half an hour, and then a security guard approached me and told me to leave, accusing me of filming without permission. I wanted to say something before I left.
Why was it important for you to say something?
I know this reality up close. When they say there is no apartheid in Israel, I know from my own personal experience this isn’t true.
My grandmother was in Palestine during the Nakba. She saw firsthand how the Zionist dream that had been sold to her — the idea of “having our own state” — materialized as a mass ethnic cleansing. Growing up, she told me about the Palestinians being expelled from their land and remained deeply critical of Zionism.
I know the early reality of Zionism from my grandmother’s family. Her uncle, Enzo Sereni, was a Zionist leader in Palestine who founded a kibbutz. Before being murdered by the Nazis in the early 1940s, he opposed the emerging Zionist society, arguing that it was turning into a class-based structure of masters and slaves.
Her other uncle, Emilio Sereni, was a partisan, communist and an anti-Zionist — he became a leader of the Italian Communist Party and briefly served as a minister in the national government.
In a statement, the organizers said you were “aggressive” and “insulting.” I’ve seen a video of you. You spoke for about 30 seconds, and looked rather emotional, but also picked up your things and left peacefully. What happened then?
After I had left the hall and reached the corridor, accompanied by a security guard, two men attacked me. One of them was choking me while the other covered my eyes. Immediately after, they slammed me into the floor. They were police, but they hadn’t identified themselves as such.
A brief, emotional statement doesn’t seem like grounds for an assault. Were there any other Jewish people at the event?
After I left, when the audience had the chance to ask questions, Udi Raz asked if there were any Jewish people present. She was the only person who raised her hand. The only other Jews in the room were me, who had already been kicked out, and another person who left at the beginning because they felt uncomfortable with the ban on recording the event.
It sounds like they expelled all Jews from their event about antisemitism. You were put on trial for resisting arrest in July 2024. How did that end?
The judge had already looked at video and audio recordings. He said that if the police didn’t have a good reason to detain me, they would be subject to an investigation. So the police officer who forced me to the ground declined to testify. I was declared not guilty of any wrongdoing. Among other things, the recordings raised serious doubts about the legality of the arrest.
So is that the end of things?
The police are investigating and I am waiting for the results.
This appears to be the worst attack on a Jewish person in Neukölln in many years.
First, let me say that this is just a drop in the ocean of the violence against supporters of Palestine in Berlin — the vast majority of the police brutality is against Palestinians.
Definitely. But the German cops also have a record of beating up Jews in the name of “fighting antisemitism.” Like at the eviction of the Humboldt University in Berlin, at least four Jewish students were assaulted — in the name of “protecting Jewish students,” of course. Anyway, did the owners of the bar reach out to you to apologize? Did the newspapers interview you? Any local politicians? What about all those Antisemitism Czars?
The owners of Bajszel were supposed to come to the trial as witnesses, but they didn’t show up on two separate dates. They haven’t reached out to apologize. The only reporting was in English–language stories.
Have you experienced antisemitism in the Palestine solidarity movement in Berlin?
No, quite the opposite. Without the people from the solidarity movement, this experience would have been much harder for me. They supported me throughout. A brave woman whose family was expelled from Palestine during the Nakba followed me out to check on me and was interrogated by the police as a result. Other people offered support in court.
It seems that all these “left-wingspaces against antisemitism” have difficulties with Jews. When I asked Bajszel for comment about the assault on a Jewish person, they simply denied it. The club ://about blank advertised an event about left-wing antisemitism with no Jewish speakers, and denied entry to a number of Jewish activists. I was disappointed to see Syndikat has joined as well, I assumed they would express solidarity with an Israeli anarchist like you. Instead, their solidarity is for the German government. Have you had any other experiences with these “antideutsch” spaces?
When I spoke at the Anarchist Days Dresden in September of last year, people attacked the event online for inviting an “antisemite.” But the organizers stood with me, and there was no physical protest.
