The Left Berlin News & Comment

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Racism on Trial

Reveal and resist racism in Germany’s criminal legal system


04/12/2024

Racism on Trial is a campaign initiated by Justice Collective to reveal and resist racism in Germany’s criminal legal system.

The criminal legal system fines, jails, and sentences to probation hundreds of thousands of people each year. People from racialized and migrantized groups are disproportionately punished by the system, including because they are racially profiled by police.

Punishment by the criminal legal system systemically works to keep in place our current unjust economic and social systems. Punishment serves the border regime, exploits people who are poor, and maintains racial heirarchies.

This mass criminalization is largely out of view for those not affected by it. Most people know little of the system’s day-to-day workings, including of its systemic injustices. Those who are criminalized are often alone in court, without a lawyer or solidarity.

To change this, the Racism on Trial campaign:

  • Documents racism on trial through court observations, revealing the injustices we observe in court in our case archive and findings
  • Organizes for justice, including by sharing resources for others to courtwatch as activism and materials for people impacted by these systems; and
  • Shares the perspectives of other activists and communities impacted by and resisting the systemic injustices of the criminal legal system.

Join us.

International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network

International organization of Jewish people committed to the liberation of Palestine


27/11/2024

The International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) is an international network of Jews who are uncompromisingly committed to struggles for human survival and emancipation, of which the liberation of the Palestinian people and land is an indispensable part. We are committed to the right of return for Palestinian refugees and to ending Israeli colonization of historic Palestine, which is reinforced by US economic and military power. We support full Palestinian self-determination and the right to resist occupation. We look to the Palestinian grassroots and Palestinian-led organizations as our primary points of reference in this struggle.

The State of Israel betrays the long histories of Jewish struggles for liberation and traditions of participation in collective struggles for liberation more broadly. We protest Zionism’s exploitation and debasement of histories of Jewish persecution and genocide to justify the unjustifiable – the colonization of Palestine and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, the theft of their land and destruction of their families, communities and way of life.

IJAN is part of the international movement against Zionist militarism and repression. We have active chapters in the United States, Argentina, the UK, Spain, Canada, and France. We also organize by sector, and currently maintain labor and campus sectors. Our work is funded largely through the contributions and volunteer labor of our members and through grassroots supporters.

IJAN organizes from a Jewish location, which we understand as social and historical, but our members hold a range of relationships to the religious, spiritual, and cultural expressions of Judaism. IJAN’s members come from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds and cultural lineages (including Ashkenazi, Mizrahi and Sephardic).  We view “Jewish Anti-Zionism” as a political orientation rather than an identity, a politics which acquires meaning through practical organizing.

A core tenet of the way IJAN organizes is joint struggle — recognizing the particular stakes of different communities and sectors in the general struggle against Zionist repression, militarism, and imperialism. The stake of each movement is specific, but we share a commitment to principles of universal liberation, justice, equity, never sacrificing any aspect of one community or movement’s struggle for freedom for the sake of advancing another’s. We recognize that our struggles are bound together, and that we must find ways of organizing together that strengthen all of our movements.

Unframe Festival

A weekend of socialist ideas, culture, and connection


20/11/2024

Unframe festival is more than just an event—it’s a vibrant cultural and political space happening at Oyoun Berlin, bringing together people eager to explore and engage with transformative ideas. Rooted in socialist thought, the festival is dedicated to discussing and “unframing” key topics concerning socialism, marxism, decolonialism, anti-racism, and the pressing political developments shaping our world today.

We believe in the power of dialogue and shared learning to inspire change. That’s why we’ve curated a diverse program designed to spark thought-provoking conversations and foster meaningful connections. Whether you’re already immersed in these topics or just beginning to explore them, unframe festival is a welcoming space for everyone.

Across the weekend, you can dive into a wide range of lectures, panel discussions and workshops led by activists, scholars, and organizers who are shaping these movements. Engage with critical questions about justice, equality, and liberation, and exchange ideas with others who share your curiosity and passion.

Unframe festival isn’t just about discussion — it’s also about culture, creativity, and community. Enjoy live music and DJ sets from inspiring artists, watch theatre plays, film screenings and see exhibitions that offer fresh perspectives, as well as a bazaar where you can discover books, merch and more. Savour delicious food that fuels the body and the spirit, and take a moment to connect with others in a cozy atmosphere.

Join us for a weekend that challenges, inspires, and connects. Together, we can imagine and work toward a better world — one conversation, one idea, and one moment of solidarity at a time.

Dekoloniale

Memory Culture in the City


13/11/2024

The opening of the Dekoloniale Festival will take place this year from November 14th to 17th, 2024 in the districts of Berlin-Mitte and Berlin-Wedding.

On the evening of November 14th, we will open the decentralized exhibition Dekoloniale – what remains?! in the Museum Nikolaikirche together with the Stadtmuseum Berlin. Here, the five Dekoloniale Berlin Residents 2024 will show their group exhibition “Colonial Ghosts – Resistant Spirits. Church, Colonialism and Beyond” and the curatorial team will present the historical exhibition “Inscribed. Colonialism, Museum and Resistance.” The topics addressed in each case are Berlin’s centuries-long involvement in the global history of slavery and colonialism and the interventions of resistant personalities, which have not yet been recognized here.

November 15th, 2024 marks the 140th anniversary of the historic Berlin Conference of 1884/85. The discourse event Dekoloniale Berlin Africa Conference 2024 reflects this past and its effects on the present and brings together representatives from Africa and its global diasporas. They discuss the aftermath of the historic conference, which is now reflected here. Parallel to the main program, a series of practice-oriented, mostly target group-specific workshops will take place as part of the Dekoloniale Academy 2024. We will conclude the second day of the festival with the music theater piece Ecosystem by GROUP50:50 in the Maxim Gorki Theater.

On Saturday, November 16, the Dekoloniale Festival is organizing the all-day Dekoloniale City Tour as every year with many interesting historical and contemporary stops and corresponding interventions by our invited experts at the interfaces of science, art and activism.

On Saturday evening we will host this year’s closing party of the Dekoloniale Festival at our friends and colleagues SAVVY Contemporary in Wedding.

On Sunday, November 17, we will talk to our network partners and end the Dekoloniale Festival with lunch at the Gropius Bau.

Bana

Group for Peace and Development


06/11/2024

Bana Group for Peace and Development is a voluntary feminist non-governmental organisation founded in January 2017. We understand ourselves rather as a network of activists than an organisation, and we work on a consensus basis. Our members are from and based in various regions of Sudan, mostly marginalised communities: North Darfur, West Darfur, South Darfur, South Kordofan, West Kordofan, Blue Nile State, Red Sea State, El-Gezira State, White Nile State, Northern State, Khartoum State.

United as Bana Group, we remain characterized by diversity: We are from various social, economic and ethnic backgrounds, allowing our work to really address the needs and specific environments in the different regions of Sudan. As a grassroots civil society organisation, we connect different civil society initiatives from within Sudan and across borders – including the Sudanese diaspora. We believe that marginalized women don’t need to be represented by others, but they have the right to speak for themselves.

Currently, our work focuses on the empowerment of women – political, economic and social – through various feminist projects designed and implemented by the women members in our network.

Bana Group for Peace and Development started with a group of women coming together in 2017 in workshops about non-violence, digital security and problem analysis. We directly applied the gained knowledge by starting initiatives within our respective communities. Based on this experience, we decided jointly to form a group in the initial workshop “Point of Transformation” which was conducted in El-Geneina. The very beginning of our joint work as a group of activists was the research project Voices of the Margins which brought us again to learn and listen to each other despite our differences.

We seek to create an environment that supports women. We seek to rebuild and develop communities and revive peace values within them by linking war-affected communities in Sudan with each other.

Our mission

  • Spreading the concepts and values of peace
  • Working towards transitional justice for all
  • Supporting the democratic change in the country
  • Supporting women’s existence in the economic and political spheres and ensuring their participation in the peace processes and politics
  • Respecting diversity and spreading the culture of respecting others
  • Supporting women to express and speak up for themselves
  • Creating spaces to form feminist networks and foster solidarity among initiatives