The Left Berlin News & Comment

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Palestine Journalists’ Syndicate

Support Journalism in Gaza


30/10/2024

Over the last year, there has been very little public acknowledgement or support expressed in Germany in relation to the crucial work that Gazan journalists have been doing to keep information flowing to the outside world. Until this important open letter was published by journalists based in Germany, very little collective public solidarity with Palestinian media workers had been voiced.

As you most likely know, since October 2023, roughly ten percent of Gaza’s journalists and media workers—at least 130 reporters—have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza (many of them while bearing witness to the ongoing horror and shocking death toll that Palestinian civilians are enduring). Gaza-based reporters have faced physical threats for their coverage, as well as major obstacles in getting information out of Gaza (more info on that here and here). Journalists have far too often been targeted despite wearing protective gear identifying them as members of the press. Meanwhile, foreign news organisations are still being denied access to Gaza, except for rare and tightly escorted trips arranged by the Israeli military. It is crucial that we find ways to express our support for journalism on the ground, as it is crucial that we continue to receive information from and about those who are most directly and grotesquely impacted by the ongoing and widespread humanitarian catastrophe in the region.

For all of the above reasons, Berlin-based artist Candice Breitz has set up an initiative to raise solidarity funds for the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS), an independent union that represents approximately eighty percent of Gaza’s journalists. You can join her in raising funds for PJS in one or both of the following ways:

You can donate to PJS by ordering one or more items from the ‘Never Again Means Never Again’ collection. All profits generated via the sale of items from this collection will be donated to PJS via the ‘International Safety Fund’ of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). Production costs for each item account for roughly 15% of the item’s price. In other words, 85% of all income generated via your order will go straight to PJS. Given the approaching holiday season, the website via which the ‘Never Again Means Never Again’ collection is accessible also allows you to order gift cards for friends, allies or loved ones. Orders can be sent anywhere in the world.

All items in the collection are named after progressive Jewish thinkers who have faced scorn in Germany over the last year (to put it mildly) in backlash for their public opinions vis-à-vis Israel-Palestine. At this point, the collection includes items titled ‘The Masha’ (as in Gessen), ‘The Eyal’ (as in Weizman), ‘The Deborah’ (as in Feldman), ‘The Nancy’ (as in Fraser, not Faeser), ‘The Yuval’ (as in Abraham), ‘The Emilia’ (as in Roig), ‘The Tomer’ (as in Dotan Dreyfus), and ‘The Nan’ (as in Nan Goldin, who is about to open an exhibition of her work at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin). This is not to suggest, at all, that only Jewish thinkers have been impacted by Germany’s unhinged crackdown on solidarity with the Palestinian people, but certainly it is not my place to speak on behalf of the Palestinian community in Germany or further afield.

You can take a closer look at the ‘Never Again Means Never Again’ collection (and place your order) via this link.

In addition to any contribution that you are able to make by personally ordering items from the collection, it would be incredibly meaningful if you were willing to amplify this fundraising initiative by using your platforms/channels to spread the word to others who might be willing to support the cause.

That could mean forwarding the info provided here via e-mail or – perhaps more effectively – by sharing information about this fundraising campaign via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or whatever other channels you typically use.

3ezwa

An association for justice in Germany and freedom in Palestine


23/10/2024

On 22 October 3ezwa, a new association for justice in Germany and freedom in Palestine, was launched.

Founded by a coalition of activists and groups unified in solidarity with the people of Palestine, 3ezwa’s focus will be to provide financial and legal support to those who experience repression for their commitment to the Palestinian cause.

Since long before 7 October 2023, German authorities have pursued a policy of repression to intimidate the pro-Palestine movement, threaten migrant communities, and silence all forms of dissent against Germany’s pro-Israel Staatsraison (reason of state).

3ezwa is an association born from the Berlin Legal Fund, a fundraising campaign established in October 2023 to provide financial support for pro-Palestine activists criminalised by the German state. Since October, the Berlin Legal Fund has raised €90,000 and worked alongside groups like the ELSC (European Legal Support Center), Rote Hilfe and KOP (Campaign for Victims of Racist Police Violence) to develop a legal support network for protesters.

3ezwa will expand on the work started by the Berlin Legal Fund, becoming the centre of a network of organisations across Germany. 3ezwa’s primary purpose will be to raise funds, support existing legal support structures, streamline the process of getting legal support, and provide free and easy-to-access advice to anyone facing repression for their solidarity with Palestine.

By becoming an officially registered association, 3ezwa will be able to operate with greater transparency and make decisions democratically through an annual general assembly open to all members. Through membership fees based on a sliding scale, 3ezwa will be able to generate more funds, support more criminalised individuals, and expand its support network across Germany. From its new official home at Haus der Demokratie und Menschenrechte (Greifswalderstr. 4, 10405 Berlin) 3ezwa will immediately offer walk-in sessions every Thursday and provide free counselling to those who need it.

The name 3ezwa (عزوة) refers to a close-knit group or community to which an individual is deeply connected. When someone speaks of their 3ezwa, they refer to the family, friends and allies who will stand by them, provide protection, and support them through any challenges. 3ezwa embodies collective strength, solidarity and the reassurance that you are not alone.

Together, with the support of allied groups across the country, 3ezwa’s goal is to strengthen the fundamental human rights under attack in Germany and to fight for the right to live in freedom and dignity in the entire territory of historic Palestine.

 

Gaza Committee

Together, We can make a Change!


16/10/2024

For months, millions of people around the world have been taking to the streets to protest for the human rights of Palestinians.

In Germany, there are many of us against the catastrophe happening in Gaza, but we can often feel alienated due to inadequate reporting and the intimidation tactics of the German state.

This is why we have founded the Gaza Committee in Berlin, an organisational space that is open to everyone who wants to mobilise and fight against the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Join us and participate in targeted, concrete actions. Every contribution counts.

We look forward to seeing you!

Sign up and learn more here.

 

Honouring the Children of Gaza

Reading out the names of the dead


09/10/2024

We are a 100% independent initiative of international Berliners – parents, artists, journalists, doctors, teachers. We want to bring our support to denounce the current genocidal war in Gaza. Join us on October 13 at Neue Wache, to read the never-ending list of names of the Palestinian children killed since October 2023. Like last time, we aim to bring awareness and pay tribute to all the young, innocent victims of Israel’s war on Gaza – and beyond.

In June we managed to read about 8600 names. We now have a list of 8000 more names. We know it’s not complete, especially since the war has expanded to Libanon. Still, we hope to repeat the amazing dignity and emotion we all felt on June 1, when so many people of all generations, Jews, Arabs, Germans and Berliners from all over the world, gathered in utter peace to express their grief and compassion. We also believe in the power of collective grieving as an act of resistance against society’s silence and political inertia.

You can join the event by filling in this form. Each person will read names for approximately 3 minutes. No Arabic skills are required. You can also support us by attending the event, following us on Instagram, or joining our Telegram channel.

The event will be in the same place as before – Neue Wache, Unter den Linden 4 – Germany’s official Memorial to “the victims of wars and tyranny,” what a symbol! As before, we’ll be reading from 10 am until late in the night. Only reading. Each person gets one page, about 40 names.

THE BIG CHILL

One-Day Symposium


02/10/2024

THE BIG CHILL, One-Day Symposium, Spore Initiative, Berlin-Neukölln, 5 October 2024, 11h00 – 18h00

At the invitation of Candice Breitz, symposium guests Michael Barenboim, Daniel Bax, Yasmeen Daher, Alexander Gorski, Pauline Jäckels, Nadezda Krasniqi, Jerzy Montag, Michael Rothberg, Nahed Samour and Charlotte Wiedemann will discuss the modes of silence and array of silencing mechanisms that constitute the chilling effect that has settled over German public discourse in the wake of the horrific atrocities of 7 October 2023 and the unspeakably grotesque and disproportionate violence that Palestinians have been subject to both leading up to and since that date.

Since 7 October, despite the International Court of Justice having ruled that it is plausible that Israel has committed acts that violate the Genocide Convention, much of German civil society has opted for silence in relation to the catastrophic death toll in the occupied Palestinian territories, a silence that to some extent betrays the fear of being branded antisemitic under the vague logic of German Staatsräson and/or the IHRA’s working definition of antisemitism. Parallel to this broad display of anticipatory obedience, Palestinians, progressive Jews and their allies have been muted, de-platformed, stigmatized (and at times even criminalized) with voracious frequency. A series of anti-democratic measures have been applied (or are currently being drafted) to the ends of curbing and censuring non-violent opinions that lie well within constitutional parameters yet run counter to the increasingly dogmatic discourse that has been perpetuated by Germany’s political class (and reproduced, with ominous consistency, across much of its press landscape).

Symposium participants will consider how perceived and/or actual restrictions on freedom of speech, freedom of political opinion, freedom of assembly and academic freedom have led to the normalisation of repressive attitudes and policies towards a range of racialised minorities that are too often cast as ‘other’ to white Germany—as well as towards intellectuals, artists, activists, journalists and students.

Silence can signify in a variety of ways. It can be imposed or self-chosen. It can be a consequence of social, ideological or legal coercion. It can betray deep apathy or cloak deep empathy. It can be a necessary tool of self-preservation. To what extent have silencing mechanisms and related discourses of exclusion gained support under the cover of political initiatives that promise to afford greater safety to Jewish life in Germany and beyond? To what extent have communities that are already deeply impacted by prejudice, become increasingly vulnerable as heated discourse pertaining to Israel-Palestine continues to polarize the public sphere? How can we collectively work towards the breaking of repressive silences?

The Big Chill’ is curated by Candice Breitz. The symposium is funded by the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig, with immensely generous support from Spore Initiative.