Faruk K. (30) stands on Alexanderplatz on Saturday afternoon with a Palestinian flag. He says: “I am disappointed that human rights are not universally applicable for the German government. If they were, Germany would have to sanction Israel for its crimes in Gaza. “Just like Russia.”
Around 20,000 people set off for the Großer Stern, an hour’s walk away. By evening, there will be well over 50,000 at the “All Eyes on Gaza” rally. Maybe 100,000.
Faruk K. was born in Berlin, works as an employee, and has Palestinian ancestors. It’s good, he says, that the demonstration “is peaceful and that there are different people there.”
As you push your way through the crowds, you hear German, Arabic, English, Spanish. It is a metropolitan event, multicultural, mostly younger people, with many expats and activists wearing Palestinian scarves. Black, white, green, and red flags dominate. Red Left Party flags also shine, while the inevitable DKP (‘Deutsche Kommunistische Partei’) and MLPD (‘Marxistische-Leninistische Partei Deutschlands’) flags are lost among the sea of flags.
Germans want more pressure on Israel
Around noon, radicals gathered at Moritzplatz in Kreuzberg for a counterdemonstration. Representatives from groups such as ‘Kommunistischer Aufbau’ (KA) and ‘Young Struggle’ (YS) were present. A spokesperson said they were against the “normalization” of the Zionist entity. There could be no peace in an apartheid system which commits genocide. Any form of resistance against it is legitimate. The crowd chants “Free Palestine,” “Yalla Intifada,” and the classic: “German weapons, German money, murdering all over the world.” There are 250 police officers for around 500 demonstrators. According to a police spokeswoman, a total of 1,800 officers were on duty in the city that day.
At 2:30 p.m., before the speeches begin, Jewish-German musician Michael Barenboim stands next to the rather modest stage on Alexanderplatz, where Left Party leader Ines Schwerdtner is about to speak. “The protest against German politics is already capable of engaging the majority. We are making that evident here,” Barenboim tells the ‘Taz’ newspaper. “Stop the genocide” is a slogan that many can rally behind.
The polls prove Barenboim is right. More than half of Germans consider what is happening in Gaza to be genocide. Two-thirds of Germans want Germany to exert more pressure on Israel.
Before the speeches begin, the rules are read out in Arabic and German. Burning flags and propagating the destruction of Israel are prohibited, as are hate messages against ethnic groups, symbols, flags, and stickers of Hezbollah, the PFLP (‘Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine’), and Islamist organizations. But none of this is to be seen.
Ines Schwerdtner shouts, “We are here today because a genocide is happening in Gaza.” There used to be a consensus within the Left Party to avoid using the word genocide, in order to maintain internal party balance and to avoid a prolonged debate about a word which easily distracts from the horror. Now that most Germans accept the word genocide, this seems to be a thing of the past. Schwerdtner calls for “the release of the hostages and all political prisoners,” but above all for an end to arms exports and an end to the war in Gaza.
However, at most a tenth of the demonstration participants hear that the Left Party has new wording. The speakers are too quiet. Organizing large demonstrations used to be one of the core competencies of the left. Another prejudice that can be checked off the list.
“Human dignity is inviolable.”
A member of the Left Party, around 30 years old, with a beard and wearing a leather jacket, has traveled from Cologne and is waving a party flag. Around 50 comrades have come from Cologne, he says. He was pleased with the mobilization of the grassroots. But 50 is a rather modest number, considering that there are now more than 3,000 comrades in Cologne.
Small migrant and left-wing groups such as the Israeli peace movement ‘Standing Together’, the ‘Workers’ Party of Turkey’, and the ‘VVN’ (in English, the ‘Association of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime’) can be recognized by their banners. A large banner reads “Human dignity is inviolable.”
The demonstration is a colorful mix of people, unlike the rather gray-haired, bio-German-Wagenknecht Gaza demonstration from three weeks ago. But some groups are missing. The churches, and apart from a few lost ver.di activists, the unions as well.
Tsafrir Cohen, head of ‘medico international’, stands at the edge of the demonstration in front of Marienkirche on Alexanderplatz on Saturday afternoon and tells ‘Taz’: “A few months ago, ‘medico’ was still alone on the Gaza issue.” That has changed now. The hesitancy has disappeared among many NGOs. ‘Terre des Hommes’, ‘Medica Mondial’, ‘Care International’, and ‘Oxfam’ are also getting involved.
A bridge between migrants and mainstream society
“All Eyes on Gaza,” co-organized by ‘medico international’, is an attempt to build a bridge between “migrant society, activists, and the mainstream German society.” Even if actors such as the SPD, Christian Democrats, or Greens are still missing, the time when “loud silence” was considered protest is over, according to Cohen.
The demonstration march sets off very slowly at 4 p.m. It is led by a Palestinian block, from whose loudspeaker truck a woman encourages the crowd to chant slogans such as “Viva Palestine” and “Israel bombs, Friedrich Merz finances.” However, the old battle cry “Long live international solidarity” receives the most response. Another popular chant is “This is not war, this is genocide.”
The walk to the Großer Stern is long, taking around an hour. The best atmosphere is in the Latin American block, which keeps spirits high with drumming. A small group with Israeli flags and photos of Hamas hostages has gathered at the Lustgarten. The demonstration march responds with chants of “Shame on you” and “Fuck Israel.” Otherwise, the demonstration march proceeds without any major incidents.
‘Amnesty International’ and ‘medico international’ have set up a large stage for the rally in front of the Victory Column. The sound is better than at the Left Party rally on Alexanderplatz. Rapper Ali Bumayé sincerely thanks Germans without a migrant background for coming. He says he learned in kindergarten how important it is to love your neighbor and is happy that this society is finally standing up for its values.
German-Palestinian chemical engineer Iman Abu Qomsan talks about her over 80 relatives who were killed in Gaza. The RAM Project from Cologne plays Arabic pieces. At 7 p.m., rapper Massiv, who had previously called for the Wagenknecht rally in front of the Brandenburg Gate, makes a surprise appearance and performs a melancholic song.
Arrests in Kreuzberg
At 7:45 p.m., 18-year-old Israeli conscientious objector Ella Greenberg, who has been imprisoned several times for refusing military service, speaks. Not far from the Victory Column, ‘Amnesty International’ and ‘medico international’ have set up their stands.
The rally at the Victory Column continues until 9 p.m., long after dark. Around 7 p.m., a spokeswoman announces that the police are now brutally cracking down on the demonstration at Moritzplatz. “There are arrests and many detentions,” she says. She expresses solidarity with all those demonstrating today. “All of Berlin hates the police,” she shouts to the crowd.
The press spokesman for the Left Party, Lars Peters, is also on Straße des 17th. Juni and sends out a press release from there at 7 p.m. “Today we have made clear what the majority in this country has long been thinking,” Ines Schwerdtner explains. “This demonstration was not only impressive in its size, but it also stood for a promise: we will not look away when people are dying every day in Gaza.” The federal government must no longer evade its responsibility. The Left Party estimates that more than 100,000 people are attending the demonstration and rally.
Where are the Greens? Where are the unions?
Kassem Taher Saleh (32) stands next to the stage of the “All Eyes on Gaza” rally at the Großer Stern in the early evening and says: “I would have liked the Green Party and its parliamentary group to have called for this rally.” Taher Saleh was born in Iraq and came to Saxony at the age of ten. He has been a Green Party member of the Bundestag for four years.
Why is he here? His answer echoes that of many at the Gaza rally: “The federal government must recognize Palestine, stop all arms deliveries to Israel, and provide more humanitarian aid to Gaza.” He understands that Germans whose grandfathers fought on the Eastern Front before 1945 have a different relationship with Israel.
Nevertheless, he is offended by the Greens’ reluctance. “The protection of human rights and minorities is part of our DNA.” Except in Palestine and Gaza.
This article originally appeared in German in the taz newspaper. Translation: Ana Ferreira. Reproduced with permission.
