Hello everyone,
This evening (Thursday), No Border Assembly are organising a demonstration NO BORDERS means standing for a FREE PALESTINE! While an ongoing genocide is being carried out in Palestine, the German government is doubling down on its colonial alliance with the state of Israel and the racist German border regime. Politicians are calling for the deportation of people committed to a free Palestine and Chancellor Scholz is vowing to start “deporting on a grand scale.” The demonstration starts at Oranienplatz at 6pm.
Because of an overwhelmingly positive response in a very short time, participation in the LINKE Berlin Internationals Palestine reading group on Friday as well as on a second date is now closed. If you’ve registered on the website you should have received an e-mail with more information. If you’d like to come and didn’t make this one, don’t worry! There will be more of these evenings, and have already collected a bunch of materials for discussion. More information in future Newsletters and our Instagram page.
This weekend, the School of Transnational Organizing is arranging its Winter Academy, “Moving at the Speed of Trust”. While most of the Academy is invite only, on Friday night there will be a public film screening and storytelling session, with the filmmakers Christina Antonakos-Wallace and Olga Gerstenberger and the protagonists Tania Mattos and Miman Jasarovski. “From Here” is a film documentary set in both Berlin and New York and directed by Christina Antonakos-Wallace which explores the lives and futures of those who hang in the balance of immigration and integration debates. It starts at 7pm in the Stadtbahn Berlin, and you can register here.
On Saturday, Sumar and the Berlin LINKE Internationals are organising a conversation on repression and censorship in Germany: We need to talk: international solidarity with Palestine. What is going on in Germany with the Palestine solidarity? What about international solidarity within the German and European Left? The development of the last weeks undermines an already fragile basis for the solidarity with Palestine. The meeting starts at 7pm at Café MadaMe, Mehringplatz 10. Speakers include Spanish MEP Manu Pineda.
On Sunday, it’s the latest political walking tour organised by the Berlin LINKE Internationals: 105th Anniversary of the November Revolution of 1918/1919. 105 years ago, an insurrection took place in Berlin. With the general strike of November 9, 1918, workers toppled the Kaiser and ended the First World War. Thus began the November Revolution. Millions of people took to the streets to fight for an end to capitalism. But the Social Democratic Party allied with the imperial military to drown the revolution in blood. Meet at Potsdamer Platz at 2pm next to Espresso House (Potsdamer Platz 10) to find more. People who register will receive a mail with extra information the day before the tour.
On Tuesday, at 7pm, Vincent Bevins, author of “The Jakarta Method”, will be launching his new book: “If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution” We will discuss with Vincent about the rise and fall of popular movements, our weaknesses and strengths, in order to ultimately ask ourselves: Where is the revolution? And how can we achieve it? The event is in Am Flutgraben 3 behind Festsaal Kreuzberg (left entrance next to the river), It is organised by Bloque Latinoamericano Berlín, who are our Campaign of the Week.
There is much more going on in Berlin, it’s a very busy week. To find out what’s happening, go to our Events page. You can also see a shorter, but more detailed list of events in which we are directly involved in here.
In News from Berlin, Israeli film maker attacked in Charlottenburg, culture organisation which works with refugees loses over a third of its budget, and Berliner Senat wants to ignore referendum preventing building on Tempelhofer Feld.
In News from Germany, demonstrations for Palestine throughout Germany, Germany remember Kristallnacht, Germany prepares for a cold winter, and military aid to Ukraine doubles.
Read all about it in this week’s News from Berlin and Germany.
This week on theleftberlin, we publish an open letter protesting against the Berlin Senat cutting the funding of the oyoun cultural centre for hosting a Jewish organisation, we talk to Udi Raz about being sacked by the Jewish museum for using the term “apartheid”, and Wieland Hoban, chair of the Jüdische Stimme talks about Jewish reactions to the current bombardment of Gaza.
We publish a photo gallery from last Saturday’s march for Gaza, John Mullen reports from Paris on the instrumentalism of antisemitism to attack support for Palestine in France, and Phil Butland argues that Internationals can play a crucial role in overcoming the German Left’s reluctance to support Palestinians.
Outside Palestine, Shav MacKay looks at the proposed German citizenship reform and sees it as a welcome, but very limited, step forward.
In this week’s Video of the Week, Greta Thunberg stands up for Palestine despite attempts to stop her…
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Keep on fighting,
The Left Berlin Editorial Board