As we approach the six month anniversary of Israel’s assault on Gaza, there will be (at least) two demonstrations this week. Tomorrow (Friday) at 4pm, Israelis for Peace are organising a rally: This has to stop! Impose an immediate Ceasefire! outside the German Foreign Office at Werderscher Markt 1. And on Sunday, Hände Weg von Wedding is organising a rally: Wedding for Palestine. “We call on you: join us in Wedding to take a stand against the occupation, expulsion and murder of Palestinians and for an immediate ceasefire!” The rally takes place at Leopoldplatz (Otto und Elise Hampel Platz) at 3pm.
On Saturday, the satirical anti-gentrification group myGrüni is organising a Spring break for more residential areas with a lake view. “Berlin needs housing space – but if there are to be more residential areas, then with a lake view! There is still a little space for building social housing on the luxury island Schwanenwerder! With a Spring home visit, we want to view the building land with much potential. Waterside promenade for all! FKK fun not posh tristesse! The problem zone is private beaches!” Wrap up warm and join the party at midday at S-Bahnhof Nikolassee.
On Saturday at 3pm there will be a memorial rally for Burak Bektaş to mark the 12th anniversary of his murder. This will take place at the memorial site for Burak on the corner of Rudower Straße and Möwenweg. “On the night of 4th-5th April 2012, Burak was shot in front of the Britz hospital. The act has still not been explained. After 12 years we are still asking: was the motive racism? Together with Burak’s family and friends we want to commemorate Burak and invite you to join us. From the middle of April, Burak’s murder will be debated in a parliamentary committee of inquiry. We will be critically observing and accompanying this committee. Susmak yok. Mücadele var! In memory of Burak.”
Our next Palestine Reading Group is on Sunday at 6pm. Note this is 1 hour earlier that usual, to allow people to celebrate Iftar at the end of the event. This week we’ll be discussing “Manufacturing global Islamophobia”. You can find the selected reading here. The Palestine Reading Group takes place every week, on either Friday or Sunday. Check the page of Events we organise for the coming dates and discussion topics. If you’d like to get more involved in the group, you can join our Telegram group and follow the channel Reading group. Meetings are in the Agit offices, Nansenstraße 2. There is a meeting for moderators (open to anyone who’s interested) half an hour before the meeting starts.
Next Monday and Tuesday. Nicaragua will be prosecuting Germany in the International Court of Justice for giving military aid to Israel and defunding the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA). theleftberlin website is showing a livestream of the hearings at oyoun from 9:30-12:30pm, Lucy Lameck Straße 32. If you would like to join us to watch the hearings together, please come along. There will also be an action all day Life banned from Gaza. The venue is currently secret, but we will be going after the livestream event.
On Monday at 7pm, Right2TheCity (R2C), the international working group of Deutsche Wohnen & Co Enteignen has its April Welcome Session. “Are you affected by abusive landlords, by never-ending sublets or by Eigenbedarf eviction? Are you sympathetic with the fight for socialization of housing in Berlin and want to know more about it? Or are you just interested in R2C and the wider @dw_enteignen campaign? Join us in AGIT, Nansenstr. 2.”
There is much more going on in Berlin this 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.
If you are looking for Resources on Palestine, we have set up a page with useful links. We will be continually updating the page, so if you would like to recommend other links, please contact us on team@theleftberlin.com. You can also find all the reading from our Palestine Reading Groups here.
This week’s Campaign of the Week is a new project by Palestine artists Rasha al-Jundi and Michael Jabareen, regular contributors to theleftberlin. Anakeb Communications Consultants is a communications consulting firm whose mission is to combine diversity, uniqueness and ingenuity to address communication needs in a distinct and original style. “Anakeb” is plural for spider in Arabic. Spiders have a sense of design, are industrious in building their homes and they think big. If you want a communication job done right, get a spider to do it. You can find out more about Anakeb from their website.
In News from Berlin, celebrations as Germany legalizes cannabis, and video surveillance planned for Wedding.
In News from Germany, teachers’ union calls for more discussion of the AfD in classrooms, petrol consumption in Germany rises for a third successive year, football shirt design contains apparent SS symbol, and dual citizenship law is passed.
Read all about it in this week’s News from Berlin and Germany.
New on theleftberlin, we report on the protests against German press coverage of Palestine, we interview students threatened with ex-matriculation for just protesting, as Oppenheimer wins the Best Picture Oscar, Ilya Kharkow looks at how nuclear weapons threaten us all, Dr. John Puntis looks at a fresh attack on British doctors, Phil Butland asks what has happened to the German Left Party?, and Isobel knight questions left-wing attacks on woke.
Our Podcast of the Week is one for the German speakers, but gives more details on an article on theleftberlin this week. Lena Obermaier and Yusuf are the guests of Lange Rede kurzer Dschinn, where they compare the treatment of Palestine in German and English Universities in the light of the recent threat of ex-matriculation for activists in Berlin.
In this week’s Video of the Week, Berlin based Jewish socialist Rachael Shapiro looks at why the Sparkasse froze the bank account of the Jüdische Stimme, and argues that the Jüdische Stimme is not just being attacked for being Jewish, but also because they’re fighting alongside to their Palestinian siblings and comrades.
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Keep on fighting,
The Left Berlin Editorial Board