NEWS FROM BERLIN
Yasemin A. acquitted for “From the river to the sea”
“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” echoes across Turmstraße in front of the Tiergarten court in Berlin on 30 July. A handful of people are forcibly removed from the rally as they chant it. The group is there because the activist Yasemin A. has just been acquitted in several cases of committing a criminal offense by uttering the phrase. The judge finds her guilty on three counts: for resisting law enforcement officers, defamation of two police officers, and physical assault on a police officer – she had thrown an umbrella at the uniformed, helmeted officer as he intervened in a demonstration. Source: nd-aktuell
Schwuz files for bankruptcy
Germany’s oldest queer club, Schwuz in Neukölln, has filed for bankruptcy. “The financial situation is even more serious than expected,” announced its management. It continued: “We tried to counteract this: by changing structures and programs, and by painfully laying off employees.” Like many Berlin clubs, Schwuz has been in a deep crisis for a long time. The opposition in the Berlin Senate demands from the city government to stop leaving cultural venues in the lurch. Klaus Lederer (Left Party), former Senator for Culture, asked to the current city´s coalition: “What else actually has to happen before the Senate and the coalition finally understand that Berlin’s queer subculture is in serious danger?”. Source: taz
Hamburg accuses Berlin of sabotaging deportations
A heated dispute has erupted between Berlin and Hamburg over the issue of church asylum. Hamburg’s Mayor, Peter Tschentscher (SPD), accused Berliner authorities of sabotaging the deportation of several Afghans in an unusually harsh letter to his counterpart, Kai Wegner (CDU). Specifically, the case concerns four Afghan refugees from Hamburg whom the city’s authorities wanted to deport to Sweden. The men, converted from Islam to Christianity, subsequently sought refuge in a free church in Steglitz and received church asylum there. In Sweden, they face deportation to Afghanistan. Source: taz
NEWS FROM GERMANY
Murder of Algerian woman in Germany prompts protests
The murder of Rahma Ayad, a 26-year-old Algerian nursing trainee, has triggered a wave of anger and protest among Algerians in Germany and beyond. Community members and her family are calling for her killing to be recognised as a racially motivated hate crime, following reports that she had been repeatedly harassed for wearing the hijab and for her Arab background. According to a report by Al-Araby TV channel, Rahma’s mother confirmed that she felt unsafe due to his behaviour, which included verbal abuse linked to her wearing the hijab and being of Arab origin. Source: New Arab
SPD is apparently preparing to recognize Palestine
Several European states have announced their intention to recognize a Palestinian state, and the SPD is apparently working internally on a paper proposing to do the same. The Social Democrats’ foreign policy spokesperson, Adis Ahmetovic, told the magazine Focus: “As the SPD, we decided at the recent federal party conference that recognition does not have to be the end of a process toward a two-state solution.” Foreign policy expert Ralf Stegner (SPD) also told “Die Zeit” that everyone “must act together in Europe on this issue, otherwise Israel will never change its policy.” Source: Berliner Zeitung
Gaza: German celebrities send an open letter to Merz
More than 200 actors, musicians, and media professionals are urging Chancellor Friedrich Merz to halt arms deliveries to Israel. Specifically, they are asking him for three things regarding Israel’s war in Gaza: a halt to all German arms exports to Israel; support for the suspension of the EU Association Agreement with Israel; and a demand for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered access for humanitarian aid. Sofar, there has been no response from the Chancellery. The action was organized by the campaign group Avaaz in collaboration with filmmaker Laura Fischer. Source: dw
A Nazi Party
Around 80 German neo-Nazis celebrated the last solstice in the Czech Republic, singing Hitler Youth songs and invoking the “Germanic people,” as investigated by “Taz”. Among the participants are also German local politicians with ties to the AfD such as Markus W., a former member of the now-defunct youth organization “Junge Alternative”; Robert Thieme, who ran for the Zittau city council as an independent candidate for the AfD in 2024; and Thomas Christgen, elected to the Niesky city council via the AfD list, but remained non-partisan and non-affiliated there. When asked, all three denied the allegations. Source: taz
