22.08.24
Editorial Note
Since its founding in 2004, IAM has been reporting on the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine (BRICUP), a campaign for academic and cultural boycott of Israel. BRICUP emerged in England in response to the Palestinian call for an academic and cultural boycott of Israel, making its debut in 2002 in an open letter to The Guardian. The letter was signed by Steven and Hilary Rose, two Jewish academics (husband and wife), the founders of BRICUP. At the time, they were professors of biology at the Open University and social policy at the University of Bradford, respectively. In their letter, they called for a boycott of Israeli institutions. The launch of BRICUP was announced at a conference at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in 2004.
BRICUP’s Mission is “to support Palestinian universities, staff and students” and “to oppose the continued illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands with its concomitant breaches of international conventions of human rights, its refusal to accept UN resolutions or rulings of the International Court, and its persistent suppression of Palestinian academic freedoms.” BRICUP will “Continue to pressure the UK government to exclude Israel from joint academic and scientific activity. Develop a policy which encourages individual academics to break their professional links with Israel.” BRICUP encourages “Refusing research collaborations with Israeli institutions or to referee papers or grant applications issuing from such institutions; Refusing to attend academic conferences in Israel; Supporting Israeli academic colleagues working with Palestinian colleagues in their demand for self-determination and academic freedom.” BRICUP urges to “Work within our trades unions and professional organizations in support of such actions; Explore forms of support for Palestinian academic colleagues.”
BRICUP has worked hard to involve other countries. Recently, the organization announced that “German academics publish ‘Archive of Silence’ that lists instances of censorship on Palestine.” BRICUP described the project: “As Germany continues to arrest dozens of Jewish people (specifically for protesting genocide, as a concept and with reference to the Gaza genocide ), academics have documented a giant spreadsheet of all the canceled speakers and scholars in Germany of those who also oppose genocide.”
Archive of Silence is a collection of “cancellation/silencing” cases and is continuously updated. Readers are encouraged to contribute by submitting cases via email. The list of incidents includes 156 cases of both academic and cultural events starting from October 8, 2023, to this day.
Here are a few recent cases that IAM compiled from the Archives:
Case 151, from June 7, 2024: “Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has removed Geraldine Rauch, President of the Technical University Berlin, from his circle of advisors of the “Zukunftsrat” due to accusations from CDU and Springer press leveled against her for liking a post on X that contains an image associating Netanyahu with Nazi symbols. Members of the Academic Senat and politicians up to federal level had additionally called for her resignation as the President of TU.”
Case 149, from June 04, 2024: “The University of Heidelberg canceled the event ‘Palestinian activism and (German) Media’ with activists Hebh Jamal and Mahmud Abu-Odeh that was to take place as part of the seminar ‘#Islam: Religious Dynamics in Online Spaces’ out of fear of ‘political agitation’ by the speakers.”
Case 137, from May 30, 2024: “The Humboldt University requested that the open event ‘Being a doctor where there are no more hospitals’, organized by Decolonize Charité, would be closed to the public. Additionally, they requested that the bags of all participants are checked by security for ‘spray paints/cans, colors, weapons including pocket knives, batons or objects that can be used as such’.”
Case 143, from May 08, 2024: “The University of Düsseldorf imposed severe restrictions on an event about the Nakba by requesting a security concept from the organizing student group Die Linke.SDS. In addition to asking them to preliminarily lay out how they would deal with criminal and/or antisemitic statements, they demanded them to hire a professional security service for the event. Due to the student groups’ lack of funds for a security service and the short-term nature of the requests, the event had to be canceled.”
Case 129, from April 01, 2024: “UdK Berlin decided not to renew Tirdad Zolghadr’s contract as a guest professor at its Graduate School despite a previous verbal agreement that the position would be extended until September 2025.” The Archives of Silence explained that the decision was taken in a vote “that was subject to backroom pressure and bureaucratic trickery, assumably because of his support for the student protests against the genocide in Gaza. The university has not given any explanation for this.”
Case 130, from April 05, 2024: “University of Cologne disinvites Jewish-American philosopher Nancy Fraser from visiting professorship over her signing the open letter Philosophy for Palestine.” The Instagram account of Archives of Silence details this story: “On April 5, 2024, the University of Cologne announced that its award of the Albertus Magnus Professorship to Nancy Fraser had been rescinded. The reason provided for this decision was that Prof. Fraser signed the open letter, Philosophy for Palestine, in November 2023, alongside over 400 philosophy professors from around the world. The letter expressed solidarity with Palestinians, condemned the massacres in Gaza perpetrated by Israeli forces, and called for an academic and cultural boycott of Israeli institutions. Nancy Fraser is Professor of Political and Social Science and Professor of Philosophy at the New School in New York. She is widely considered as a successor to Hannah Arendt and one of the most important intellectuals of the present era.”
Archive of Silence cited an interview with Jacobin, where Fraser stated, “It is a clear violation of the university’s own stated policy as well as of the […] values of academic freedom, freedom of opinion, freedom of speech, and open discussion. Whatever complicated rationalizations are being given as to why this proceeding allegedly doesn’t violate those values ring hollow to me. This also sends a very strong signal to all people in the university and scholars around the world: if you dare, say, express certain views on certain political subjects, you will not be welcome here [in Germany]. It has a chilling effect on people’s freedom of political speech… I also think that it’s so important that Germans understand something of the complexity and breadth of Judaism, its history, its perspective. They are sort of signing on with this idea of an unconditional pledge of allegiance to Israel, that that’s the German responsibility – unqualified support for the state of Israel. Given what Israel is currently up to, this is a betrayal of what I would call the most important and weighty aspects of Judaism as a history, a perspective, and a body of thought.” Archive of Silence added, “The disinvitation faced immediate backlash from academics worldwide.”
A thorough search of the full list of the Archives shows the “cancellation/silencing” is not about promoting Palestinian culture, as BRICUP suggested. Rather, BRICUP and the German group are all about delegitimizing Israel, an act of antisemitic hatred defined by double standards. There are numerous conflicts around the world where thousands of lives have been lost. Yet academics have not organized delegitimization and calls for boycotts, no matter how brutal the fight has been, as the cases of Sudan and the Russian invasion of Ukraine demonstrate.
IAM has repeatedly pointed out that anti-Israel propagandists prefer to use Jews to avoid accusations of antisemitism. The BRICUP and the German Archives of Silence are a case in point. But this strategy is outdated. The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, which many countries adopted, makes clear that the ethnicity of the anti-Israel activists is irrelevant. What matters is the persistent double standards that have created much of the antisemitic tropes from antiquity to the present day.
REFERENCES
German academics publish “Archive of Silence” listing instances of censorship on Palestine
20 February 2024
As Germany continues to arrest dozens of Jewish people (specifically for protesting genocide, as a concept and with reference to the Gaza genocide ), academics have documented a giant spreadsheet of all the canceled speakers and scholars in Germany of those who also oppose genocide. It’s called the “Archive of Silence“.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Vq2tm-nopUy-xYZjkG-T9FyMC7ZqkAQG9S3mPWAYwHw/
| Archive | |||||
| This list is provided for informational purposes only and is not exhaustive. It does not guarantee complete accuracy, as the dates mentioned are, in some cases, the exact date of cancellation, while in others, they represent the date of the first available information about cancellation/silencing. Please be aware that this list is a work in progress and will be continuously updated to reflect the most current and accurate information available. Users are encouraged to verify details independently and consider this list as a general reference rather than a definitive source. If you notice missing cases, you can contribute by submitting them to us via the email address archiveofsilence@protonmail.com, and we will add them to the list. | |||||
| 1 | 08.10.23 | ARTE/BR | Malcolm Ohanwe | German state television terminates contract with Malcolm Ohanwe after supporting Palestine on X | |
| 2 | 09.10.23 | Late Night Berlin | Nura Habib Omer | Talk Show Late Night Berlin disinvites rapper Nura over her Instagram story with “Free Palestine” slogan | |
| 3 | 09.10.23 | Documenta | Reza Afisina and Iswanto Hartono (Ruangrupa) | Documenta director Andreas Hoffmann distances himself from Reza Afisina und Iswanto Hartono for liking the video of a Palestine demo in Berlin. They remove their likes and say that it was a mistake. | |
| 4 | 09.10.23 | Autonomes Zentrum Köln | Activist | Autonomes Zentrum Köln Silences Solidarity with Palestinians on their Instagram and during an Event on the “Arab-Israeli Conflict” ➔ AZ Köln published a statement afterwards | |
| 5 | 11.10.23 | Universität Münster | Palästina Antikolonial | University of Münster cancels room for a lecture on the struggle for liberation in the West Bank organized by Palästina Antikolonial | |
| 6 | 11.10.23 | Saskia Esken | Bernie Sanders | German Social Democratic Party leader Saskia Esken boycotts Bernie Sanders over his lack of sufficient support for Israel | |
| 7 | 12.10.23 | Haus für Poesie Berlin | Ghayath Almadhoun | Haus für Poesie cancels the release event for “Kontinentaldrift: Das Arabische Europa”, edited by Syrian-Palestinian poet Ghayath Almadhoun | |
| 8 | 12.10.23 | Heidelberger Kunstverein | Jumana Manna | Palestinian artist Jumana Manna’s exhibition at Heidelberger Kunstverein canceled as a result of a defamation campaign | |
| 9 | 13.10.23 | Frankfurt Book Fair | Adania Shibli | Cancellation of award ceremony for Palestinian author Adania Shibli at the Frankfurt Book Fair by Litprom e.V. | |
| 10 | 13.10.23 | Maxim Gorki Theater | Maryam Abu Khaled & Karim Daoud | Maxim Gorki Theater indefinitely postpones “The Situation”, a multilingual play by Israeli-Austrian writer Yael Ronen | |
| 11 | 13.10.23 | SchwuZ Berlin | Visitor & Performer | SchwuZ requests attendee and performer to conceal texts in solidarity with Palestine | |
| 12 | 13.10.23 | Ministry of Education | Public school employees & students | Ministry of Education urges solidarity only with Israel in schools | |
| 13 | 14.10.23 | Festsaal Kreuzberg | Guest | Guest asked to leave an event at Festsaal Kreuzberg because of her handbag with a keffiyeh tied around it | |
| 14 | 15.10.23 | Münchner Kunstakademie | Nicolás Jaar | Münchner Kunstakademie cancels event with Nicolás Jaar following his criticism of Israeli occupation forces and the White House | |
| 15 | 16.10.23 | Städtepartnerschaftsverein Köln-Bethlehem | Halima Aziz | A planned exhibition of Halima Aziz’s works as part of the Palestinian Film Festival was canceled after a defamatory report by Ruhrbarone. The Palestinian Film Festival has been postponed indefinitely. | |
| 16 | 17.10.23 | TD Berlin – Monologfestival | Team of “Mein Bedrohliches Gedicht“ | Monologfestival cancels performance of “My Threatening Poem”, a play about the Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour and her time in Israeli Prison | |
| 17 | 18.10.23 | ARD | Journalists working for ARD | ARD allegedly sends internal document with new language regulation on the Middle East conflict to avoid criticism of Israel and questions about the history of the recent escalation. ARD has confirmed that there was a new language regulation, but has not confirmed the authenticity of the leaked document (»Glossar Berichterstattung Nahostkonflikt. Zur internen Nutzung. Stand 18.10.2023«) | |
| 18 | 19.10.23 | Upday (Axel Springer) | Employees at Upday | Upday, a news app owned by the Axel Springer, gave instructions to prioritize the Israeli perspective and minimize Palestinian civilian deaths in coverage | |
| 19 | 20.10.23 | Axel Springer Verlag | Kasem Raad | Axel Springer Fires Lebanese Apprentice Kasem Raad for Questioning their Pro-Israel Policy | |
| 20 | 22.10.23 | Charité Berlin | Muslim Students of Charité | Charité management found out about the cooperation between the Muslim Students group and the NGO Islamic Relief on October 22. On October 26, the group was dissolved by the Charité students’ superordinate association, and the working group’s website has been unavailable ever since. | |
| 21 | 24.10.23 | Germany’s Federal Agency for Civic Education | Candice Breitz & Michael Rothberg | Germany’s Federal Agency for Civic Education postpones “We Still Need to Talk”: A symposium on German remembrance culture by Candice Breitz and Michael Rothberg | |
| 22 | 25.10.23. | Bündnis90/Die Grünen | Marjam Samadzade | The Ministry of Social Affairs in Schleswig-Holstein prematurely terminates the position of the Secretary of State for Integration Marjam Samadzade over her comment on social media | |
| 23 | 25.10.23 | Jüdisches Museum Berlin | Udi Raz | Jewish Museum Berlin ends collaboration with guide Udi Raz for referring to the human rights situation in the West Bank as “apartheid” during a museum tour | |
| 24 | 26.10.23 | Asta der Universität Kassel | Saitun Initiative | Asta of Uni Kassel cancels the screening of the film Gaza Fights for Freedom, organized by the Initiative Saitun. | |
| 25 | 27.10.23 | BLITZ (club in Munich) | DJ LCY | Munich club BLITZ cancels DJ LCY’s performance over Instagram video supposedly questioning Israel’s right to exist | |
| 26 | 30.10.23 | Street Dream Festival Essen-Katernberg | International street artist Bastardilla | Street Dreams Festival in Essen-Katernberg removes a mural by Bastardilla referring to the symbol of the Palestinian key and the Nakba | |
| 27 | 01.11.23 | Makroscope Mülheim an der Ruhr | Tinne Zenner | Makroscope cancels film screening program by Tinne Zenner for being a letter signatory of Palestine solidarity statements | |
| 28 | 01.11.23 | HAU | Mena Prison Forum, UMAM Documentation and Research, medico International | Organisers postpone three day event “Understanding Prison Carceral Culture and Human Rights in the MENA Region / 30.11.–2.12. / HAU2″ due to “the situation in the Gaza Strip, the instability and threat of violence in Lebanon and the highly emotional public debate” | |
| 29 | 01.11.23 | DOKUARTS Filmfestival Berlin | Filmmaker | Filmmaker faces backlash from DOKUARTS film festival Berlin for signing an open letter | |
| 30 | 01.11.23 | Die Zeit | Udi Raz | Interview didn’t get published because of Raz’s support for BDS | |
| 31 | 01.11.23 | German Government | Centre for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance (CEWLA) | German government cuts funding to Egyptian women’s rights organization Centre for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance (CEWLA) after the chair calls for a ceasefire and support for BDS | |
| 32 | 02.11.23 | Universität Kassel | Group of Students | President of the University of Kassel abruptly ends memorial ceremony held on campus for a student killed in Gaza | |
| 33 | 03.11.23 | 1. FSV Mainz 05 | Anwar El Ghazi | Mainz 05 soccer club terminates Anwar El Ghazi’s contract over pro-Palestinian social media posts | |
| 34 | 03.11.23 | HÖR | Téa, Sam Clarke | HÖR censored pro-Palestine clothing worn by two performers | |
| 35 | 04.11.23 | silent green | Mykki Blanco / visitors | Visitors were asked to take off keffiyehs at Mykki Blanco concert, horrible defamatory media coverage about Mykki Blanco afterwards | |
| 36 | 06.11.23 | Dieter Reiter (Münchener Oberbürgermeister), Volker Beck (DIGeV) | Münchner Forum für Islam (MFI), Muslimrat | Lord Mayor of Munich cancels interfaith community prayer for peace after Volker Beck’s criticism of the Muslim Council | |
| 37 | 07.11.23 | Volksbühne | Jeremy Corbyn | Volksbühne Berlin disinvites former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn from Europa den Räten conference over pro-Palestinian advocacy | |
| 38 | 08.11.23 | Unknown German Institution | Ghassan Hage | Anthropologist Ghassan Hage reported on X on Nov. 8 that he was nominated for a German scholarship/award, but the nominators were asked to comment on his “BDS sympathies” and the committee is not sure if he can be awarded. | |
| 37 | 09.11.23 | Komitee des Weltgebetstages der Frauen in Deutschland, Deutscher Koordinierungsrat der Gesellschaften für christlich-jüdische Zusammenarbeit | Halima Aziz | The World Day of Prayer committee in Germany censored specific materials planned for the World Day of Prayer in 2024, including a cover image created by artist Halima Aziz. This image depicts three Palestinian women adorned with jewelry shaped like keys around their necks and ears. Initially created for global distribution, the artwork aimed to elevate the voices of Palestinian women during the World Day of Prayer. Titled Praying Palestinian Women, the painting was selected by the international committee to represent the event’s theme. However, the German committee deemed the image antisemitic and accused Halima Aziz of failing to distance herself from Hamas. Other countries kept using the original material and image. | |
| 40 | 09.11.23 | Philipps-Universität Marburg | Revolutionäre Linke & Jüdische Stimme für einen gerechten Frieden in Nahost | University of Marburg denies acces to room for a lecture about anti-Semitism due to Palestine stance of organizers | |
| 41 | 10.11.23 | Deutschlandfunk Kultur | Iris Hefets | Deutschlandfunk Kultur disinvites Iris Hefets from a radio discussion about the war in Gaza. | |
| 42 | 11.11.23 | Institut für Zukunft | Guest | Guest asked to remove kuffiyeh in the club or leave the venue due to a complaint from another guest who claimed to feel “unsafe” in the presence of her scarf | |
| 43 | 11.11.23 | Showroom of Pixel Grain | Raphaël Malik | Pixel Grain cancels photo exhibition about Muslim life in Berlin because of “the situation in the middle east” | |
| 44 | 13.11.23 | Folkwang Museum Essen | Anaïs Duplan | Museum Folkwang cancels part of an exhibition on Afrofuturism over curator Anaïs Duplan’s pro-Palestinian social media posts | |
| 45 | 13.11.23 | Decolonize Berlin e.V. | Thamil Venthan Ananthavinayagan | Thamil V. Ananthavinayagan’s chapter for a book on decolonial jurisprudence and practice in Germany was rejected by Decolonize Berlin for its discussion of Germany’s culpability in the ongoing genocide against Palestinians | |
| 46 | 15.11.23 | ACHT BRÜCKEN Festival Köln | Sharif Sehnaoui, Karkhana | Three concerts that were planned for 2024 were canceled because of the artist’s support for BDS. One of the concerts by Karkhana was canceled by ACHT BRÜCKEN Festival. | |
| 47 | 15.11.23 | RBB | Deborah Feldman | Deborah Feldman got disinvited from an RBB Radioshow. | |
| 48 | 15.11.23 | Schloss Elmau | Deborah Feldman | Deborah Feldman got disinvited from a reading at Schloss Elmau. | |
| 49 | 15.11.23 | Die Zeit | Deborah Feldman | Die Zeit made the first big interview with Feldman but canceled the publishing. | |
| 50 | 15.11.23 | Frankfurt Book Fair | Deborah Feldman | Got disinvited from an event at the Frankfurt Book Fair. | |
| 51 | 15.11.23 | Heinrich Böll Foundation | Speakers of Feminist Voices Connected | The Böll Foundation cancels the “Feminist Voices Connected” conference, because of the situation in Gaza and the “polarized atmosphere in Germany”. | |
| 52 | 16.11.23 | Documenta 16 | Selection committee (Bracha Lichtenberg Ettinger, Ranjit Hoskoté, Simon Njami, Gong Yan, Kathrin Rhomberg & María Inés Rodríguez) | Smear campaign against Ranjit Hoskoté (Indian poet and critic), member of the Documenta curator commission, due to him having signed a BDS letter in 2019. Hoskoté then resigned. The rest of the Documenta 16 selection committee collectively resigns afterwards. | |
| 53 | 16.11.23 | Universität Regensburg | Vincent Bevins | University of Regensburg rescinded its invitation to Vincent Bevins to give the keynote address at an interdisciplinary conference and present his new book, due to pro-Palestine posts on social media | |
| 54 | 18.11.23 | Club Eschschloraque | Liad Hussein Kantorowicz | A concert by Israeli performance artist Liad Kantorowicz planned for 25.11 was approved by Club Eschschloraque in Berlin on the condition that she is not allowed to speak, only sing. The concert happened, although with limitations in artistic freedom. | |
| 55 | 19.11.23 | ARD | Annemarie Jacir | ARD removes Annemarie Jacir’s Palestinian film Wajib from their program | |
| 56 | 19.11.23 | TransCentury | Lankum | TransCentury Festival cancels concert by Lankum due to the group’s support for Palestine | |
| 57 | 19.11.23 | Bezirksvertretung Elberfeld-West in Wuppertal, Ulrich Endemann (FDP) | Sebastian Schröder, DIE LINKE Wuppertal | Motion “Peace and justice for Gaza” was excluded from discussion and vote by trickery | |
| 58 | 20.11.23 | Berlin Senate for Culture | Oyoun | Berlin Senate cuts funding for cultural center Oyoun over alleged “Hidden Antisemitism” | |
| 59 | 20.11.23 | International Short Film Festival Oberhausen | Brett Kashmere, Astria Suparak | International Short Film Festival Oberhausen cancels theme program by curators Brett Kashmere and Astria Suparak | |
| 60 | 20.11.23 | Universität Potsdam | Emily Jacir | Talk canceled due to social media activity | |
| 61 | 21.11.23 | Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie | Shahidul Alam | Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie 2024 canceled after one of the curators, Shahidul Alam, made social media posts that organizers deemed antisemitic | |
| 62 | 22.11.23 | WDR | WDR Journalists | WDR retracts a previously published text in their children’s magazine on the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict following criticism and accusations of being ‘one-sided’. | |
| 63 | 24.11.23 | Neue Welle (club in Leipzig) | DJ Zeynep | Zeynep cancels performance and residency after Leipzig club investigates her Gaza-related social media posts | |
| 64 | 24.11.23 | Saarland Museum | Candice Breitz | Saarland Museum cancels exhibition by Candice Breitz after “controversial statements” on Gaza war | |
| 65 | 25.11.23 | München ist bunt!, Kultur im Trafo | Ilan Pappé, Salam Shalom, Jewish-Palestinian dialogue group, Women in Black | Kultur im Trafo and München ist bunt! attempt to cancel a talk by Jewish Israeli historian Ilan Pappé for alleged hatred against Jews | |
| 66 | 28.11.23 | City of Bochum, Jury of Peter Weiss Preis | Sharon Dodua Otoo | The city of Bochum withdraws the Peter Weiss Prize from writer Sharon Dodua Otoo for alleged support of BDS | |
| 67 | 28.11.23 | Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB) | John Keane | Prof. John Keane resigned from WZB after 25 years following a diffamation and smear campaign. | |
| 68 | 01.12.23 | KLAENG Jazzkollektiv Köln | Calamita & Aya Metwalli | KLAENG jazz collective cancels festival performance by Aya Metwalli and the band Calamita because of their support for Palestine | |
| 69 | 01.12.23 | Fridays for Future Germany | Elisa Baş | Fridays for Future Germany excludes climate justice activist Elisa Baş after Springer Media hate campaign | |
| 70 | 01.12.23 | Polizei Nordrhein-Westfalen | Teachers and school children of NRW schools | NRW police handed out brochures to schools encouraging educators to file a complaint with the police if a student says Israel is committing genocide, makes a comparison with the Holocaust, or uses the slogan “from the river to the sea.” | |
| 71 | 01.12.23 | taz | Nadja Vancauwenberghe | Taz article with the title “Why won’t my german friends speak out against Israel’s war crimes in Gaza? An outsiders perplexed perspective” was written by Nadja Vancauwenberghe for taz, but the publication got canceled. | |
| 72 | 07.12.23 | Sophiensæle Berlin | Dusty Whistles | Sophiensæle puts employee Dusty Whistles on leave following her intervention on December 7 in the context of the “Trust the Process” festival. | |
| 73 | 08.12.23 | RWTH Aachen’s rector Ulrich Rüdiger | Phoebe Walton of Forensis / Forensic Architecture | Rector of RWTH (Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule) Aachen cancels lecture on police killings by Phoebe Walton of Forensis / Forensic Architecture (planned lecture was Monday 11.12.2023) | |
| 74 | 11.12.23 | BMZ, Auswärtiges Amt | 6 Palestinian NGOs (including Al-Haq) | BMZ and Federal Foreign Office terminate cooperation with 6 Palestinian NGOs under the pretext that, according to Israeli accusations, they are front organizations of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and have diverted aid funds to them. There was no evidence for these allegations. | |
| 75 | 13.12.23 | Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Bremen Senat | Masha Gessen | Heinrich Böll Foundation and City of Bremen cancel award ceremony of Hannah Arendt Prize to Masha Gessen | |
| 76 | 13.12.23 | Music festival in Leipzig (name not known yet) | Mykki Blanco | Mykki Blanco gets disinvited from festival over her support for Palestine | |
| 77 | 14.12.23 | SPD | Moheb Shafaqyar (DIE LINKE) | After a post critical of Israel on X, Moheb Shafaqyar, under pressure from the SPD faction, announced his resignation as deputy BVV chairman of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg | |
| 78 | 18.12.23 | BERTINI-Preis | Marione Ingram | Talks by holocaust survivor Marione Ingram were ‘postponed’ by BERTINI-Preis due to her protesting with a sign saying “Stop Genocide in Gaza”. She was supposed to address students receiving awards recognizing their commitment to social justice activism. | |
| 79 | 19.12.23 | Freie Universität Berlin | FU students for a Free Palestine | FU Berlin used armed police to forcibly evict a non-violent, pro-Palestinian occupation of a lecture hall by a group of students. | |
| 80 | 20.12.23 | Berghain | Arabian Panther | Berghain cancels event due to Arabian Panther’s Palestine solidarity | |
| 81 | 21.12.23 | Meet Your Neighbours | Ramy Al-Asheq | Meet Your Neighbours disinvites Palestinian-Syrian poet Ramy Al-Asheq due to his pro-Palestinian social media posts | |
| 82 | 03.01.24 | HTKW Leipzig | Studierendenkollektiv Leipzig | A professor of museology announces in an e-mail that he will exclude people who are critical of Israel from his courses. | |
| 83 | 09.01.24 | Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe | Adam Broomberg | Karlsruhe University of Arts bans visiting professor Adam Broomberg from teaching after immense pressure from German government and the right wing press in reaction to Broombergs anti-Zionist posts on social media. | |
| 84 | 12.01.24 | Universität zu Köln | Student at Uni Köln | Student is banned from the University of Cologne for two days for sharing an Instagram story with the slogan “from the river to the sea”. Court overturns decision. | |
| 85 | 12.01.24 | Universität zu Köln | Muslim student | A Muslim student was attacked by a group of white students who accused her of antisemitism, presuming she was behind the broadcasting of a recording that emerged from a speaker, drawing attention to the situation in Gaza. They called the police, who were racist and violent towards her. Additionally, the university banned her from entering the premises (Hausverbot). | |
| 86 | 13.01.24 | Städtepartnerschaftsverein Köln-Bethlehem | Palästina Filmtage Köln | On October 16, Städtepartnerschaftsverein Köln-Bethlehem postponed Palästina Filmtage Köln, rescheduling the festival to take place from January 13 to 16 with a revised program. Notably, the film ‘Tantura’ has been removed from the lineup and there have been complaints on social media about a perceived one-sided selection in favor of Israeli perspectives. | |
| 87 | 17.01.24 | Bundeskunsthalle Bonn | Daniela Ortiz | Bundeskunsthalle Bonn installed signs next to Daniela Ortiz’s artwork The ABC of Racist Europe framing it as “antisemitic”. They further organized an event on January 17, 2024, discussing the alleged antisemitism without any communication with the artist. | |
| 88 | 18.01.24 | radioeins (rbb) | Jürgen Zimmerer | Historian Jürgen Zimmerer refuses an interview with radioeins “Die Profis” on the topic “Why the war in German South West Africa remains relevant for later history” because the moderator insisted not to talk about Namibia’s position on South Africa’s lawsuit agains Israel in the preliminary discussion, stating it was anti-Semitic. | |
| 89 | 22.01.24 | Universität Münster | Cine Club | The University of Münser postponed a screening of the documentary Roadmap to Apartheid (2012) after pressure from the Young Forum of the German-Israeli Society Council. They reschedueled the screening to take place on February 5 in the presence of state security of Germany. The students occupied a room in the university to screen the film independently on January 31. Ultimately, the rescheduled screening was also cancelled. | |
| 90 | 23.01.24 | Region Hannover | Emilia Roig | Region Hannover postpones the regional women’s New Year’s reception and disinvites the Jewish speaker Emilia Roig due to her “anti-Israel stance” | |
| 91 | 23.01.24 | German police | Taqadum Al-Khatib | German police summons Princeton University and Berlin Free University researcher, Taqadum Al-Khatib, for interrogation after he published a post on his X account stating that “Surviving a Holocaust doesn’t give you the right to enact another.” | |
| 92 | 26.01.24 | Jazz Against The Machine | Angelica Summer | Jazz Against The Machine festival disinvites queer performance artist and singer-songwriter Angelica Summer from a panel on “Music and politics – our responsibility as musicians” because she insisted to not only speak about the AfD, but also about Israel-Palestine. After negotitations, they reinvited her, but she declined. Instead, she suggested inviting Palestinian musician Faed Shadid and the festival made it happen. | |
| 93 | 26.01.24 | Folkwang Universität der Künste in Essen | Laurie Anderson | Performance artist Laurie Anderson renounces professorship at Folkwang University as a result of debate on her political stance | |
| 94 | 27.01.24 | T-Keller Göttingen | DJ Fár | DJ Fár’s set at T-Keller was interrupted by a white German man for playing a song by Sorah titled “Palestine Will Be Free” | |
| 95 | 30.01.24 | Museum in Germany | Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck | An unknown museum expresses their shock about a post by Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck on her Instagram which shows a badge with the words “Free Palestine”. They critique the artist’s political statement in what they consider “a non-political” field, add that they can only sign “Free Palestine from Hamas” and state their scepticism about their collaboration. Tagada Hoffbeck thus decides to cancel her upcoming solo exhibtion at the museum. | |
| 96 | 31.01.24 | Evangelische Akademie Frankfurt | Combatants for Peace, Osama Elewat & Rotem Levin | The Protestant Academy in Frankfurt took down the video of an event by the Palestinian-Israeli group Combatants for Peace after facing criticism for their use of the term “apartheid” in reference to Israel. | |
| 97 | 31.01.24 | Haus37, Stadt Freiburg | DIE LINKE Freiburg | Event “Über Palästina sprechen” was cancelled by two venues. | |
| 98 | 01.02.24 | Universität Freiburg | Fachschaft Islamwissenschaft Uni Freiburg | The University of Freiburg revoked the room for a screening of Not Just Your Picture – The Story of the Kilani Family that was organized by the Fachschaft Islamwissenschaft. The documentary tells the story of two German-Palestinian siblings whose father was killed by an Israeli airstrike during attacks on Gaza in 2014, and the screening was to be followed by a discussion with Ramsis Kilani, one of the two siblings. | |
| 99 | 01.02.24 | City of Munich (councillors from the Greens/Rosa Liste and SPD/Volt) | Munich Peace Conference | City of Munich withdraws 6.500 € funding for the Munich Peace Conference last minute.The Greens specifically pointed to the “one-sided” views of speakers Yanis Varoufakis and Clare Daly, who have pro-Palestine stances. | |
| 100 | 02.02.24 | Syndikat-Kollektiv | Palestine Speaks/ healthcare workers’ meeting | Syndikat-Kollektiv cancels the venue for a healthcare workers’ meeting scheduled in Berlin on February 3 upon learning that Palestine Speaks mobilized for the event. | |
| 101 | 02.02.24 | Transmediale | Varia, Constant, TITiPI, Digital Discomfort Workgroup | Transmediale doesn’t allow the participants of the panel “Anti-Colonial Tech through Resistance and Discomforts” to explicitly show their solidarity with Palestine. In consequence, they withdraw. | |
| 102 | 06.02.24 | AdBK München | Jumana Manna | Juamana Manna’s application for the extension of her guest professorship got rejected due to unfounded accusations of antisemitism made by the German press. | |
| 103 | 07.02.24 | Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology | Ghassan Hage | Max Planck Institute fires Professor Ghassan Hage for social media posts | |
| 104 | 07.02.24 | Solidarische Föderation | Pro-Palestinian Telegram users | A bot called Rose, made by Soldarische Föderation (a leftist networking center for telegram group admins), kicks out pro-Palestinian users from leftist Telegram groups. | |
| 105 | 08.02.24 | Jüdische Allgemeine | Kaya Yanar | Charges of incitement to hatred are raised after Jüdische Allgemeine frames Kaya Yanar’s YouTube video about Israel’s crimes and lies as antisemitic. | |
| 106 | 09.02.24 | Universität Mainz | Linke Liste & Sozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund (SDS) | The University of Mainz accused Linke Liste and SDS of antisemitism after an event where they labeled Israel’s attacks on Palestinian civilians as genocide. Consequently, the university banned both student groups from hosting future events and using university rooms. | |
| 107 | 10.02.24 | Hamburger Bahnhof | Group of activists | The Hamburger Bahnhof canceled the final day of the 100-hour-long performative reading of Hannah Arendt’s “The Origins of Totalitarianism” after a group of activists peacefully disrupted the event on Saturday evening in protest against the presence of Mirjam Wenzel, director of the Jüdisches Museum Frankfurt, known for her Zionist stance. Hamburger Bahnhof accused the acitivsts of violence and hate speech in their subsequent statement. Some of the activists were criminalized and reported to the police as a consequence of that framing. | |
| 108 | 13.02.24 | CDU, SPD, Masiyot | High school students in Neukölln | CDU and SPD advocate for use of brochures distorting the Nakba to high school students in Neukölln | |
| 109 | 14.02.24 | Humboldt-Universität Berlin | NotInOurName HU | Humboldt University Berlin sends student council members to pro-Palestinian student meeting | |
| 110 | 15.02.24 | Unknown location in Hamburg | Sozialismus von Unten | Location of the event “Wie kann Palästina befreit werden” got canceled. | |
| 111 | 16.02.24 | German-Israeli Society Passau, Im Tirtzu, University Passau | Combatants for Peace | The University of Passau canceled an event by Combatants for Peace following immense pressure from the German-Israeli Society and the Israeli right-wing organization Im Tirtzu. Prior to this, the organizers were threatened that the event would be canceled if they did not accept the speakers proposed by these groups. | |
| 112 | 16.02.24 | International Conference for Intimacy Coordination 2024 | Workshop & panel organizers | After a speaker raised concerns during a panel about participating in the ICIC2024 due to the call for a strike against Germany, a complaint was made to the conference organizers and they were told to refrain from “making divisive statements that can or have caused harm in our community”. The members of the panel on African perspectives on intimacy consequently withdrew. ➔ ICIC2024 published a statement in response. | |
| 113 | 17.02.24 | Antenne Münster | Palästina Antikolonial | Antenne Münster censors radio show with Palästina Antikolonial | |
| 114 | 18.02.24 | Ende Gelände Berlin | A Lake By The Mõõn | Ende Gelände Berlin cancels concert by A Lake By The Mõõn due to their social media posts | |
| 115 | 19.02.24 | Haus am Lützowplatz | Mohammad Shawky Hassan | Director of Haus am Lützowplatz Rejects Mohammad Shawky Hassan’s installation due to red-green-black color palette and Arabic typography | |
| 116 | 22.02.24 | Sweat Music | DJ Mama Snake | Sweat Music cancels DJ Mama Snake’s gig at the launch of Sweat Festival at Fridas Pier in Stuttgart, citing the artist’s support of BDS and their statements regarding ‘the events in Israel’ as the reason. | |
| 117 | 22.02.24 | SAVVY Contemporary | Abu Hajar | SAVVY Contemporary rejects rapper Abu Hajar as speaker for Palestinian film screening over state funding concerns | |
| 118 | 22.02.24 | Hafenklang | GGGOLDDD | Hafenklang Hamburg cancels concert by GGGOLDDD for their signing of the letter “Musicians For Palestine” | |
| 119 | 29.02.24 | Kunstverein Braunschweig | Johanna Hedva | Johanna Hedva’s solo exhibition got canceled because they wanted to use the phrase “undeniable genocide” in the press release to situate the exhibition in the context of what is happening right now. | |
| 120 | 01.03.24 | BGA Oldenburg | Jüdische Stimme, BDS Initiative Oldenburg, Palästinensische Gemeinde in Oldenburg | After pressure from BGA Oldenburg, the venue for the lecture “What does Zionism have to do with the genocide in Gaza?” by Wieland Hoban was canceled. The organizers decided to hold the event online through Instagram nonetheless. | |
| 121 | 03.03.24 | Unknown venue | Student collective Not in our name ASH (Alice Salomon Hochschule) | The venue for an event organized by Not in our name ASH was canceled just four days before the scheduled date due to intimidation by a group accusing the organizers of antisemitism. The event happened on March 3 at a different location. | |
| 122 | 10.03.24 | Bretterbude | Yuna & obszolenz | Bretterbude cancels gig by Yuna and obszolenz at ShadesOfTechno due to their Palestine solidarity | |
| 123 | 12.03.24 | VHS Heilbronn | Moshe Zuckermann | After pressure from DIG Heilbronn, VHS Heilbronn dropped out as co-organizer of a discussion with Israeli historian Moshe Zuckermann due to fear of criticism. The event took place in a different vernue, organized by Heilbronn Peace Council on its own behalf. | |
| 124 | 18.03.24 | Akademie der Künste | Enad Marouf | Enad Marouf, recipient of the Will Grohmann Prize, was treated disrespectfully during the award ceremony at Akademie der Künste after he spoke up against the systemic dehumanisation of Palestinians and brought attention to “a plausible genocide” on stage. | |
| 125 | 18.03.24 | RAA Berlin (Regional Centre for Education, Integration and Democracy) | Project coordinator at RAA Berlin | RAA Berlin (Regional Centre for Education, Integration and Democracy) fires project coordinator over social media activities critical of Israel | |
| 126 | 22.03.24 | Police / Court / Bajszel/ Masiyot e.V. | Juval Carasso | Juval Carasso got beaten by police and is now punished with 25 days in prison or a fine of €2,000 for calling the brochure Mythos#Israel1948 anti-Palestinian propaganda during the launch event at Bajszel in September 2023. | |
| 127 | 26.03.24 | Berliner Sparkasse | Jüdische Stimme für einen gerechten Frieden in Nahost | Berliner Sparkasse suspends the bank account of Jüdische Stimme and demands they state the names of their members and addresses without giving a reason why. | |
| 128 | 30.03.24 | leo:16 Kultur- und Kneipenkollektiv, Münster | Solidarity concert organizers | A request from students to hold a Palestine solidarity concert at the leftist bar Leo:16 in Münster was left unanswered for weeks and finally rejected by the bar collective. | |
| 129 | 01.04.24 | UdK Berlin | Tirdad Zolghadr | UdK Berlin decided not to renew Tirdad Zolghadr’s contract as a guest professor at its Graduate School despite a previous verbal agreement that it would go until September 2025. This was decided in a vote that was subject to backroom pressure and bureaucratic trickery, assumably because of his support for the student protests against the genocide in Gaza. The university has not given any explanation for this. | |
| 130 | 05.04.24 | Universität Köln | Nancy Fraser | University of Cologne disinvites Jewish-American philosopher Nancy Fraser from visiting professorship over her signing the open letter Philosophy for Palestine | |
| 131 | 08.04.24 | SWR | Helen Fares | SWR dismisses Helen Fares from moderating the digital dialogue format “MixTalk” due to “her extreme policial positions” after she posted a video on Instagram using the app “No Thanks” which helps identify products by companies that support Israel. | |
| 132 | 12.04.24 | German Police | Palästina Kongress, Ghassan Abu-Sittah, Salman Abu Sitta | German police switched off power to the venue holding the Palestine Congress when Salman Abu Sitta began speaking online and canceled the three-day conference. British-Palestinian speaker and doctor Ghassan Abu Sittah had earlier been denied entry into Germany to attend the event. | |
| 133 | 12.04.24 | Cologne police, Sozialdienst Katholischer Männer (SKM Köln) | Artists | The Cologne police destroy mural depicting the north of Gaza | |
| 134 | 17.04.24 | Bezirksamt Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg | Mädchen*zentren Alia und Phantalisa / FRIEDA-Frauen*-zentrum e.V. | District office Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg closed down the two girls* facilities Alia and Phantalisa over workers’ social media activity and activism in solidarity with Palestinians | |
| 135 | 21.04.24 | Bennohaus Münster | Jüdische Stimme für einen gerechten Frieden in Nahost, Revolutionäre Linke, Palästina Antikolonial | The managing director of Bennohaus Münster cancelled an event with Wieland Hoban, chairman of the Jewish Voice, on the topic “What is anti-Semitism?” that was to take place on April 26. | |
| 136 | 22.04.24 | Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel | Wieland Hoban (Jüdische Stimme) | Kiel University cancelled the room for an event with Wieland Hoban, chairman of the Jewish Voice, on the topic „Palestine solidarity & repression“ that was to take place on April 24. The event was organized by Students for Palestine Kiel, Solidarischen Hilfe Kiel and DKP. | |
| 137 | 24.04.24 | S. Fischer Verlag | Lana Bastašić | S. Fischer Verlag, Lana Bastašić’s former publisher, cancelled her reading at the bookshop LeseGlück in Berlin without informing her. Bastašić had terminated her contracts with S. Fischer Verlag in January 2024 over their failure “to be vocal about the ongoing genocide happening in Gaza” and their silence “on the systemic and systematic censorship happeing in Germany”. | |
| 136 | 26.04.24 | Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg | Palestinian students at the University of Magdeburg | Palestinian students at the University of Magdeburg received an email from the university, telling them that they’ve been recategorized as “stateless” due to governmental “changes in the statistical requirements.” After facing criticism, the university reversed their decision, stating, “this procedure turned out to be unnecessary at the present time and will therefore not be implemented.” | |
| 139 | 02.05.24 | Union International Club | Nathan Thrall | An event titled “Life, Death, Tragedy in Israel and Palestine” with Jewish-American author Nathan Thrall was canceled last minute by the host Union International Club in Frankfurt without an official explanation. The panel, which was organized by Bard College Berlin, was then moved to an alternative location (medico-Haus) and took place on May 7, 2024. | |
| 140 | 04.05.24 | Institut für Zukunft, Trip Festival | Deli Girls | Ahead of a gig by techno-punk band Deli Girls at Leipzig’s IfZ as part of TRIP Festival, the venue and festival staff expressed discomfort and passive aggressive behaviour towards the band’s request to project pro-Palestine visuals during their set, asking, “Free Palestine from what” and pointing to the festival’s no-flag policy. They ended up not projecting the visuals and Deli Girls thus played harsh noise instead of their own material as a form of protest. | |
| 141 | 06.05.24 | Universität Göttingen | Zivilgesellschaft für Gerechtigkeit Göttingen, Students for Palestine Göttingen, MERA25 Deutschland | The University of Göttingen banned the planned lecture “Gaza: The ongoing genocide in the context of the Nakba” at Stadtlabor at short notice due to “fire safety and security concerns”. | |
| 142 | 06.05.24 | SO36 | Interventionistische Linke Berlin | SO36 canceled the event “War in Gaza – Peace Perspectives from the Region” with Israeli and Palestinian speakers at short notice. The reason given was that they wanted to respect the Holocaust Remembrance Day Yom HaShoa and therefore refrain from discussing Israel in their venue on this day, despite the fact that the clash of dates had been pointed out by the organisers of the Interventionist Left from the outset. | |
| 143 | 08.05.24 | Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf | Die Linke.SDS Düsseldorf | The University of Düsseldorf imposed severe restrictions on an event about the Nakba by requesting a security concept from the organizing student group Die Linke.SDS. In addition to asking them to preliminarily lay out how they would deal with criminal and/or antisemitic statements, they demanded them to hire a professional security service for the event. Due to the student groups’ lack of funds for a security service and the short-term nature of the requests, the event had to be canceled. | |
| 144 | 13.05.24 | Federal Ministry of Education (BMBF), Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP), Sabine Döring (CDU) | Lecturers at Berlin universities who signed an open letter against police violence and in support of freedom of assembly and freedom of expression at universities | The Federal Ministry of Education (BMBF) requested an internal review of whether funding can be canceled for critical university lecturers. The explicit reason for the review was an open letter from university lecturers against the eviction of a temporary pro-Palestinian occupation of Berlin’s Free University (FU) in which they spoke out against police violence and in support of freedom of assembly and freedom of expression at universities. The Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP), who had publicly criticized the open letter and questioned whether the lecturers “stand on the ground of the constitution,” later claimed that she was unaware of the request to review the cancellation of funding and consequently retired her State Secretary, Sabine Döring (CDU), who initiated the review. | |
| 145 | 25.05.24 | Approximation Festival | Kelly Moran | Pianist Kelly Moran expressed her solidarity with Palestine and dedicated two pieces to the children in Gaza shortly before the end of her performance at Approximation Festival in Düsseldorf. According to Volker Bertelmann (curator of the festival, who is also known as Hauschka), she broke an agreement not to make a political statement on stage. He said, that she “crossed a line” and that he would not invite her again. | |
| 146 | 25.05.24 | JugendKULTURcafé Franzmann | Robyn Caskets, Ms AyRan | After a pro-Palestinian performance by German-Palestinian drag queen Robyn Caskets for Düsseldorf pride at JugendKULTURcafé Franzmann, the performer received harsh backlash for using visuals that are also used by BDS. Another pro-Palestinian performance by drag queen Ms AyRan was censored for not reflecting the political values of the venue. | |
| 147 | 29.05.24 | KvU – Kirche von Unten | Internationalist Queer Pride Berlin, fluid.vision | KvU made the last minute decision not to host the event “Fluidity” anymore. The event organized by fluid.vision focussed on queer resistance and was to raise funds for the Internationalist Queer Pride Berlin (IQP). Despite the fact that the soli cause was clear from the beginning, KvU stated that they do not want to support the donation goal anymore due to alleged “antisemitic incidents at IQP in the last three years” and IQP’s collaboration with the groups Palestine Speaks and Berlin against Pinkwashing. | |
| 137 | 30.05.24 | Humboldt-Universität Berlin | Decolonise Charité Berlin | The Humboldt University requested that the open event “Being a doctor where there are no more hospitals”, organized by Decolonize Charité, is no more open to the public and refused entry to external participants. Additionally, they requested that the bags of all participants are checked by security for “spray paints/cans, colours, weapons including pocket knives, batons or objects that can be used as such”. | |
| 149 | 04.06.24 | Universität Heidelberg | Hebh Jamal, Mahmud Abu-Odeh | The University of Heidelberg canceled the event “Palestinian activism and (German) Media” with activists Hebh Jamal and Mahmud Abu-Odeh that was to take place as part of the seminar “#Islam: Religious Dynamics in Online Spaces” out of fear of “political agitation” by the speakers. | |
| 150 | 05.06.24 | Student competition organised by the Landtag Baden-Württemberg | Judith Scheytt | A member of the state parliament of Baden-Württemberg asked awardee Judith Scheytt and her friend not to wear their keffiyehs when taking a photo with the president of the state parliament during the award ceremony of the student competition for political engagement organised by the state parliament of Baden-Württemberg and the regional centre for political education Baden-Württemberg. | |
| 151 | 07.06.24 | Olaf Scholz (SPD), Friedrich Merz (CDU) | TU president Geraldine Rauch | Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has removed Geraldine Rauch, President of the Technical University Berlin, from his circle of advisors of the “Zukunftsrat” due to accusations from CDU and Springer press levelled against her for liking a post on X that contains an image associating Netanyahu with Nazi symbols. Members of the Academic Senat and politicians up to federal level had additionally called for her resignation as the President of TU. | |
| 152 | 08.06.24 | Ract!festival | Visitors of Ract!festival 2024 | Ract!festival asked visitors to refrain from wearing a keffiyeh in order to “enable a largely conflict-free festival”, despite initially allowing it. | |
| 153 | 11.06.24 | DHL | Bubble | DHL closes Bubble’s Paketshop for hanging posters in solidarity with Palestine | |
| 154 | 14.06.24 | Humboldt Forum Berlin | VIsitor of Humboldt Forum | A visitor of Humboldt Forum was asked by security to remove a tote bag with Palestinian symbols (watermelon & fishnet design) or to leave. The Humboldt Forum later responded, saying that they “do not tolerate political symbols that trivialize violence or discriminate against groups of people. In our view, the melon on the bag is not such a symbol and should not have been flagged by security.” | |
| 155 | 18.06.24 | Gymnasium Tiergarten | Graduates of the Gymnasium Tiergarten | The Berlin high school “Gymnasium Tiergarten” canceled the ceremonial awarding of graduation certificates to its students due to fear of pro-Palestine protests and students wearing keffiyeh. | |
| 156 | 21.07.24 | CSD Köln | Palästina-Solidarität Köln | Palästina-Solidarität Köln was denied participation in the Cologne CSD because the organisers felt that the Palestine issue did not “fit into the overall picture”. When reminding the organizers of this year’s motto “Human Rights” and the fact that CSD is a demonstration, they offered a “compromise” and said that Palästina-Solidarität Köln can join the march, but without any reference to Palestine (no melons, kufiyas or banners). | |
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Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS)
Supporting plausible acts of genocide: Red lines and the failure of German Middle Eastern Studies
Benjamin Schuetze, Arnold Bergstraesser Institute (ABI) Freiburg, Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS), Germany
Since the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on January 26, 2024, it is official that Germany, the perpetrator of the largest genocide ever deliberately executed, is one of the primary supporters of what the principal judicial organ of the United Nation has described as plausibly amounting to genocide.[1] German support for Israel’s onslaught on Gaza stretches from an intervention in front of the ICJ; a 10-fold increase of German military exports to Israel,[2] including tank ammunition;[3] an unparalleled crackdown on pro-Palestine protests due to ‘possible antisemitism’;[4] the decision to not approve new funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza in light of unsubstantiated Israeli claims that employees had aided Hamas;[5] and the assurance of unconditional support for Israel by effectively the entire German political elite – as expressed in the unanimous parliamentary approval of a motion that assures Israel of Germany’s ‘full solidarity and any support needed’.[6]
It is hard to overestimate the scale of human suffering that Germany’s unconditional backing of Israel has enabled and caused, and continues to do. First and foremost, Germany has willingly made itself complicit in the killing of – at the time of writing – at least 31,045 Palestinians, including more than 12,300 children, in the destruction of more than half of Gaza’s homes and all of Gaza’s universities, and in the forced displacement of more than 85% of the total population of Gaza.[7] It would take four times the space of this essay to merely spell out the first names of all Palestinian children killed by the Israeli military over the past months. While German political and military support for Israel is nothing new, the audacity with which German politicians and members of the public legitimise said support with claims of moral authority, even in the face of overwhelming evidence of Israeli war crimes, and criminalize any criticism of those crimes, is new. The latter include indiscriminate attacks on civilians, deliberate starvation, looting, torturing and genocidal language.[8] Evidence for it is abundantly available for everybody to see, including via videos, tweets and testimonies by Israeli soldiers, who proudly record themselves blowing up Palestinian homes in honour of the birthdays of their loved ones, and who use tanks to deliberately run over civilians alive, mutilate dead bodies, and shoot unarmed civilians.[9]
This is remarkable because for decades Germany has celebrated itself for its culture of remembrance and its acknowledgment of responsibility for the Holocaust. However, Germany’s culture of remembrance is first and foremost about Germany itself and about desired self-understandings. German atonement for the Holocaust did not emerge from, nor does it go hand in hand with, a full and unconditional embrace of international human rights, regardless of the current government’s claims of pursuing a value-based foreign policy. The ongoing colonial amnesia and widespread ignorance vis-à-vis ‘Germany’s other genocide’ – the killing of 75,000 Herero and Nama in today’s Namibia – are a case in point.[10] Germany’s almost exclusive focus on the Holocaust has enabled blatant ignorance of German colonial crimes. Insistence on the Holocaust’s singularity or exceptionality – while emotionally understandable given its monstrous scale – is analytically problematic, as it takes the Holocaust out of ‘normal history’, separating it, as remarked by Raz Segal, from ‘the piles of bodies and destroyed cultures that European imperialism and colonialism […] had left around the world in the preceding few centuries,’[11] and ignoring the prevalence of genocidal tendencies in Germany long before 1933, as well as racist continuities that stretch until today. Also, as stated by Michael Wildt, it ‘blocks an appropriate culture of remembrance, which should be open and ‘multidirectional’.’[12]
The dominant understanding of the Holocaust is centred around the elimination of six million European Jews. This narrative sidelines and relegates to lesser importance the German mass killing of people with disabilities, LGBT people, and Soviet prisoners of war, as well as the Romani genocide (porajmos).[13] This narrow definition of the Holocaust is a crucial first step in constructing Israel, the self-proclaimed homeland of all Jews worldwide, as ‘the Holocaust’s happy ending for Germans,’ as pointedly stated by German Jewish journalist Emily Dische-Becker.[14] For German political elites, Israel appears to constitute a source of redemption. Anything that challenges this and/or Israel’s own supposed moral authority might potentially open the floodgates to the uncomfortable realisation that antisemitism, racism and genocidal tendencies have shaped and continue to shape German politics much more profoundly than merely for the twelve years of Nazi rule.
The main character in Germany’s culture of remembrance are not the victims of past German crimes, but Germany itself, and desired self-understandings that revolve around German innocence, civilisation and moral authority. These are protected at all costs. While the monstrosity of the Holocaust is clearly irreconcilable with this, the open acknowledgment of said monstrosity and the almost exclusive centring of Germany’s institutionalised culture of remembrance around it has bizarrely been turned into just another sign of Germany’s moral superiority.[15] The process of doing so requires simple answers to complex questions, such as the mentioned narrow definition of the Holocaust, the equation of Judaism with Israel, and the repression of dissenting Jewish voices, as well as various acts of silencing, open disregard and omission, such as the mentioned colonial amnesia. Together, they facilitate easily implementable political acts and rituals that supposedly provide continuous evidence of Germany’s moral superiority, in reality however merely illustrate the extent to which German society and politics is deeply German-centric and marked by structural racism.
In this context, a number of red lines have emerged. Their combined effect is the continuous upholding of images of German redemption, civilisation and moral authority, irrespective of German support for what could plausibly amount to genocide. Since the October 7 Hamas attacks, these red lines have solidified at lightning speed, and are increasingly reminiscent of authoritarian contexts. One such red line is the use of well-established academic terminology, such as ‘genocide’, ‘Nakba’, ‘settler colonialism’ and ‘apartheid’. Comparisons of ongoing Israeli violence to the war crimes committed by Nazi Germany constitute another marked red line, as illustrated by the cases of Masha Gessen and Ghassan Hage.[16] Further, observation of a Palestinian right to resist Israeli occupation, and support, but also already merely indicating understanding for the non-violent Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement can be added as a third distinct red line. A fourth one concerns the question of contextualisation. Contextualisation, which is distinctively different from legitimisation, is arguably to quite some extent what social science research fundamentally is about. German mainstream discourse, however, not only insists on framing Israel’s ongoing horrific war on Gaza within the context of Hamas’s violent assault on October 7, it effectively seeks to legitimise the former by continuously centring the latter. This becomes all the more problematic as the insistence on the need for contextualisation is deployed selectively. References to the context of decades of Israeli occupation, within which both the Hamas attacks and the ongoing war on Gaza occur(red), are thus mostly avoided.
The upholding of these red lines and the associated discursive protection of German moral authority in the face of active political and material support for Israeli war crimes draws on a number of highly disturbing intersecting dynamics. These are based on the dangerous and factually incorrect equation of Judaism with Israel, and include the externalisation of German antisemitism onto Arabs, the criminalisation of pro-Palestine activism and Palestinian identity, the normalisation of Islamophobia, and a full-scale attack on postcolonial approaches. When it comes to responding to these worrying trends, there is no beating around the bush: we must state directly that German Middle Eastern Studies as a discipline has failed. Despite better knowledge and safe job contracts (at least in the case of the not insignificant number of Germany-based professors of Islamic law, Arabic language, and history, geography, economics and politics of the Middle East and North Africa), German Middle Eastern Studies excels in acquiescence, silence and/or absence from public engagement. This is not to say that individual scholars have not publicly taken a principled stance – but the field as a whole has failed its most existential challenge.
Jannis Grimm has argued that, in Germany, showing empathy for both Israeli and Palestinian victims of political violence ‘is a tricky balancing act’, and insisted that, in light of increasingly polarising debates, ‘universities must remain places of dialogue’.[17] The November 2023 statement ‘Principles of solidarity,’ in which Nicole Deitelhoff, Rainer Forst, Klaus Günther and Jürgen Habermas expressed the narrow limits of their solidarity, by fundamentally refusing to even engage ongoing discussions among genocide scholars about whether the legal standards for genocide have been met,[18] was followed, in early December, by a much more balanced analysis by Hanna Pfeifer and Irene Weipert-Fenner.[19] Both this article and the one by Grimm are important contributions, but primarily argue in favour of a more differentiated and balanced discussion. While both articles were, in the German context, much needed interventions, the ICJ decision and the escalating death toll among Palestinians warrant more critical assessments. The arguably most powerful latest intervention by a Germany-based Middle Eastern Studies scholar dates back to summer 2023, when Muriel Asseburg, in an interview, observed that many Palestinians accuse ‘the West’ of double standards, insisted on the legitimacy of certain forms of Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation, and expressed her understanding of BDS.[20] While Asseburg immediately became the target of a defamation campaign, including accusations of antisemitism by the Israeli embassy, she, luckily, also received significant official and public backing. Whether she would have received such support after October 7 is troublingly unclear.
It is clear that public interventions that challenge the above-mentioned red lines come at a cost. Given the scale of the dynamics that we are currently bearing witness to, each and every one of us, however, must do more to resist. This counts all the more for Germany-based Middle Eastern Studies scholars and/or political scientists, including this author, but especially for those on permanent contracts. This is not to say that all of the aforementioned dynamics can easily be overturned by a discipline that is seen as exotic by the mainstream and, when compared to others, remains rather small. Still, the relative silence of Germany-based professors of Middle Eastern studies, especially politics, is deeply troubling. It testifies to a widespread tendency to remain passive, to best avoid the topic of Israel/Palestine, and to certainly not seek to proactively impact public debate by adopting what may be seen as a controversial position.
But if an ICJ decision about the plausibility of Israel committing genocide does not make a scholar publicly speak out against unconditional German support for Israel, what will? What purpose does a state-funded expert in Arabic language have, who remains stuck in the ivory tower when politicians representing that state contemplate the generic prohibition of Arabic slogans at public protests?[21] What purpose has a renowned scholar of Ottoman and/or Arab history who fails to publicly speak out against the open distortion and/or negation of simple historical facts in state-funded exhibitions?[22]What purpose have scholars working on decoloniality, who are only decolonial in funding applications, or selectively on those topics where there is no controversy to be feared? What about an expert of MENA politics, who remains silent when politicians from the biggest German political party suggest withdrawing citizenship from anti-Semites, but in doing so only mean those with dual citizenship, i.e. Arab immigrants?[23] There is no lack of expertise, there is a lack of courage to take a principled stance against the large-scale dehumanisation of Arabs and Muslims, and the ongoing mass murder of Palestinians.
Given the extent to which almost all German political parties have adopted Islamophobic and/or anti-Arab discourses,[24] public engagement by Germany-based scholars studying Islam, the Arab world, and/or postcolonial politics is not anymore an option, but a duty. Resistance must occur on a number of fronts, including defending academic freedoms much more proactively, and imparting knowledge about the Arab world to German society at large, as well as to politicians and decision-makers in particular, who far too often still lack even basic knowledge of politics in the Arab world and orientalise it. The public showing of exhibitions about the Nakba,[25] and the establishment of more school and university exchange programs with the Arab world are only some examples of what is highly needed.
A key reason behind the silence of German Middle Eastern Studies is the widespread but incorrect and dangerous equation of Israel with Judaism and, relatedly, of antizionism with antisemitism, and the concomitant levels of self-censorship when it comes to publicly discussing Israel/Palestine. The German parliament’s designation of the BDS movement as anti-Semitic and public adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism – as opposed to the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism,[26] which provides much clearer guidance to identify and fight antisemitism – have heavily restricted freedom of speech on Israel/Palestine.[27] With its heavy focus on Israel, the IHRA definition helps gradually redefine antisemitism so that Germany can now, in light of its unconditional support for Israel and in light of initiatives like Strike Germany, bizarrely portray itself as victim of antisemitism.[28] Contrary to this, the state-condoned repression of Jewish voices in solidarity with Palestine however only barely conceals the German establishment’s own antisemitism.[29]
Antisemitism is thriving in Germany. For instance, ‘Jew’ is widely used as an insult in schoolyards.[30] Last year it was leaked that the Deputy Minister-President of Bavaria circulated an anti-Semitic pamphlet in his school days. Despite this, his party was re-elected with an increase of the vote. According to official figures, 83% of recorded violent anti-Semitic acts in Germany in 2022 were committed by the far-right.[31] It goes without saying that antisemitism must be fought no matter the context. If, however, critique of Israeli politics is almost automatically met with accusations of antisemitism, something is seriously going wrong.[32] This development has reached a point whereby the German mainstream has increasingly adopted the generic labelling of any critic of the occupation as anti-Semites, similar to, among other actors, the Israeli far-right.[33] It is hard to top the absurdity of non-Jewish German bureaucrats accusing Jews in solidarity with Palestine of antisemitism.[34]
Besides the active silencing of Jewish voices in the name of fighting antisemitism, German authorities have gone so far as to enable Berlin schools to prohibit mere indicators of Palestinian identity, such as the wearing of the Kuffiyah and the use of ‘free Palestine’ stickers or slogans.[35] The police in North Rhine-Westphalia started circulating an information brochure to regional schools, in which it states that accusing Israel of committing a genocide may constitute hate speech and may thus be indictable as a criminal offense.[36] If the ICJ was based 200 km further east of The Hague, its judges might face legal issues. In Germany, using well-established academic terminology, quoting the principal judicial organ of the UN and/or merely being Palestinian is widely interpreted as support for terrorism and/or antisemitism. According to an initiative for research on antisemitism based at the University of Trier, ‘Stop the genocide in Gaza’ is an anti-Semitic slogan.[37] Local Berlin authorities introduced a brochure to school programs that trivialises the Nakba. An exhibition on the establishment of Israel, officially supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Jewish Life in Germany and the Fight against Antisemitism, claims that the primary reason for Palestinian expulsion and flight in 1948 was ‘general fear of the threat of war’,[38] instead of deliberate ethnic cleansing, as is historically proven.[39] Among other places, the library of the University of Freiburg hosted this exhibition, which also reproduces the colonial trope of an empty Palestine that was available for Jewish colonisation. The term settler colonialism, which effectively is, as stated by the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) a ‘descriptor of the policies of dispossession and displacement implemented by the Israeli state against Palestinians’,[40] evokes similar reactions as the term apartheid, which the German government rejects outright, despite Amnesty International (among many other human rights organisations) providing ample evidence for its applicability in the case of Israel/Palestine.[41]
The criminalisation and/or public condemnation of terminology such as ‘genocide’, ‘Nakba’, ‘settler colonialism’ and ‘apartheid’ renders meaningful conversations about Palestine practically impossible. An ever-growing archive of cancelled public events, awards and/or job contracts gives testimony to the scale of ongoing attacks on academic freedom.[42] The idea that Israel could be a perpetrator of genocide fundamentally clashes with the German state’s self-understanding as defender of international human rights and its embrace of Israeli security as part of its own reason of state. As a consequence, German politicians and mainstream media fiercely police the use of the above terminology and almost instinctively insist on Israel as victim of genocide. As such, it can be portrayed as both the logical recipient of unconditional support and an easy source for moral redemption. Discursive framings matter, plausibly genocidal acts don’t.
Thus far, the most powerful and vocal resistance to the German state’s direct support of plausible acts of genocide comes from outside the political establishment. Creative artists, as well as Arab and Jewish activists, journalists, lawyers and intellectuals have been among the most prominent voices of dissent.[43] Instead of providing such critical Arab and Jewish voices with a platform, mainstream debate is, with a few exceptions, characterised by the silencing of Arab voices and the policing of Jewish ones, i.e. the integration of those who are pro-Zionist, and the turning of Anti-Zionist ones into passive objects to be patronised. At the core of public German debate are (non-Jewish) Germans who seek to speak on behalf of minorities, and who police Jewishness, anti-Semitism, and what is deemed to be acceptable terminology. Just as the ‘Antideutsche’ ‘weaponise the fetishisation of Jews through their obsessive Zionism,’ as stated by Rachael Shapiro,[44] the far-right use their support for Israel as entrance ticket into the mainstream.
In theory, German Middle Eastern Studies would be well equipped to offer a counterweight to the above-described developments. However, fear of reprisals and the curious persistence of the belief that scholarship can and should be apolitical have thus far prevented any form of more vocal public engagement by the German Middle Eastern Studies Association (DAVO). This institutional silence has only helped worsen an already toxic German public debate on the Arab world at large and Palestine, Palestinian suffering and the Palestinian right to resist Israeli occupation in particular. While promising efforts are under way to hopefully soon establish a DAVO Committee on Academic Freedom (CAF), akin to similar already existing committees operated by both BRISMES and MESA, the level of institutional and individual reluctance is considerable. What is certain is that if/when established, a DAVO CAF would have a lot of work to do.
[1] International Court of Justice (ICJ), 2024, ‘Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel)’, 26 January 2024, summary, https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240126-sum-01-00-en.pdf.
[2] Reuters, 2023, ‘German military exports to Israel up nearly 10-fold as Berlin fast-tracks permits’, 8 November 2023, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/german-military-exports-israel-up-nearly-10-fold-berlin-fast-tracks-permits-2023-11-08/.
[3] Middle East Monitor, 2024, ‘Germany approves supply of tank shells to Israel amidst Gaza conflict’, 17 January 2024, https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240117-germany-approves-supply-of-tank-shells-to-israel-amidst-gaza-conflict/.
[4] ZDF heute, 2023, ‘Zahlreiche Verbote von Pro-Palästina-Demos‘, 13 October 2023, https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/politik/deutschland/israel-palaestina-demonstrationen-deutschland-verbot-100.html.
[5] Auswärtiges Amt, 2024, ‚Gemeinsame Erklärung des Auswärtigen Amts und des Bundesministeriums für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung zu UNRWA‘, 27 January 2024, https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/newsroom/-/2641704; The Guardian, 2024, ‚UNRWA staff accused by Israel sacked without evidence, chief admits‘, 9 February 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/09/head-of-unwra-says-he-followed-reverse-due-process-in-sacking-accused-gaza-staff.
[6] Deutscher Bundestag, 2023, ‚Solidarität mit Israel‘, 10 October 2023, https://www.bundestag.de/israel-solidaritaet.
[7] Aljazeera, 2024, ‚Israel-Gaza war in maps and charts: Live tracker’, 27 February 2024, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2023/10/9/israel-hamas-war-in-maps-and-charts-live-tracker; Aljazeera, 2024, ‘How Israel has destroyed Gaza’s schools and universities’, 24 January 2024, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/24/how-israel-has-destroyed-gazas-schools-and-universities.
[8] Amnesty International, 2024, ‚Israel/OPT: New evidence of unlawful Israeli attacks in Gaza causing mass civilian casualties amid real risk of genocide’, 12 February 2024, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/02/israel-opt-new-evidence-of-unlawful-israeli-attacks-in-gaza-causing-mass-civilian-casualties-amid-real-risk-of-genocide/; The Guardian, 2024, ‘Israel is deliberately starving Palestinians, UN rights expert says’, 27 February 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/27/un-israel-food-starvation-palestinians-war-crime-genocide; Alessandra Bajec, 2024, ‘How Israeli soldiers are engaged in widespread looting in Gaza’, The New Arab, 18 January 2024, https://www.newarab.com/analysis/how-looting-israeli-soldiers-gaza-widespread; Amnesty International, 2023, ‘Israel/OPT: Horrifying cases of torture and degrading treatment of Palestinian detainees amid spike in arbitrary arrests’, 8 November 2023, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/11/israel-opt-horrifying-cases-of-torture-and-degrading-treatment-of-palestinian-detainees-amid-spike-in-arbitrary-arrests/; United Nations, 2023, ‘Gaza: UN experts call on international community to prevent genocide against the Palestinian people’, 16 November 2023, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/11/gaza-un-experts-call-international-community-prevent-genocide-against.
[9] See Middle East Eye, 2023, ‘Israeli soldier gifts explosion in Gaza to his daughter’, Youtube, 26 November 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ7NpSCpzSA; Reliefweb, 2024, ‘Israeli tanks have deliberately run over dozens of Palestinian civilians alive’, 4 March 2024, https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/israeli-tanks-have-deliberately-run-over-dozens-palestinian-civilians-alive-enar; Middle East Monitor, 2024, ‘Unarmed Palestinian fatally shot by Israeli sniper despite white flag in Khan Yunis’, 24 January 2024, https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240124-unarmed-palestinian-fatally-shot-by-israeli-sniper-despite-white-flag-in-khan-yunis/.
[10] Exberliner, 2020, ‘Historian Jürgen Zimmerer on Germany’s other genocide‘, 12 March 2020, https://www.exberliner.com/politics/jurgen-zimmerer-interview/.
[11] Segal, Raz, 2024, ‘Opinion: Why International Court of Justice ruling against Israel’s war in Gaza is a game-changer’, Los Angeles Times, 27 January 2024, https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-01-27/icj-israel-south-africa-gaza-genocide-court-ruling.
[12] Wildt, Michael, 2023, ‘What does Singularity of the Holocaust Mean?’, Journal of Genocide Research, https://doi.org/10.1080/14623528.2023.2248818.
[13] Wiedemann, Charlotte, 2022, Den Schmerz der Anderen Begreifen (Berlin: Propyläen), p. 67 and p. 107.
[14] Dische-Becker, Emily, quoted in Jackson, James, 2023, ‘Critics question the backstory of one of Germany’s leading counter-extremists’, Hyphen, 3 July 2023, https://hyphenonline.com/2023/07/03/critics-question-the-backstory-of-ahmed-mansour-one-of-germanys-leading-counter-extremists/.
[15] Wiedemann, Charlotte, 2022, Den Schmerz der Anderen Begreifen (Berlin: Propyläen), p. 271.
[16] Fitzpatrick, Matt, 2024, ‘As the war in Gaza continues, Germany’s unstinting defence of Israel has unleashed a culture war that has just reached Australia’, The Conversation, 13 February 2024, https://theconversation.com/as-the-war-in-gaza-continues-germanys-unstinting-defence-of-israel-has-unleashed-a-culture-war-that-has-just-reached-australia-223329.
[17] Grimm, Jannis Julien, 2024, ‚Universities must remain places of dialogue’, Qantara, 15 February 2024, https://qantara.de/en/article/german-academia-and-war-gaza-universities-must-remain-places-dialogue.
[18] Deitelhoff, Nicole, Rainer Forst, Klaus Günther & Jürgen Habermas, 13 November 2023, Normative Orders, https://www.normativeorders.net/2023/grundsatze-der-solidaritat/.
[19] Pfeifer, Hanna & Irene Weipert-Fenner, 2023, ‚Israel-Gaza: A German War Discourse‘, PRIF blog, https://blog.prif.org/2023/12/07/israel-gaza-a-german-war-discourse/.
[20] See interview with Muriel Asseburg, ‘Nahost-Expertin Muriel Asseburg über Israel & Palästina’, Jung & Naiv, 27 June 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=333rt6aUVnE.
[21] Zacher, Tobias & Martin Teigeler, 2023, ‚Essener Islamisten-Demo: Reul will Deutsch als Demo-Sprache‘, WDR, 9 November 2023, https://www1.wdr.de/nachrichten/landespolitik/innenausschuss-demos-100.html.
[22] See for instance DEIN e.V., ‘1948: Die Ausstellung. Wie der Staat Israel entstand’, https://www.1948-web.de/.
[23] CDU/CSU, ‘Antisemiten dürfen keinen Platz in unserer Gesellschaft haben‘, Pressemitteilung, 17 November 2023, https://www.cducsu.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/antisemiten-duerfen-keinen-platz-unserer-gesellschaft-haben.
[24] Mustafa, Imad, 2023, Der Islam gehört (nicht) zu Deutschland: Islam und antimuslimischer Rassismus in Parteiensystem und Bundestag (Bielefeld: transcript).
[25] See for instance ‘Die Nakba: Flucht und Vertreibung der Palästinenser 1948‘, https://www.lib-hilfe.de/infos_ausstellung.html.
[26] ‘The Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism’, https://jerusalemdeclaration.org/.
[27] The German Rectors’ Conference called for the adoption of the IHRA definition at all German universities, ‘Kein Platz für Antisemitismus‘, Entschließung der HRK-MItgliederversammlung, 19 November 2019.
[28] Deutschlandfunk Kultur, 2024, ‚Folgen des Boykottaufrufs Strike Germany: Berlinale-Absage und Verlagstrennung‘, 19 January 2024, https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/folgen-des-boykottaufrufs-strike-germany-berlinale-absage-und-verlagstrennung-dlf-kultur-0fe5ce84-100.html.
[29] Flakin, Nathaniel, 2024, ‘German Elites are redefining Antisemitism so they can be the victims’, Portside, 20 January 2024, https://portside.org/2024-01-20/german-elites-are-redefining-antisemitism-so-they-can-be-victims.
[30] Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland, 2019, ‚“Du Jude“ als Schimpfwort auf dem Schulhof?‘, 25 October 2019, https://www.zentralratderjuden.de/aktuelle-meldung/artikel/news/du-jude-als-schimpfwort-auf-dem-schulhof/.
[31] Bundesministerium des Innern und für Heimat, 2023, ‚Politisch motivierte Kriminalität erreicht neuen Höchststand‘, 9 May 2023, https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/kurzmeldungen/DE/2023/05/fallzahlen-pmk-2022.html.
[32] See also ‘Offener Brief jüdischer Intellektueller: Die Freiheit der Andersdenkenden‘, TAZ, 22 October 2023, https://taz.de/Offener-Brief-juedischer-Intellektueller/!5965154/.
[33] Falah Saab, Sheren, 2024, ‘On Israeli TV, You’re an Antisemite if you dare mention the Occupation’, Haaretz Today, 26 February 2024, https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/haaretz-today/2024-02-26/ty-article/.highlight/on-israeli-tv-youre-an-antisemite-if-you-dare-mention-the-occupation/0000018d-e60c-de64-afff-f67f1cee0000. See also various German media reactions to the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival.
[34] See for instance the cancellation of the Hannah Arendt prize award ceremony for Masha Gessen and the prohibition of Jewish Palestine solidarity protests in Berlin, ‘”Gefahr der Volksverhetzung”: Berliner Polizei untersagt jüdische Kundgebung am Oranienplatz’, Tagesspiegel, 14 October 2023, https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/berliner-polizei-untersagt-judische-kundgebung-am-oranienplatz-unmittelbare-gefahr-von-volksverhetzenden-antisemitischen-ausrufen-10624429.html.
[35] RBB TV, 2023, ‘Berliner Schulen können Tragen von Palästinenser-Tüchern verbieten‘, 13 October 2023, https://www.rbb24.de/politik/beitrag/2023/10/berlin-israel-senatsverwaltung-guenther-wuensch-schulfrieden-palaestinenser-tuecher-free-palestine-.html.
[36] Polizei Nordrhein-Westfalen LKA, 2023, ‚Nahost-Konflikt: Informationsbroschüre für Schulen, Lehrkräfte und Eltern‘, December, https://muenster.polizei.nrw/sites/default/files/2024-01/231227_lka_informationsbroschure-nahostkonflikt.pdf.
[37] Initiative Interdisziplinäre Antisemitismusforschung, 2024, ‚Statement der IIA zu einem antisemitischen Graffiti auf dem Campus der Universität Trier‘, January, https://www.uni-trier.de/universitaet/fachbereiche-faecher/fachbereich-iii/faecher/geschichte/studium-und-lehre/initiative-interdisziplinaere-antisemitismusforschung/aktuelles/stellungnahmen/pressemittteilungen.
[38] DEIN e.V., ‘1948: Die Ausstellung. Wie der Staat Israel entstand’, https://www.1948-web.de/.
[39] Pappe, Ilan, 2007, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (London: Oneworld Publications).
[40] BRISMES, 2024, ‚Statement on Settler Colonialism, Decolonisation and Antisemitism’, 19 February, https://www.brismes.ac.uk/files/documents/19022024_BRISMES_Settler_Colonialism_Statement.pdf.
[41] Amnesty International, 2022, ‘Israel’s Apartheid against Palestinians’, 1 February, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2022/02/israels-system-of-apartheid/.
[42] Archive of Silence – Cancellation & Silencing Public List, 2024, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Vq2tm-nopUy-xYZjkG-T9FyMC7ZqkAQG9S3mPWAYwHw/edit#gid=1227867224.
[43] Some of the most prominent voices are Nadija Samour, Hebh Jamal, Hanno Hauenstein, Ghassan Hage, Masha Gessen, Deborah Feldman and Amro Ali.
[44] Shapiro, Rachael, 2024, ‘German memory culture, anti-Semitic Zionists and Palestinian liberation’, Aljazeera, 1 March 2024, https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/3/1/german-memory-culture-anti-semitic-zionists-and-palestinian-liberation.
israel-academia-monitor.com 