Free Palestine From German Racism Dressed Up as Guilt
A German judge claimed this week that a protester broke the law by chanting “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” It’s the latest attempt to criminalize the speech of Palestinians by the supporters of mass killing in Gaza.
The Israeli flag flies outside the Reichstag on June 26, 2012, in Berlin, Germany. (Wolfgang Kumm / DPA / AFP via Getty Images)
When it comes to authoritarianism, it seems you can always rely on a German state official to go the extra mile. We saw a classic example of that on Tuesday, August 6, as a Berlin magistrate convicted a woman for an imaginary crime.
According to the judge, Birgit Balzer, a German Iranian woman called Ava Moayeri was guilty of “condoning a crime” when she chanted “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” in October of last year. As with all the attempts to delegitimize this slogan throughout Europe and North America, Balzer relied on the idea that she can discern a secret meaning behind it that has nothing to do with the words actually used.
The Rule of Vibes
What was the nature of the crime Moayeri was said to have “condoned”? Did she express support for Hamas, which is considered to be a terrorist organization in Germany? No: the slogan does not mention Hamas, or any other Palestinian group. Did she call for Israelis to be killed? No: the slogan says nothing about violence, whether directed against Israeli soldiers or civilians.
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