Germany just took a drastic step toward criminalizing Palestine activism
Palestinians and supporters demonstrate against then-U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Berlin, 10 December 2017
Hebh Jamal reports in +972:
A new report published by the German Conference of Interior Ministers (IMK) that focuses on “prevention and intervention against Israel-related antisemitism” is pushing for further crackdowns on pro-Palestine solidarity, and even discusses moving toward the criminalization of this kind of speech and activism.
Authored by one of the IMK working groups, and adopted by the Conference earlier this month, the report consistently conflates anti-Zionism with antisemitism by employing the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism. It includes specific suggestions, such as urging schools to show their students a more positive view of Israel in the classroom, and categorizes Amnesty International’s recent report on Israeli apartheid as “antisemitic.” The report even suggests prohibiting maps that “question Israel’s right to exist”; whether this includes maps of historic Palestine remains unclear.
The decisions of the IMK are not immediately legally binding, such that the report is not currently actionable.
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That censorship has contributed to a swell of anti-Palestinian political sentiment and policy in Germany, the supporters of which believe it to be justified by Germany’s historical responsibility toward Israel due to the Holocaust. The result is that any criticism of Israeli oppression of Palestinians is often immediately deemed problematic.
“It is really a dangerous development in an authoritarian direction,” said Kerem Schamberger, a German communication scientist and political activist, of the new report. “The adoption of this political, instrumentalized definition of antisemitism by the state, its institutions, and its ruling politicians is a delusional view of the reality of the occupation, shielding any criticism of it.