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.
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.
When it comes to authoritarianism, you can always rely on a German state official to go the extra mile.
Balzer brushed aside previous German court rulings that found the meaning of the slogan to be “ambiguous,” claiming that it unquestionably “denied the right of the state of Israel to exist.” Even if we were to grant the false premise that “denying Israel’s right to exist” is a criminal offense, this argument won’t stand up to scrutiny either.
If a Palestinian state were to be established in the…
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Auteur: Daniel Finn
