On Thursday, a crowd of demonstrators packed into a square near Südstern metro station in central Berlin to mark seventy-seven years since the Nakba, the first mass displacement of Palestinians from Palestine, and demand an end to Israel’s assault on Gaza. Estimates of the size of the rally have varied wildly, from one thousand to four thousand. This may seem small compared to similar demonstrations in other parts of the world. But the scale of repression against Gaza solidarity demonstrations in the German capital, and annual Nakba protests in particular, made this gathering significant.
In 2022, Berlin police arrested 170 demonstrators on Nakba Day for holding Palestinian flags and wearing keffiyehs. Violent arrests are commonplace, especially since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza. And in recent months, the German state has moved to deport Gaza solidarity activists, including several European Union citizens.
The Nakba, or “catastrophe” in Arabic, refers to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine that began in earnest on May 15, 1948, the day after the formal establishment of the State of Israel. An estimated 15,000 Palestinians were killed, and more than 750,000 people were displaced from their homes, towns, and land. That figure is half the number of people believed to have been displaced by Israel’s genocide in Gaza, which is estimated to have killed at least 53,000 people, including more than one hundred on Thursday. That assault has given renewed energy to the annual demonstration, especially as some Zionist Israelis have called for a “second Nakba” to clear Gaza of its population.
The threat of police violence and an ongoing legal battle around restrictions on protest didn’t deter many members of Berlin’s pro-Palestine movement from showing up to mourn the Nakba and demand justice for Gaza — even on a work night. The protesters represented a diverse slice of the German capital. Women wearing traditional embroidered…
Auteur: Nyki Duda
