On Tuesday, November 18, I was meant to address a meeting at Berlin’s Karl Liebknecht Haus, headquarters of left-wing party Die Linke. There I was supposed to speak about the flotillas in solidarity with Gaza, in which I have myself participated. Yet the event was canceled a few hours before it was due to begin.
The reason was clear: some people found the subject of the talk, namely Palestine, too unsettling. In this case, the building’s owners bowed to pressure from an Islamophobic think tank and invented the risk of a protest in front of the venue as grounds to call off the event. An appeal from a Die Linke member of parliament was to no avail: the talk was banned.
This episode tells us a lot. In Germany, even within the Left, the possibility of talking about the genocide in Palestine can’t be taken for granted.
Our event had originally been supposed to take place in one of Berlin’s universities, but none of them wanted to host a discussion on Palestine. We thought we would find refuge in a left-wing institution — a site in Berlin where human consciousness has learned from historical guilt and is able to recognize the horrors of the past repeating themselves.
This was partly true. That same day, I met with young people from a Die Linke youth organization, Linksjugend, who are resolutely in favor of peace, campaign for an end to Israeli settler colonialism, and denounce the genocide in Palestine. I met with a Die Linke MP from Berlin who publicly and unambiguously condemns Israel’s war crimes and speaks out for a resolutely anti-colonialist left. I have been contacted by many comrades and elected representatives of Die Linke who condemn this ban and reiterate their support for the voices of peace.
This should already be the case, for this is the responsibility of the Left, core to its dignity: to never lose its bearings. Palestine is one such compass. For we are guided by freedom for oppressed peoples, justice for colonized peoples, and reparations…
Auteur: Emma Fourreau
