Time To BOYCOTT Germany Over Gaza?

I think it's time for a boycott of the German State specifically I mean a boycott of its public events by artists performers writers authors musicians those who care about human rights who oppose mass murder who oppose what the highest court on Earth the international court of justice is investigating as an alleged genocide that is Israel's Mass murderous Onslaught against Gaza and its people here's why now if I were the German State at this particular juncture I would simply keep Al so far maybe just sit down and just sit this one out that is not the tack they've gone for instead they've settled on a particularly gome strategy to gain Absolution for the attempt by the German state to exterminate the entire Jewish population of Europe in which two-thirds of Jews murdered within living memory now firstly the German state has long loudly demanded that somebody else pay for the crimes committed by the German State specifically the Palestinian people it seems to believe does clearly believe that compensation for what it did should be paid by Palestinians through being violently ethnically cleansed repeatedly occupied their land stolen colonized subjected to apartheid huge State violence over and over again mass incarceration suspension of basic civil liberties we could go on these are all Horrors which clearly no German citizen would tolerate now I'm aware that it's not just the German State responsible for 2,000 years of European anti-Semitism by any stretch it is simply the case that first the 19th century German anti-Semitism played a pivotal role in the racialization of anti-Semitism that is turning anti-Semitism into a race Theory which became a precondition for its particularly genocidal form and the rise obviously of narcism and then the shower the murder of 6 million Jews all of that is a precondition for what is happening today now this attempt to force other people to pay the price for what Germany did as a state now now takes the form of being one of the world's leading legitimizes and apologists and backers for the present mass murder of Palestinians now that's always been very profitable I would note for German Arms Company uh since the arms trade between the two countries Germany and Israel began in the early 1960s by November last year military exports to Israel from Germany were up tfold thanks to F fast tracks in the aftermath of the current horror of course unfolding reading a headline in the financial times like Israel Hamas boost German investor interest in defense sector says rank chief that was the other day well pass the sick bag secondly in a particularly perverse Twist of History not only is the German State targeting anyone who speaks out in support of the Palestinian people they are disproportionately targeting Jewish people you can't make the up let's just listen to yal Abraham a brilliant Israeli Jewish journalist who I interviewed late last year he's one of the directors of no other land a documentary film about the forc displacement of the Palestinian people of masafa yata where another co-director Bassel Adra is from now he made a speech at the Berlin allei Film Festival let's hear from him I want to say we are we are standing in front of you now me and Basel are the same age I am Israeli Basel is Palestinian and in two days we will go back to a land where we are not equal I'm living under a civilian law and Basel is under military law we live 30 minutes from one another but I have voting rights Basel is not having voting rights I'm free to move where I want in this land Basel is like millions of Palestinians locked in the occupied West Bank this situation of apartheid between us this inequality it has to end there he is calling for equality documenting facts established by independent human rights groups what happens next the mayor of Berlin condemns him amongst others for anti-Semitism now the mayor of Berlin is not Jewish just so you know so the non-jewish mayor of Berlin is condemning a Jewish Israeli for anti-Semitism because he called for equality and condemned human rights abuses he was also condemned uh fany semitism by Israeli television and has been subjected because of all of that to a tsunami of death threats since so a German non-jewish mayor helped to whip up a firestorm of death threats against the Jewish Israeli for calling for equality is that Redemption for Germany's past is it a speech was also made with a similar theme by the co-director who I mentioned there Basel Adra I'm here celebrating the award but also very hard for me to celebrate when there are tens of thousands of my people being slaughtered and massed by Israel in Gaza M my community is being also erased by Israeli buers I ask one thing for Germany as I am in Berlin here to respect the UN calls and stop sending weapons to [Applause] Israel now a German green green Minister green party we not talking about the far right head we're not talking about right-wing party talking about the green party then releases a statement making clear that they were only clapping the jewish's radi Co director and not the Palestinian co-director that's not even subtle racism I mean on one level refreshing because politicians and Med Outlets across Europe and the US haven't even bothered to pretend they have anything other than contempt for the Palestinian people and their lives they're just not normally so crudely honest about it does the German State think treating people as inferior because of their ethnicity is Redemption for Germany's past does it really does it really think official statements issued by ministers clarifying they're not clapping someone based on their ethnicity is that Redemption I don't think so it's bringing back memories isn't it in the aftermath of the burn on alley in a German newspaper which is written in in a hideous way framed exactly on the terms of all of this outrage it says government ministers threatened Crim are threatening criminal action against those who said for example free Palestine from The River To The Sea claiming it's an endorsement of the killings committed by Hamas on the 7th of October ludicrous nonsense i' know from the river to the cities in the founding platform of lud Israel's ring party is also been stated for example by the Israeli ambassador to the UK what they mean by it one Israeli state from the river to the sea is a parde in practice it can only mean the subjugation the Palestinians who live there but that's fine people who use it to mean equal rights for Palestinians across historic Palestine turns out you're going to jail in Germany now who thinks throwing people into police cells for Thought crime is going to wash Away The Sins of Germany's past I don't think so guys I think all of this is having a pretty opposite effect to what you intend the minister actually said that this was at rewarding Endor they said rewarding and endorsing crimes is a criminal offense completely off their trees these people he claimed the burd Aly suffered serious damage this weekend because anti-Semitism went too far and challenged no evidence of any anti-Semitism here the newspaper offers evidence such as calling for a ceasefire I repeat you cannot make the up you really can't calling for peace and an enter a war machine and violence that's anti-Semitism it gets so much worse the main targets of Germany's offensive against those who believe in human rights and equality for Palestinians and oppose their mass murder are Muslim citizens we'll talk about that but according to the researcher Emily dish Becker almost a third of those targeted by the German State whether through deep platforming or arrests are Jewish now as an article on this by Canan Malik and the Observer points out um so according to uh Suzanne neon who's a Jewish American uh philosopher and a director of the Einstein forum she says to be a leftwing Jew in today's Germany is to live in a state of per permanent cognitive dissonance German politicians and media talk incessantly about protecting Jews from anti-Semitism but many criticize hisra government and the war on Gaza have been canceled and certainly attacked I'm an Israeli Citizen and I've been accused of being a Hamas supporter and even a Nazi in mainstream media need I add that I am neither so what calling calling an Israeli Jewish person a Nazi in mainstream German media because they support peace is that atoning for the past as the Israeli born architect and academic elel Wiman has acidly put it is this is me quoting Ken Malik again talking about certain irony being lectured on how to be properly Jewish to be properly Jewish by the children and grandchildren of the perpetrators who murdered our families and who now dare to tell us that we are anti-semitic are they trying to Gaslight people to death here here's another example one Jewish woman again actually an Israeli for the record arrested arrested earlier this month for holding a sign inscribed with another Jew for a free Palestine a museum canceled an exhibition by Jewish artist Kanda Candis Brit after she spoke out over Gaza silencing and canceling G's for calling for peace washing Away The Sins of the past is it targeting GS with leftist inclinations including with police repression is the Absolution for Germany's really how was the disproportionate targeting of Jews and anti-Semitism I would know leftist Jews were particularly targeted in the runup to the rise of the Nazis obviously the Nazis killed and targeted all Jews but the claim of Jews being dangerous LEF is subversives was an important plank of anti-Semitism at the time the international Jewish bolit conspiracy Etc now you have German police attacking a Palestinian woman on film because he called her ridiculous well he clearly isid ridiculous a spot of police brutality definitely washing away the past here in Berlin high schools they've been ordered to distribute a leaflet describing the 1948 NABA the mass expulsion of Palestinians from their homes as a myth German cities have been Banning protests Palestinian Flags the Palestinian keia in Berlin a police officer stomped on candles for for a vigil for the dead of Gaza Banning protests silencing people authoritarianism is that atoning for the past a Palestinian author adania Shi had a ceremony for her award at the Frankfurt Book Festival indefinitely postponed now the German authorities tried to strangle State support for artists deemed to cross the extremely restrictive lines and criticizing Israel only backing down I would know after outrage meanwhile Rising discourse about the supposed anti-Semitism of Muslims has helped fuel already Rising bigotry and Prejudice towards the 5 and a half million German Muslims population we actually going to H bigotry against a minority which suffers high levels of discrimination and Prejudice is that atoning for the past it should be know that the berin Ali Instagram feed was hacked into and someone posted genocide is genocide we were all complicit condemning the silence make his complicit in Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing of Palestine it says after long internal discussions we've decided to finally shed the idea that German guilt absolves us of our country's history or our current crimes as a nation they go on to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire they had from our unresolved Nazi past to our genocidal present we have always been on the wrong side of history but it's not too late to change our future well that's Punchy isn't it and that's the point the far rights on the rise in Germany it is dangerous it's never been as powerful as it's been since the end of World War II it's on the rise because of the ab failures of the German establishment which itself is whipping up bigotry towards migrants and indeed Muslims which is helping legitimize the fire right and we can see what's happening here we can see what's happening here particularly in these arts and books and films and literature and performance spaces I know the brilliant author Vincent bans he was due to give a keynote address in Germany on his new book canceled again due to Pro Palestine posts on social media okay Germany if you want to respond to this racist and genocidal past with racism and support for genocide and intim ating and harassing those who stand against it disproportionate Jewish people as well as the disproportionately targeted minority of Germany Muslims as they are disproportionately targeted everywhere then we've got a responsibility to boycott all events in that country I mean this is a piss take I think we should seriously be talking about a just general boycott of any events in Germany and to call out Germany for what it's doing which is not making amends his history quite the opposite it's bringing the terrible Crimes of the German state right back to the four a reminder that we live in the shadow of what the German state did and that it is not atonement to support terrible crimes not least when you are forcing other people innocent people to pay for what your state did I'd love to hear your thoughts please like And subscribe do share this video um keep the show the road and patron.com Jo 84 and listen to the podcast of speeches

Channel: Owen Jones

Views: 180,275

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Id: MOJX9-9ubu8

Length: 13min 30sec (810 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 28 2024