Demonstration in solidarity with all Jews
Since the beginning of July we have been witnessing demonstrations against Israel that have often turned into open manifestations of anti-semitism, in Germany as well as in other European countries. Slogans like „jew, jew cowardly pig“ and „Hamas, Hamas, jews into the gas“ are just two of the many examples. The posters and symbols used on these demonstrations speak the same unmistakable language: for example „Stop the holocaust in Gaza“ placed beneath the Israeli flag, on which the Star of David had been replaced by a swastika.
During the course of protests against the escalation of the Gaza-conflict there have been numerous assaults on Jews, as well as attacks on synagogues. In Berlin several anti-semitic attacks have taken place. For example, on July 19th an Israeli couple was attacked at a Gaza-demonstration in central Berlin. This was followed by an attack on a man wearing a kippa, and therefore identifiable as a Jew, on the 24th of July in Berlin-Charlottenburg. Already on the 7th of July a man was attacked in Berlin-Tiergarten because he was wearing a cap with the Star of David on it. In Wuppertal, there was even an arson-attack on the local synagogue. Also throughout the rest of Europe anti-semitism is omnipresent. In 2012 in Toulouse and in 2014 in Brussels terrorist attacks on Jewish institutions were carried out, during which several people were killed. More recently, pogrom-like riots took place in Sarcelles, Paris, in the course of which a Jewish shop was burned down.
Such attacks result both from hatred towards Jews as well as the anti-semitic fiction, that Jews constitute a homogeneous collective which is responsible for the politics of the Israeli government. In this field, Islamist groups have been playing a major role, partly encouraged by anti-semitic invocations in mosques – for example, the words of imam Bilal Ismail, who prayed to Allah during a sermon in the Al-Nur-Mosque in Berlin on the 18th of July: „Destroy the Zionist Jews, they are no challenge for you. Count them and kill them to a man.“
When Joachim Gauck, the German president, talks of „imported anti-semitism“ in this context he ignores that anti-semitism was never thoroughly dealt with in German society after 1945. Instead, anti-semitism was a daily reality in both German states. This manifested itself, for example, in vandalism of Jewish cemeteries by neo-Nazis or in denial of the Holocaust. But because the German responsibility for the Holocaust (i.e. the mass murder of the European Jews) for a long time made it impossible to openly agitate against Jews in Germany, anti-semitism has frequently been expressed in reference to Israel. Letters from academics, which compare the Israeli actions against the Palestinians with the former Nazi-actions against the Jews, are an expression of this kind of anti-semitism. All too often, (not only) this form of anti-semitism is linked to conspiracy theories, that imagine a „Jewish worldwide plot“. Currently, this is visible at the so called „Montagsdemonstrations“, during which the speakers babble about „the power of the Rothschilds“. On the 4th of August, participants of the „Montagsdemonstration“ held a protest in front of the synagogue in the Oranienburger Straße in Berlin, demonstrating against Israeli policies. Nevertheless, anti-semitism is not a singularity of Neonazis or conspiracy theorists but part of the whole German society. Anti-semitism is present in columns of the „Süddeutsche Zeitung“, in caricatures of the „taz“, in comments of politicians from various parties and particularly in online-platforms. To some extent, leftist groups support these tendencies. The fact that in some places these groups even organised the demonstrations on which anti-semitic attacks took place is at fatal as the fact that most left-wing people remain silent despite the recent increase in anti-semitic attacks.
At the end of July the Central Council of Jews in Germany asked “Why isn't there a wave of sympathy with us Jews?“, and its chairman Dieter Graumann said that many Jewish people are alienated to such an extent that they are considering packing their bags and leaving Germany once again. Thereby he was referring to the huge wave of refugees during the time of National Socialism.
With a demonstration against anti-semitism we want to show solidarity with Jews and call everybody to manifest their sympathy.
We demand a society in which Jews don't have to fear attacks, in which no-one has to be afraid of wearing a Star of David or a kippa publicly. In short: we want a society in which everyone can be different without fear.
Solidarity-demonstration // 22th August, 2014 // 4 pm. // U-Bahn station Augsburger Straße For more information (in german): http://www.gemeinsamgegenantisemitismus.blogsport.de