Categories
Press Release

Additional Evidence Filed Against Booking.com for Profiting from Illegal Settlements 

On 18 December 2024, a consortium of civil society organisations submitted new evidence to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in support of their original criminal complaint against Booking.com B.V. The complaint, filed on 8 November 2023, accuses the company of laundering profits from activities in illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). With no substantive response from the Dutch authorities to date, this filing underscores how Booking.com has not only continued its operations in these settlements but has significantly expanded them. Evidence collected reveals that the number of listings in illegal settlements has risen sharply since the original complaint, particularly in East Jerusalem, where the number has risen from 13 to 39 within a year, from 9 November 2023 to 9 November 2024. 

In 2024, Israel has declared state ownership of at least 24,248 dunams (5994 acres) of West Bank land, marking the largest annual land seizure by Israel in the OPT ever recorded.1 On 25 June 2024, over 3,000 acres in the Jordan Valley were designated as state land, representing the largest single land grab in three decades.2 Between the filing of the original complaint and before the submission of the additional filing on December 18, 2024, Israeli authorities demolished 2,031 Palestinian-owned structures, including 149 inhabited residential buildings and 103 donor-funded structures, the highest numbers recorded since 2009.3 Plans for the establishment of eight new settlements in East Jerusalem with over 12,000 housing units have been advanced, reflecting an 86% increase in settlement construction approvals.4 These advancements are coupled with a 120% increase in home demolitions, which reports indicate constitute collective punishment against Palestinians.5  

In our complaint, we argue that by promoting and listing properties in illegal settlements, Booking.com directly supports the normalisation and economic sustainability of these unlawful practices. The company provides financial backing to settlers and their enterprises, furthering the displacement of Palestinians and solidifying settlement expansion. This conduct sustains Israel’s settler-colonial regime and violations of international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits population transfer into occupied territories. We have substantiated our claims thoroughly. For instance, the additional evidence builds on the July 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice, which reaffirmed the illegality of Israeli settlements and underscored the responsibility of states to prevent economic activities that perpetuate them.  

These violations demand urgent action. Booking.com’s response to our accusations confirms the urgency for intervention. The company has stated its intent to continue operations in the settlements unless explicitly prohibit§ed by domestic laws, asserting: “[…] we will permit listings anywhere in the world unless legally prohibited by the domestic laws […].” Failure to act risks sending a dangerous signal that profiting from and laundering the proceeds of war crimes will be tolerated, undermining international legal standards and justice for affected communities. Decisive action is long overdue. 


[1] Peace Now. Settlements data: Lands. Available at: https://peacenow.org.il/en/settlements-watch/settlements-data/lands

[2] CNN (2024). ‘Israel approves largest West Bank land seizure in three decades, rights group says’, 4 July.

[3] United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Breakdown of data on demolition and displacement in the West Bank. Available at: https://www.ochaopt.org/data/demolition

[4] Ir Amim (2024). East Jerusalem in the Shadow of the War: Acceleration of New Settlements Juxtaposed with a Stark Rise in Home Demolitions, April.

[5] United Nations (2024). Report of the Secretary-General A/79/347: Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the Occupied Syrian Golan.

Categories
Press Release

Legal Complaint Filed in Germany Against Axel Springer Over Yad2’s Promotion of Illegal Land Grabs in Palestine 

+ DEUTSCHE VERSION UNTEN

Berlin – November 27, 2024 

Five Palestinian plaintiffs, along with the villages of Iskaka, Marda, and Taybeh in the occupied Palestinian territory, represented by the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Centre (JLAC), have filed a landmark legal complaint against major German media publishing group Axel Springer S.E., alleging violations of German law on corporate due diligence obligations. The complaint accuses Axel Springer of contributing to land grabbing and human rights abuses in the occupied Palestinian territory through their Israeli subsidiary that operates the classified ads platform Yad2. According to JLAC, Yad2 facilitates the majority of real estate transactions in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, at a time when forced displacement, annexation, and Israeli settler violence have dramatically escalated. 

The legal action, which is supported by Law for Palestine (L4P), the European Legal Support Center (ELSC), and the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy (PIPD), under the Justice and Accountability for Palestine Initiative, signals a significant step toward holding international corporations accountable for their involvement in Israeli crimes against Palestinians. 

Allegations Against Axel Springer 

Drawing on investigative research first published by The Intercept in February 2024, the complaint alleges that Axel Springer failed to comply with German law on business due diligence. Specifically, the company is accused of facilitating the sale and rental of properties in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, through Yad2. Currently, Yad2 provides more than 5,000 offers of properties and plots of land in the West Bank including East Jerusalem, which is occupied and populated by Israel in violation of international law. This practice exacerbates and solidifies the forced displacement of Palestinians while reinforcing the unlawful annexation of their land. These activities must be viewed within the broader context of severe human rights violations against Palestinians. 

The filing is made on behalf of Palestinian plaintiffs whose lands and lives have been profoundly affected by the Israeli occupation and settlement enterprise, deemed unlawful, inter alia, by the International Court of Justice in July 2024.  

“Holding illegal settlements and all entities who facilitate their developments and expansion accountable, is essential for justice and peace. The Palestinian communities we represent in this case continue to suffer the dire consequences of Israel’s decades-long colonial expansion on their land, which amounts  to racial discrimination and apartheid as the ICJ ruled in July 2024.”  

Issam Aruri, JLAC’s General Director.  
 

Legal Context 

This complaint aligns with this year’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory. The ICJ explicitly reaffirmed the obligation of states to prohibit business activities that sustain Israel’s illegal occupation of the occupied Palestinian territory. The complaint against Axel Springer is seen as a first step to call on Germany, a UN member state, to fulfil these obligations. 

Corporate Responsibility 

The complaint accuses Axel Springer of violating the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, which since 2023 has required large German companies to address human rights risks in their supply chains and controlled subsidiaries. Public records suggest Springer actively manages its Israeli subsidiary that operates the Yad2 platform, failing to prevent its listings from facilitating land grabs that contribute to severe human rights violations, including violence, habitat destruction, restricted movement, as well as environmental harm. Some Palestinian complainants have already lost land, while others face imminent risk. They urge Germany’s Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) to impose interim measures halting Yad2’s real estate listings in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and to fine Springer up to 2% of its annual revenue, citing a recent Yad2 advertisement explicitly supporting Israeli control of the entirety of the West Bank. This legal action demands Axel Springer takes care that its subsidiary removes the listings and ceases business activities perpetuating these violations. 

“Palestinians are seeking to protect their land, the homes they live in, their existence with this very complaint,” says Robert Grabosch, one of the German lawyers supporting the case. “If BAFA establishes that Springer exercises decisive influence on the Yad2 business, I expect BAFA to order illegal listings of Palestinian land to be suspended or deleted from Yad2 within days. The German government has repeatedly stated that Palestinians’ sovereignty over their territory must be respected.” 

About  

Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Centre (JLAC), is an organisation that has formed a specialised niche by providing legal aid to vulnerable communities confronting human rights violations. JLAC has established itself as a key player in addressing critical issues, handling pro-bono legal cases related to house demolitions, forced displacement, land confiscation, and settler violence amongst other cases.  

The Justice and Accountability for Palestine Initiative is a Palestinian-led initiative composed of international legal practitioners and lawyers pursuing legal action against individuals and entities complicit in the crimes in Palestine and against the Palestinian people, including the genocide in Gaza. It is coordinated by the European Legal Support Center (ELSC), Law for Palestine (L4P), and the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy (PIPD).  

Press inquiries  

  • For general inquiries about the case [ EN/DE ] : The Justice and Accountability for Palestine Initiative communication@accountabilitypalestine.org  
  • For the plaintiffs and situation in Palestine [ EN/AR] : Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Centre (JLAC) info@jlac.ps  

Beschwerde in Deutschland gegen Axel Springer wegen Förderung illegaler Landnahme in Palästina durch Yad2 eingereicht 

Berlin – 27. November 2024 

Fünf palästinensische Beschwerdeführer sowie die Dörfer Iskaka, Tabyeh und Marda in den besetzten palästinensischen Gebieten – vertreten durch das Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Centre (JLAC) – haben eine richtungsweisende Beschwerde gegen die große deutsche Medienverlagsgruppe Axel Springer S.E. eingereicht. Darin werden Verstöße gegen die Sorgfaltspflichten des Unternehmens nach deutschem Recht dargelegt. Axel Springer wird vorgeworfen, über eine israelische Tochtergesellschaft, die die Kleinanzeigenplattform Yad2 betreibt, zu Landraub und andauernden Menschenrechtsverletzungen in den besetzten palästinensischen Gebieten beizutragen. Laut JLAC vermittelt Yad2 einen Großteil der Immobilientransaktionen im besetzten Westjordanland und in Ost-Jerusalem, während Zwangsräumungen, Aneignungen und Siedlergewalt dort weiter zunehmen. 

Die Beschwerde, die von Law for Palestine (L4P), dem European Legal Support Center (ELSC) und dem Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy (PIPD) mitunterstützt wird, ist ein wichtiger Schritt, um internationale Unternehmen für ihre Beteiligung an israelischen Verbrechen gegen Palästinenser zur Verantwortung zu ziehen. 

Vorwürfe gegen Axel Springer 

Auf der Grundlage investigativer Recherchen, die The Intercept im Februar 2024 erstmals veröffentlicht hat, wird Axel Springer vorgeworfen, gegen deutsche Gesetze zur Sorgfaltspflicht in Auslandsgeschäften zu verstoßen. Konkret wird dem Unternehmen angelastet, über Yad2, der israelischen Online-Plattform zum Verkauf und zur Vermietung von Immobilien im Westjordanland, einschließlich Ost-Jerusalem, beizutragen. Zum gegenwärtigen Zeitpunkt sind über diese Plattform über 5000 Angebote von Immobilien und Grundstücken in dem von Israel völkerrechtswidrig besetzten und besiedelten Westjordanland einschließlich Ost-Jerusalem eingestellt. Diese Praxis verschärft und verfestigt die Zwangsvertreibung von Palästinensern erheblich und verstärkt darüber hinaus die illegale Annexion ihres Landes. Diese Aktivitäten müssen vor dem Hintergrund schwerer Menschenrechtsverletzungen gegen Palästinenser verstanden werden. 

Die Beschwerde wird im Namen palästinensischer Beschwerdeführer eingereicht, deren Land und Leben durch die israelische Besatzung und Siedlungspolitik, die vom IGH im Juli 2024 als prinzipiell rechtswidrig eingestuft wurde, stark beeinträchtigt wurden. 

„Illegale Siedlungen und alle Einrichtungen, die ihre Entwicklung und Ausdehnung fördern, zur Rechenschaft zu ziehen, ist für Gerechtigkeit und Frieden in der Region unerlässlich. Die palästinensischen Gemeinschaften, die wir in diesem Fall vertreten, leiden weiterhin unter den schrecklichen Folgen der jahrzehntelangen kolonialen Expansion Israels auf ihrem Land, die Rassendiskriminierung und Apartheid gleichkommt, wie der IGH im Juli 2024 entschieden hat.” 

Issam Aruri, Generaldirektor von JLAC. 

Rechtlicher Kontext 

Diese Beschwerde steht im Einklang mit dem diesjährigen Gutachten des Internationalen Gerichtshofs (IGH) zu den rechtlichen Folgen der Politik und der Praktiken Israels in den besetzten palästinensischen Gebieten. Der IGH hat ausdrücklich die Verpflichtung der Staaten bekräftigt, Geschäftstätigkeiten zu verbieten, die die illegale israelische Besatzung der palästinensischen Gebiete unterstützen. Die Beschwerde gegen Axel Springer versteht sich als erster Schritt, Deutschland als UN-Mitgliedstaat dazu aufzufordern, diesen Verpflichtungen nachzukommen. 

Die Beschwerde wirft Axel Springer vor, gegen das Lieferkettengesetz (LkSG) zu verstoßen, das seit 2023 von größeren deutschen Unternehmen verlangt, Menschenrechtsrisiken in Lieferketten und Tochtergesellschaften zu vermeiden. Öffentliche Unterlagen deuten darauf hin, dass Springer einen bestimmenden Einfluss auf seine israelische Tochtergesellschaft Yad2 ausübt und nicht verhindert, dass Inserate auf Yad2 zur Zwangsräumung und zum Entzug von Land beitragen, womit auch weitere Menschenrechtsverletzungen, Gewaltanwendung, Bewegungseinschränkungen und Umweltschäden einhergehen.  

Einige palästinensische Beschwerdeführer haben bereits Land verloren, andere sind unmittelbar von Landraub gefährdet. Sie fordern das Bundesamt für Wirtschaft und Ausfuhrkontrolle (BAFA) dazu auf, einstweilige Maßnahmen zu ergreifen, um die Immobilienangebote von Yad2 im Westjordanland und Ostjerusalem zu stoppen. Sie fordern zudem, ein Bußgeld von bis zu 2 Prozent des Springer-Jahresumsatzes zu verhängen, zumal eine kürzlich geschaltete Yad2-Anzeige die israelische Kontrolle über das gesamte Westjordanland ausdrücklich unterstützt. Mit dieser Beschwerde wird Axel Springer aufgefordert, dafür zu sorgen, dass sein Tochterunternehmen diese Inserate entfernt und die Geschäftsaktivitäten einstellt, die den Landraub befördern. 

„Palästinenser versuchen mit dieser Beschwerde, ihr Land, ihre Häuser und ihre Existenz zu schützen“, sagt Robert Grabosch, einer der deutschen Juristen, die den Fall unterstützen. „Wenn das BAFA feststellt, dass Springer entscheidenden Einfluss auf die Geschäfte von Yad2 ausübt, rechne ich damit, dass es innerhalb weniger Tage anordnet, dass illegale Einträge palästinensischen Landes bei Yad2 deaktiviert oder gelöscht werden. Die Bundesregierung hat wiederholt erklärt, dass die Souveränität der Palästinenser über ihr Gebiet respektiert werden muss.“ 

Über  

Das Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Centre (JLAC) ist eine Organisation, die sich auf Rechtshilfe für gefährdete Gruppen spezialisiert hat, die gegen Menschenrechtsverletzungen ankämpfen. JLAC hat sich als wichtiger Akteur bei der Bewältigung kritischer Fälle etabliert und bearbeitet unter anderem Pro-Bono-Rechtsfälle im Zusammenhang mit Hauszerstörungen, Zwangsumsiedlungen, Landenteignungen und Gewalt durch Siedler. 

Die „Justice and Accountability for Palestine Initiative“ ist eine palästinensisch geführte Initiative, die sich aus internationalen Rechtspraktikern und Anwälten zusammensetzt. Sie leiten rechtliche Schritte gegen Einzelpersonen und Organisationen ein, die sich an den Verbrechen in Palästina und gegen das palästinensische Volk mitschuldig gemacht haben, einschließlich des Völkermords in Gaza. Sie wird vom European Legal Support Center (ELSC), Law for Palestine (L4P) und dem Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy (PIPD) koordiniert. 

Presseanfragen  

Für allgemeine Anfragen zum Fall [EN/DE] : The Justice and Accountability for Palestine Initiative communication@accountabilitypalestine.org  

Für die Kläger und die Situation in Palästina [EN/AR] : Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Centre (JLAC) info@jlac.ps 

Categories
Press Release

Shocking levels of state violence and repression in Germany: Palästina Solidarität Duisburg and Samidoun

GERMAN AND ARABIC BELOW

In the early morning hours of the 16th of May 2024, over 50 police officers raided the homes and workplaces of alleged members of the Palestine solidarity group Palästina Solidarität Duisburg (PSDU).  

The Ministry of Interior of the German state North Rhine-Westphalia had outlawed the group just shortly before the raids.  Minister Herbert Reul declared: “In many cases, solidarity with Palestine hides nothing other than hatred of Jews – as is the case with the organization that is now banned. We use all legal means at our disposal to dry up anti-Semitism and ideological support for terror.” 

Among its baseless accusations, the ministry declared the group’s call for a ‘‘Free Palestine from the river to the sea’’ would “de facto’’ be a call for the ‘‘annihilation’’ of the State of Israel. 

The shallow reasoning resulted in the confiscation of the association’s assets, the ban of all their internet presence and the criminalisation of the public display of symbols related to the association (§ 11 Absatz 3 des Strafgesetzbuches). While this is an outrageously shocking display of German state repression and authoritarianism, it is not an isolated case. The ministry of Interior of the German state North Rhine-Westphalia explicitly mentioned the German chapter of the Palestine Prisoner solidarity network Samidoun, which was criminalised in Germany in November 2023 by decree by Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. 

Members of the groups have been subjected to shocking levels of authoritarian state violence and repression. As such, they have repeatedly been threatened with financial penalties to prevent them from attending demonstrations “related to Palestine” following the raids during which members of PSDU and their families have been denied rights guaranteed under the German Penal Procedure code. They have been subjected to threatening intimidation, including threats to residency and citizenship status, lies and gross mockery by the police officers violating their intimate spheres.  

The police confiscated: flyers, stickers, buttons, pins, several flags and flagpoles, books and brochures, self-painted signs and posters, kuffiyehs, a loudspeaker system and a microphone, a megaphone, a pavilion, laptops and computers, cell phones, USB sticks and MP3 players as well as a few thousand euros in cash – including a large portion of private assets. 

Ahmad from PSDU states: “The police raids were accompanied by the Axel Springer press. Press teams were on site at the same time as the officials. In my opinion, this was a big show by the authorities to serve certain political interests. At a time when it is becoming increasingly difficult to justify German involvement in the genocide and support for the IOF’s terrorist actions, politicians need scapegoats to justify the repression and oppression of the Palestinian movement in Germany in order to continue trying to silence the Palestinian movement and voices against genocide and the barbaric violence of the Zionist occupation.” 

Germany’s descent into blatant authoritarianism 

The ban of the groups and the related raids are part of a larger ruthless state campaign to repress dissent and criminalise mobilisation against Israel’s ongoing genocidal onslaught on Gaza and Germany’s complicity. There are legal cases pending admission by the court against the ban itself, and against all raids as well.  

We are observing a worrying trend in Germany. Authorities are taking extra-legal, in many cases clearly illegal, measures to further repression against the Palestine solidarity movement and attempts to increase the criminalisation, fragmentation, and isolation of activists and activist groups.  

This seems to happen in collusion with German media. Right wing tabloids are now routinely publishing target lists and smear articles with names and employers of Palestine solidarity activists in Germany. These activists are then exposed to surveillance, raids, extreme police brutality and legal persecution. 

Politicians from Germany’s ruling coalition representing the social democrats (SPD), The Greens and the Liberal party (FDP) are constantly overbidding themselves in shockingly authoritarian and racist statements and moves competing with the largest opposition parties, the Christian democrats (CDU&CSU) and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). 

Attempts to criminalise the slogan “Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea”, with several instances dating back to as early as 2022, are ever-growing. At the time, the conference of interior ministers had declared that it would test and use all legal measures that allow a criminalisation of the use of the slogan to express Palestine solidarity.   

This political climate leads to almost completely unchecked escalation of state repression by the German authorities. While in many cases, the authoritarian instructions informing the executive are successfully challenged in court, the damage is usually already done. German politicians and German authorities and law enforcement units have not been held accountable for their unconstitutional decisions which continue and increase the violations of fundamental civic and human rights, often times with corporate complicity. There are next to no consequences. The German ministry of Interior is now pushing to allow the German Federal Police to raid homes in secret. 

Leon from PSDU commented: “An important aim of the repression is of course to intimidate us. And all I can say is they didn’t succeed! We both took legal action against the ban, and we use every opportunity and travel all over Germany to talk about the repression, about Palestine, about the genocide in Gaza and about the legitimate resistance of the Palestinian people. And we are pleased that other former PSDU comrades continue to be active and that other groups in Germany are not intimidated, continue and invite us to join them. 

The repression is also clearly calculated: it seeks to bleed us dry financially. The confiscations caused €25,000 in damages to a comrade and me alone, and we are required to pay around €8,000 in advance for the first instances. But this strategy isn’t working either: we are prepared to give our last penny for this fight. And we are experiencing great solidarity, and I am optimistic that we will be able to cover the costs and fight this battle.” 

We call for solidarity with PSDU and Samidoun, and urge to support the ‘’Komitee Gegen das Verbot von Palästina Solidarität D uisburg’’ which fights the ban of the group through legal and political means and collects donations to cover the legal costs. 
 
Sign this statement in support of Samidoun and the International Campaign Against Anti-Palestinian Repression in Germany here. For details on how to support Samidoun, see here.  


Schockierendes Ausmaß an staatlicher Gewalt und Repression in Deutschland: Palästina Solidarität Duisburg und Samidoun  

In den frühen Morgenstunden des 16. Mai 2024 durchsuchten über 50 Polizeibeamte die Wohnungen und Arbeitsplätze von mutmaßlichen Mitgliedern der Gruppe Palästina-Solidarität Duisburg (PSDU).  

Das nordrhein-westfälische Innenministerium hatte die Gruppe erst kurz vor den Razzien verboten. Minister Herbert Reul erklärte dazu: „Hinter der Solidarität mit Palästina verbirgt sich in vielen Fällen nichts anderes als Judenhass – so auch bei der jetzt verbotenen Organisation. Wir setzen alle rechtlichen Mittel ein, um Antisemitismus und ideologische Unterstützung des Terrors auszutrocknen’’.  

Eine haltlose Anschuldigung des Ministeriums: die Forderung der Gruppe nach einem „freien Palästina vom Fluss bis zum Meer’’ sei „de facto’’ ein Aufruf zur „Vernichtung’’ des Staates Israel.  

Diese schwache Argumentation führte zur Beschlagnahmung des Vermögens der Gruppe, zum Verbot ihrer gesamten Internetpräsenz und zur Kriminalisierung der öffentlichen Zurschaustellung von Symbolen der Vereinigung (§ 11 Absatz 3 des Strafgesetzbuches). Dies ist zwar ein schockierendes Beispiel für die Repression und den Autoritarismus des deutschen Staates, stellt aber in keinster Weise  einen Einzelfall dar. Das nordrhein-westfälische Innenministerium erwähnte ausdrücklich die deutsche Sektion des Solidaritätsnetzwerks für palästinensische Gefangene Samidoun, welche in Deutschland im November 2023 per Dekret von Bundesinnenministerin Nancy Faeser kriminalisiert wurde.  

Die Mitglieder der Gruppen sind in erschreckendem Maße autoritärer staatlicher Gewalt und Repression ausgesetzt. So wurden ihnen wiederholt Geldstrafen angedroht, um sie daran zu hindern, an Demonstrationen „mit Bezug zu Palästina“ teilzunehmen. Bei den Razzien wurden Mitgliedern von PSDU und ihren Familien die in der deutschen Strafprozessordnung garantierten Rechte verweigert. Sie waren Einschüchterungen, einschließlich der Bedrohung des Aufenthaltsstatus und der Staatsbürgerschaft, Lügen und groben Verhöhnungen durch die Polizeibeamten ausgesetzt, die in ihre tiefste Intimsphäre eindrangen.  

Die Polizei beschlagnahmte: Flugblätter, Aufkleber, Buttons und Anstecker, mehrere Fahnen und Fahnenmasten, Bücher und Broschüren, selbstgemalte Schilder und Plakate, Kuffiyehs, eine Lautsprecheranlage und ein Mikrofon, ein Megaphon, einen Pavillon, Laptops und Computer, Handys, USB-Sticks und MP3-Player sowie einige tausend Euro Bargeld – darunter ein großer Teil Privatvermögen.  

Ahmad von PSDU erklärt: „Die Polizeirazzien wurden von der Axel Springer Presse begleitet. Presseteams waren zur gleichen Zeit vor Ort wie die Beamten. Meiner Meinung nach war dies eine große Show der Behörden, um bestimmte politische Interessen zu bedienen. In einer Zeit, in der es immer schwieriger wird, die deutsche Beteiligung am Völkermord und die Unterstützung der terroristischen Aktionen der IOF zu rechtfertigen, brauchen Politiker Sündenböcke, um die Repression und Unterdrückung der palästinensischen Bewegung in Deutschland zu rechtfertigen und um weiterhin zu versuchen, die palästinensische Bewegung und die Stimmen gegen den Völkermord und die barbarische Gewalt der zionistischen Besatzung zum Schweigen zu bringen.” 

Deutschlands Abgleiten in eklatanten Autoritarismus  

Das Verbot der Gruppen und die damit verbundenen Razzien sind Teil einer größeren, schonungslosen staatlichen Kampagne zur Unterdrückung abweichender Meinungen und zur Kriminalisierung der Mobilisierung gegen Israel’s anhaltenden völkermörderischen Angriff auf Gaza und die deutsche Mitschuld daran. Gegen das Verbot selbst, aber auch gegen alle Razzien sind Klagen anhängig, die auf Zulassung von den Gerichten warten.  

Wir beobachten in Deutschland einen besorgniserregenden Trend. Behörden ergreifen extralegale, in vielen Fällen eindeutig illegale Maßnahmen zur weiteren Repression gegen die Palästina-Solidaritätsbewegung und versuchen, die Kriminalisierung, Zersplitterung und Isolierung von Aktivist:innen und Aktivist:innengruppen zu verschärfen.  

Dies scheint in Zusammenarbeit mit deutschen Medien zu geschehen. Rechtsgerichtete Boulevardzeitungen veröffentlichen nun routinemäßig Ziellisten und Hetzartikel mit Namen und Arbeitgeber:innen von Palästina-Solidaritätsaktivist:innen in Deutschland. Diese Aktivist:innen sind dann Überwachung, Razzien, extremer Polizeibrutalität und rechtlicher Verfolgung ausgesetzt.  

Politiker der deutschen Regierungskoalition aus Sozialdemokraten (SPD), Grünen und den Liberalen (FDP) überbieten sich ständig mit schockierend autoritären Äußerungen und Maßnahmen im Wettbewerb mit den größten Oppositionsparteien, den Christdemokraten (CDU&CSU) und der rechtsextremen Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).  

Gleichzeitig nehmen die Versuche zu, die Parole „Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea” zu kriminalisieren, wobei mehrere Fälle bereits in das Jahr 2022 zurückreichen. Zu dem Zeitpunkt hatte die Innenministerkonferenz erklärt, sie werde alle rechtlichen Maßnahmen prüfen und anwenden, die eine Kriminalisierung der Verwendung der Parole als Ausdruck der Palästina-Solidarität ermöglichen.   

Dieses politische Klima führt zu einer fast völlig unkontrollierten Eskalation der staatlichen Repression durch die deutschen Behörden. Zwar werden die autoritären Weisungen der Exekutive in vielen Fällen erfolgreich vor Gericht angefochten, doch der Schaden ist in der Regel bereits angerichtet. Deutsche Politiker:innen und deutsche (Strafverfolgungs-)behörden werden nicht für ihre verfassungswidrigen Entscheidungen zur Rechenschaft gezogen. Die Verletzung grundlegender Bürger- und Menschenrechte wird fortgesetzt und verstärkt, oft mit der Komplizenschaft deutscher Unternehmen. Es gibt so gut wie keine Konsequenzen. Das deutsche Innenministerium drängt nun darauf, der deutschen Bundespolizei heimliche Hausdurchsuchungen zu erlauben.  

Leon von PSDU kommentiert: „Ein wichtiges Ziel der Repression ist es natürlich, uns einzuschüchtern. Und ich kann nur sagen: Das ist ihnen nicht gelungen! Wir haben beide rechtliche Schritte gegen das Verbot eingeleitet und wir nutzen jede Gelegenheit und reisen durch ganz Deutschland, um über die Repression, über Palästina, über den Völkermord in Gaza und über den Widerstand des palästinensischen Volkes zu sprechen. Und wir freuen uns, dass andere ehemalige PSDU-Genoss:innen weiterhin aktiv sind und dass andere Gruppen in Deutschland sich nicht einschüchtern lassen, weitermachen und uns einladen, sich ihnen anzuschließen.  

Die Repression ist auch klar kalkuliert: Sie zielt darauf ab, uns finanziell auszubluten. Die Beschlagnahmungen haben allein bei einem Genossen und mir einen Schaden von 25.000 Euro verursacht, und für die ersten Instanzen müssen wir rund 8.000 Euro vorstrecken. Aber auch diese Strategie geht nicht auf: Wir sind bereit, unseren letzten Pfennig für diesen Kampf zu geben. Wir erleben eine große Solidarität. Ich bin optimistisch, dass wir die Kosten decken und diesen Kampf ausfechten können.” 

Wir rufen zur Solidarität mit PSDU und Samidoun auf und bitten um Unterstützung des „Komitee Gegen das Verbot von Palästina Solidarität Duisburg“, das mit juristischen und politischen Mitteln gegen das Verbot der Gruppe kämpft und Spenden zur Deckung der Prozesskosten sammelt.  

Unterzeichnet außerdem diese Erklärung zur Unterstützung von Samidoun und der Internationalen Kampagne gegen antipalästinensische Unterdrückung in Deutschland. Details zur finanziellen Unterstützung des Falls findet ihr hier.  



حملات عنف وقمع مروّعة ومفزعة من قبل الحكومة الألمانيّة: مجموعة التّضامن مع فلسطين في دويسبورغ وشبكة صامدون

في السّاعات الأولى من صباح يوم 61 مايو 4202، قام أكثر من 05 شرطيّ بمداهمة منازل وأماكن عمل أعضاء مجموعة التّضامن مع فلسطين في دويسبورغ (UDSP) على خلفيّة اشتباه الدّولة الألمانيّة فيهم.

قبل شنِّ هذه المداهمات بوقت قصير، قامت وزارة الدّاخليّة الألمانيّة في ولاية شمال الراين – وستفاليا بحظر كينونة وأنشطة المجموعة المذكورة، وقد أعلنَ الوزير هربرت رويل ما يلي: “في العديد من الحالات، لا يخفي التّضامنُ مع فلسطين في طيّاته إلاّ كراهيّةً تستهدفُ اليهود، كما هو حال المنظّمة التّي حُظرتْ أنشطتها في الوقت الحاليّ. نحن نلجأ إلى كلّ الوسائل القانونيّة المتاحة لنا للقضاء على أيّ شكل من أشكال دعم المعاداة الساميّة وإيديولوجيا الإرهاب”.

تستندُ الوزارة على اتّهامات بلا أساس وغير مبرّرة، من بينها إعلان أنّ دعوة مجموعة التّضامن مع فلسطين في دويسبورغ التّي تنصّ على “تحرير فلسطين من النّهر إلى البحر” ليست في الواقع العمليّ إلاّ دعوة إلى “إبادة” دولة إسرائيل.

بسبب هذا المنطق العدميّ والتّحليل السّطحيّ، تمّت مصادرة أصول الجمعيّة وحظر وجودها حظرًا تامًّا على شبكة الإنترنت، إضافةً إلى تجريم عرض رموزها في المساحات العامّة واعتبار أيّ مخالفة لذلك جرمًا (المادّة 11 من القانون الجنائيّ). رغم أنّ هذه الأمثلة تعتبرُ مرآةً تعكسُ بوضوح قمعَ واستبداد الحكومة الألمانيّة الشّنيع والمفزع، فهي ليست في حقيقة الأمر مجرّد حالة معزولة. لقد أشارت وزارة الدّاخليّة الألمانيّة في ولاية شمال الراين – وستفاليا بكلّ وضوح إلى الفرع الألمانيّ التّابع لشبكة التّضامن مع الأسرى الفلسطينيّين صامدون الذّي أصبح كيانًا غير قانونيّ في ألمانيا منذ شهر نوفمبر 3202 بموجب مرسوم صادرٍ عن وزيرة الدّاخليّة الألمانيّة، نانسي فيزر.

لقد كان أعضاء المجموعة عرضةً لمختلف أشكال العنف والقمع ذي الصّبغة الاستبداديّة المُروّعة التّي مارستها الحكومة الألمانيّة. على سبيل المثال، تعرّض هؤلاء مرارًا وتكرارً لتهديدات تنصّ على عقوبات ماليّة لمنعهم من حضور المظاهرات “المتعلّقة بفلسطين” وذلك في أعقاب المداهمات التّي حُرمَ خلالها أعضاء مجموعة التّضامن مع فلسطين في دويسبورغ (UDSP) وأفراد عائلاتهم من حقوقهم، رغم أنّها حقوق يضمنها قانون الإجراءات الجنائيّة الألمانيّ. علاوةً على ذلك، كانوا ضحيّة التّهديداتِ والتّرهيبِ، كالتّهديدات المتعلّقة بحقّ الإقامة والتّمتّع بالجنسيّة، كما استهدفتهم الأكاذيب والسّخريّة الفظّة من قبل أعوان الشّرطة الذّين انتهكوا خصوصيّتهم.

في هذا السّياق، قامت الشّرطة بمصادرة ما يلي: منشورات، ملصقات، أزرار، دبابيس، العديد من الأعلام وساريات الأعلام، كتب وكتيّبات، لافتات وملصقات مُخصّصة، كوفيّات، نظام تكبير الصّوت وميكروفون، مكبّر صوت، خيمة، حواسيب محمولة وأجهزة كمبيوتر، هواتف محمولة، وحدات ذاكرة (BSU)، مشغّلات 3PM، إضافةً إلى بضعة آلاف من اليورو نقدًا، وهي تتضمّن جُزْءًا كبيرًا من الأصول الخاصّة للمجموعة.

حسب أقوال أحمد من مجموعة التّضامن مع فلسطين في دويسبورغ (UDSP): رافق صحافيّو جريدة أكسل سبرينغر فرقة الشّرطة التّي شنّت المداهمات. لقد كانت فريق الصّحفيّين موجودًا على عين المكان في نفس وقت تواجد المسؤولين. في اعتقادي، يمثّل هذا السّيناريو استعراضًا واسع النّطاق من قبل السّلطات بغية خدمة مصالح سياسيّة معيّنة. خلال هذه الفترة الزّمنيّة التّي أصبح فيها من الصّعب أكثر فأكثر تبرير تورّط ألمانيا في الإبادة الجماعيّة ودعم الأعمال الإرهابيّة التّي ترتكبها قوّات الاحتلال الإسرائيليّ، يحتاج رجال السّياسة إلى كبش فداءٍ لتبرير التّضييق والقمع الذّي يستهدف الحركة الفلسطينيّة في ألمانيا لتمكينهم من مواصلة كتم صوت الحركة الفلسطينيّة والأصوات المناهضة للإبادة الجماعيّة وعنف الاحتلال الصّهيونيّ الهمجيّ”.

سقوط ألمانيا الذّاتيّ في الاستبداد الفاحش والمتمادي

إنّ حظر المجموعات والمداهمات المنظّمة في نفس السّياق هي جزْء لا يتجزّأ من حملة حكوميّة شرسةٍ ذات نطاق أوسع تسعى إلى قمع الرّأي المعارض وتجريم أنشطة التّعبئة التّي تندّدُ بالإبادة الجماعيّة المتواصلة على يد إسرائيل وبتواطؤ ألمانيا كذلك. وُجّهت دعاوى قانونيّة تنظر فتح تحقيقٍ من قبل الادّعاء العامّ الألمانيّ وهي شكاوى ضدّ الحظر و المداهمات المنظّمة أيضًا.

من الواضح أنّ ألمانيا تسلكُ اتّجاهًا مقلقًا ومحيّرًا، فالسّلطات تتّخذُ إجراءات وتدابير تتجاوز نطاق القانون. وفي الكثير من الحالات، تُعتبرُ هذه الإجراءات غير القانونيّة بتاتًا وسيلةً لتشديد القمع ضدّ حركة التّضامن مع فلسطين وزيادة محاولات تجريم وتفتيت شمل النّشطاء والنّاشطات والمجموعات النّاشطة وعزلهم.

يبدو أنّ كلّ هذه الأمور تحدثُ بتواطؤ من وسائل الإعلام الألمانيّة، فالصّحف الشّعبيّة ذات التّوجّه السّياسيّ اليمينيّ تنشرُ يوميًّا قوائمًا ذات أهداف معيّنة ومقالات تشهيريّة تتضمّن أسماء المسؤولين في حركة التّضامن مع فلسطين في ألمانيا والنّاشطين والنّاشطات فيها، ممّا يجعل هؤلاء عرضة لمراقبة الشّرطة، للمداهمات شديدة الوحشيّة، وللاضطهاد القانونيّ.

ما فتئ السّياسيّون من الائتلاف الحاكم في ألمانيا، أيْ الحزب الدّيمقراطيّ الاجتماعيّ (DPS) وحزب الخضر والحزب اللّيبيراليّ (PDF)، يبالغون بشكل مستمرّ في تصريحاتهم وتحرّكاتهم الاستبداديّة والعنصريّة مبالغةً صادمةً ويتنافسون مع أهمّ أحزاب المعارضة، أيْ حزب الدّيمقراطيّين المسيحيّين (USC&UDC)  وحزب البديل اليمينيّ المتطرّف لألمانيا (DfA). 

تشهدُ محاولات تجريم شعار “فلسطين حرّة من النّهر إلى البحر” المتعدّدة تفاقمًا واضحًا منذ بداية عام 2202، حيث أعلن مؤتمر وزراء الدّاخليّة حينها أنّه سيختبرُ ويلجأ إلى جميع التّدابير القانونيّة التّي تسمحُ بتجريم استخدام هذا الشّعار في أيّ سياق يسعى إلى التّعبير عن التّضامن مع فلسطين.

يؤدّي هذا المناخ السّياسيّ إلى تصعيد القمع الحكوميّ الذّي تمارسه السّلطات الألمانيّة وهو قمعٌ لا رقابة عليه إطلاقًا. في كثير من الحالات، يتكلّلُ الطّعن في الأوامر الاستبداديّة من قبل السّلطة التّنفيذيّة في جلسات المحاكم بالنّجاح، ولكنّه يأتي متأخّرًا، فهو في أغلب الأحيان نجاح لا ينفي حصول ضرر فعليّ مسبقًا. تظلّ القرارات غير الدّستوريّة لرجال السّياسة الألمان والسّلطات الألمانيّة ووحدات تنفيذ القانون دون محاسبةٍ ومتواصلةً، ممّا يزيد من انتهاكات الحقوق المدنيّة والإنسانيّة الأساسيّة. غالبًا ما تكون هذه الانتهاكات، التّي تكاد تكون دون عواقب، ممكنة بفضل تورّط وتواطؤ الشّركات والمؤسّسات. في الوقت الرّاهن، وزارة الدّاخليّة الألمانيّة تسعى جاهدةً إلى السّماح للشّرطة الفيدراليّة الألمانيّة بمداهمة المنازل سرًّا.

حسب شهادة ليون من مجموعة التّضامن مع فلسطين في دويسبورغ (UDSP): ” بطبيعة الحال، يُعتبرُ جوهر القمع وهدفه الرّئيسيّ ترهيبنا. كلّ ما أستطيع قوله هو أنّهم لم ينجحوا! لقد اتّخذ كلّ منّا إجراءات قانونيّة ضدّ الحظر، كمّا أنّنا نستغلّ كلّ فرصة ونتنقّل في جميع أنحاء ألمانيا للتّنديد بالقمع وللتّحدّث عن فلسطين وعن الإبادة الجماعيّة في غزّة وكذلك عن شرعيّة مقاومة الشّعب الفلسطينيّ. يُسعدنا أنّ رفاقًا سابقين من مجموعة التّضامن مع فلسطين في دويسبورغ (UDSP) يواصلون أنشطتهم كناشطين وناشطات وأنّ مجموعات أخرى في ألمانيا لا تستسلم للتّرهيب وتستمرّ في نشاطها وتدعونا إلى الانضمام إليها.

من البديهيّ أنّ اللّجوء إلى القمع استراتيجيّةٌ مدروسةٌ بشكل محنّك، بعبارة أخرى: استنزافنا ماليًّا. فقد تسبّبت عمليّات مصادرة ممتلكاتي وممتلكات رفيقي فقط في أضرار ماليّة تبلغ 52 ألف يورو. كما أنّنا مطالبون بدفع حوالي 8 آلاف يورو مسبقًا قبل حضور جلسات المحكمة الابتدائيّة. بيد أنّ هذه الاستراتيجيّة لم تنجح كذلك: إنّنا مستعدّون للتّضحية بآخر فلس في حوزتنا للكفاح. نحن نتمتّع بتضامن عظيم، لذا فأنا متفائل بأنّنا سنكون قادرين على تدبّر أمر التّكاليف وعلى خوض هذه المعركة”.

أمّا بعد، نحن ندعو إلى التّضامن مع مجموعة التّضامن مع فلسطين في دويسبورغ (UDSP) وشبكة صامدون ونحثّ على دعم لجنة مناهضة حظر مجموعة التضامن مع فلسطين – ديوسبورغ التّي تعمل على مكافحة حظر المجموعة من خلال وسائل وآليّات قانونيّة وسياسيّة وتجمعُ التّبرّعات لتغطية التّكاليف القضائيّة.

يرجى التّوقيع هنا على هذا البيان الدّاعم لشبكة صامدون و الحملة الدّوليّة المناهضة للقمع ضدّ الفلسطينيّين في ألمانيا. لمزيد من التّفاصيل حول كيفيّة مساندة صامدون، اطّلع على هذا الرّابط.


Categories
Press Release

Disclosed emails reveal Tory Minister’s secret personal request to cancel a Palestinian student’s visa

LONDON, 04 SEPTEMBER 2024: Disclosed emails reveal that the Government’s decision to cancel the visa of a 20-year-old Palestinian student from the UK was instigated personally by Robert Jenrick MP, the then Immigration Minister and a current Conservative leadership candidate.  

Following an interview Dana Abu Qamar gave to Sky News on 8 October 2023, in which she expressed support for the right of Palestinians to resist the illegal Israeli occupation in accordance with international law, Jenrick’s private secretary wrote to Home Office officials to indicate that “the Minister is interested in finding out about Dana Abu Qamarand to enquire whether it would be “possible to revoke her student visa”. The failure to follow any established referral process raises serious concerns about political influence in individual immigration decisions. 

On 1 December 2023, the Home Office cancelled Ms Abu Qamar’s student visa on the grounds that her presence in the UK was not ‘conducive to the public good’. Ms Abu Qamar is challenging that decision by way of a Human Rights Appeal in the First-Tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), with a substantive hearing listed for 26 – 30 September 2024. As part of the proceedings, the new Labour Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper MP, must now review the decision by 13 September 2024.   

The cancellation decision shows the remarkable lengths to which the Conservative Government used their powers to suppress Pro- Palestinian free speech, including describing ceasefire protests as ‘hate marches’ and calling on universities to refer student activists to Prevent.  Widespread repression of Palestine advocacy has further intensified in recent months with the systematic targeting of students, health care professionals and most recently of journalists.  

Since October 2023, Ms Abu Qamar has lost 22 members of her family in Gaza in the course of Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians. Her public statements during this time reflected the broader struggle of Palestinians under occupation. Since 2006, Israel has imposed a siege on Gaza, which has widely been recognised as unlawful under international law. Gaza has been illegally occupied by Israel since 1967, with approximately 80% of Palestinians in Gaza, including Ms. Abu Qamar’s paternal grandparents, being refugees or descendants of those expelled during the Nakba of 1948.  

Ms Abu Qamar is being supported by the European Legal Support Centre (ELSC). 

Tasnima Uddin of the European Legal Support Center (ELSC) said

“For a government minister to personally and arbitrarily intervene to remove a Palestinian student from the country and suppress her speech while her family is being killed in Gaza is truly unconscionable.  

Despite Jenrick’s previous statements about the importance of protecting freedom of expression, he seems perfectly comfortable suppressing speech when it comes to Palestine solidarity, seemingly for ideological purposes and political gains. 

Dana Abu Qamar said: 

The media portrayal of Palestinians and their supporters, often encouraged by the rhetoric of the British government, has too often been influenced by wilful misinformation and misunderstanding of the context of the conflict. This has led to unfair perceptions and mischaracterisations of support for Palestinian resistance. At no point, nor would I ever, condone or advocate for violence committed against civilians. In such challenging times, it is even more important to uphold the principles of lawful freedom of expression to ensure the voices of the Palestinian people, who are living under an illegal occupation, can be heard and understood within the bounds of legality and respect for international humanitarian law.

To be targeted by a Government minister, outside of the established process, for speaking on behalf of a people subjected to such atrocities feels not only unjust – but an attempt to suppress and silence my rights for political reasons and gains.

Support Dana Abu Qamar and Defend Free Speech in our Universities!
We Must Act Now! 

Categories
Press Release

Next trial in the attempted criminalisation of the slogan “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea” in Germany 

The case of Daria

On 22nd August 2024, activist Daria will face her first hearing at the Berlin court Amtsgericht Tiergarten. She is accused of  ‘circulation of symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organisations’ (§ 86 StGB) for chanting the slogan “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea” at a demonstration on the 9th of March 2024. 

Her case does not stand in isolation. Rather, it is one of many that are challenging the attempted criminalisation of the slogan ‘’Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea’’ by German authorities. This attempt clearly constitutes a political move to control and repress the Palestine solidarity movement in Germany as a whole. 

ELSC Lawyer Nadija Samour is representing Daria at the trial. Nadija Samour comments:  

‘’This is an attack on the freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and stands on a shaky legal basis. However, this is a highly political case, the court might seek to forward the case to a higher court by imposing a financial penalty on Daria in this first instance. We will then definitely appeal and expect to win at a higher tribunal.” 

A similar trial had recently raised international attention. Here, a Berlin court sentenced an activist to a fine for chanting ‘Palestine will be free from the river to the sea’ at a demonstration against racism in German schools. The court argued that because the demonstration happened on October 11th, using this slogan would constitute a criminal offence, referring to the ‘endorsement of criminal acts’.  

‘’Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea’’ is a call for Palestinian liberation and an end to genocidal settler-colonialism, apartheid, land grabbing and other forms of systematic oppression of the Palestinian people since at least 1948. Israeli officials regularly reiterate the colonial logic to annihilate Palestinian existence on the land between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean Sea, the historic Palestine.  

In the past, German authorities have protected far right Israeli activists using the slogan “From the river to the sea” as a call for Israeli supremacy and the annihilation of Palestine on multiple occasions.  

At the same time, attempts to criminalise the slogan “Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea”, with several instances dating back to as early as 2022, are ever-growing. At the time, the conference of interior ministers had declared that it would test and use all legal measures that allow a criminalisation of the use of the slogan to express Palestine solidarity.  

This led to shocking levels of authoritarian state repression, as Daria explains: 

 ”The risk of a penalty fine is obviously not the most relevant consequence here. Police are using the quite severe offence charges to justify brutal violence against protestors. In the past few months, dozens of people have been beaten to a state of unconsciousness during police crackdowns and had to be hospitalized with severe injuries; some have had their homes raided just for saying “From the river to the sea”.  

The criminalisation of the slogan is clearly an attempt to generate consent for the persecution of the Palestine solidarity movement and ultimately for the genocide in Palestine. More broadly, it is used to cement racist stereotypes and white supremacist mentality in the German societal consciousness. This is meant to pave the way for more fascistic politics, like the practical annulment of human rights for refugees, the police occupation of non-white neighbourhoods and 

 the overall militarisation of police at the cost of defunding education and social services, just to name a few examples.  

The persecution of the Palestine solidarity movement is not an isolated phenomenon but is part of a large-scale fascisation of this country and Europe as a whole, which will be affecting everybody soon enough. Very telling that the German public, of all countries, doesn’t care to recognise where this leads to.” 

German authorities have only been expanding their alarmingly violent measures to suppress the Palestine solidarity movement. German Federal Minister of Interior Nancy Faeser, for instance, has declared the slogan illegal and punishable as a crime with a prison sentence of up to three years by decree in November 2023, but it is usually punished with a fine upon conviction.  

In May 2024, the German Federal Ministry of Justice reiterated Nancy Faeser’s decree and declared the slogan to be a ‘’Hamas slogan’’ and therefore punishable. Merely days after this declaration, the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia banned the group Palestine Solidarity Duisburg over alleged support for Hamas for the group’s use of the slogan. This resulted in several raids of the homes of activists in May 2024.  

The German ministry of Interior is further preparing a draconian migration law, which would effectively end free speech for nationals in Germany who do not carry the citizenship and pave the way for extensive online surveillance of migrants.  

The German parliament seems unwilling to prevent these developments and is preparing a declaration which calls for extensive state repression of anyone vaguely expressing Palestine solidarity through criminalisation, but also through cutting cultural funding and interfering in academic research. 

While much of the repression against the Palestine solidarity movement is issued on a German Federal level, the ruling Government of Germany’s capital Berlin has been particularly eager to press for even more authoritarian measures. The absurd and ineffectual ban of red triangles has raised eyebrows recently. Of outmost concern should be the push to remove students from universities in Berlin, effectively denying the right to education based on political grounds, specifically with relation to Palestine solidarity. 

Nevertheless, attempts to criminalise the slogan have been pushed back against successfully at German courts before. In June 2024, a court in Munich granted a demonstration the right to express the slogan. 

Activists will now accompany Daria’s trial with a rally in front of the courthouse on Thursday August 22 starting at 9:00 am. At a previous hearing in a different case on August 6, a huge group had gathered in support When the defendant left the court, dozens shouted in solidarity: From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. 

For press inquieries, please contact Karim Bohnhoff karim@elsc.support


Der Fall von Daria:

Nächster Prozess zur versuchten Kriminalisierung der Parole „Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea“ in Deutschland  

Am 22. August 2024 findet die erste Verhandlung gegen die Aktivistin Daria vor dem Berliner Amtsgericht Tiergarten statt. Ihr wird die „Verbreitung von Kennzeichen verfassungswidriger und terroristischer Organisationen“ (§ 86 StGB) vorgeworfen, weil sie bei einer Demonstration am 9. März 2024 die Parole „Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea“ skandiert hat.  

Das ist kein Einzelfall. Vielmehr steht der Fall in einer Reihe ähnlicher Versuche deutscher Behörden zur Kriminalisierung der Parole „Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea“. Diese Versuche sind ein eindeutig politisch-motiviertes Manöver zur Kontrolle und Unterdrückung der Palästina-Solidaritätsbewegung in Deutschland.  

Die ELSC-Anwältin Nadija Samour vertritt Daria in dem Prozess. Nadija Samour kommentiert:  

“Dies ist ein Angriff auf die Meinungs- und Versammlungsfreiheit und steht auf einer wankenden Rechtsgrundlage. Da es sich jedoch um einen hochpolitischen Fall handelt, könnte das Gericht versuchen, den Fall an ein höheres Gericht weiterzuleiten, indem es Daria in erster Instanz eine Geldstrafe auferlegt. Wir werden dann auf jeden Fall in Berufung gehen und erwarten, dass wir vor einem höheren Gericht gewinnen werden. ” 

Ein ähnlicher Prozess hat vor kurzem internationales Aufsehen erregt. Ein Berliner Gericht verurteilte hierbei einen Aktivisten zu einer Geldstrafe, weil er bei einer Demonstration gegen Rassismus an deutschen Schulen „ Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea“ skandierte. Das Gericht argumentierte, dass die Verwendung dieses Slogans eine Straftat darstelle. Da die Demonstration am 11. Oktober stattfand, kurz auf den 7. Oktober, wä­re die Verwendung des Slogans als „Befürwortung von Straftaten“ zu verstehen.  

Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea” ist ein Aufruf zur Befreiung Palästinas und zur Beendigung des völkermörderischen Siedlerkolonialismus, der Apartheid, des Landraubs und anderer Formen der systematischen Unterdrückung des palästinensischen Volkes seit mindestens 1948. Israelische Beamte bekräftigen regelmäßig die koloniale Absicht, die palästinensische Existenz im gesamten Land zwischen Jordan und Mittelmeer, dem historischen Palästina, zu vernichten.  

In der Vergangenheit haben deutsche Behörden mehrfach rechtsextreme israelische Aktivist:innen geschützt, die den Slogan „Vom Fluss zum Meer“ als Aufruf zur israelischen Vorherrschaft und zur Vernichtung Palästinas verwendeten.  

Gleichzeitig nehmen die Versuche zu, die Parole „Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea“ zu kriminalisieren, wobei mehrere Fälle bereits in das Jahr 2022 zurückreichen. Zu dem Zeitpunkt hatte die Innenministerkonferenz erklärt, sie werde alle rechtlichen Maßnahmen prüfen und anwenden, die eine Kriminalisierung der Verwendung der Parole als Ausdruck der Palästina-Solidarität ermöglichen.  

Dies führte zu einem schockierenden Ausmaß an autoritärer staatlicher Repression, wie Daria erklärt:  

”Das Risiko eines Bußgeldes ist hier offensichtlich nicht die härteste Konsequenz. Die Polizei rechtfertigt mit den Strafanzeigen brutale Gewalt gegen Demonstrant:innen. In den letzten Monaten wurden Dutzende bei Polizeirazzien bis zur Bewusstlosigkeit geprügelt und mussten mit schweren Verletzungen ins Krankenhaus eingeliefert werden. Bei einigen wurden Hausdurchsuchungen durchgeführt, nur weil sie „Vom Fluss zum Meer“ gesagt hatten.  

Die Kriminalisierung des Slogans ist eindeutig ein Versuch, Zustimmung zur Verfolgung der Palästina-Solidaritätsbewegung und letztlich zum Völkermord in Palästina zu mobilisieren. Im weiteren Sinne dient sie dazu, rassistische Stereotypen und White Supremacy-Denkweisen im deutschen gesellschaftlichen Bewusstsein zu zementieren. Damit soll der Weg für weitere faschistische Politik geebnet werden, wie die praktische Aufhebung der Menschenrechte für Geflüchtete, die polizeiliche Belagerung nicht-weißer Stadtviertel und die allgemeine Militarisierung der Polizei auf Kosten von Bildungs- und Sozialleistungen zeigen, um nur einige Beispiele zu nennen.  

Die Verfolgung der Palästina-Solidaritätsbewegung ist kein Einzelphänomen, sondern Teil einer großflächigen Faschisierung dieses Landes und Europas insgesamt, die schon bald alle betreffen wird. Es ist sehr bezeichnend, dass ausgerechnet die deutsche Öffentlichkeit nicht erkennen will, wohin das führt.“  

Die deutschen Behörden haben ihre erschreckend gewalttätigen Maßnahmen zur Unterdrückung der Palästina-Solidaritätsbewegung nur noch ausgeweitet. So hat Bundesinnenministerin Nancy Faeser die Parole im November 2023 per Erlass für illegal erklärt, die als Straftat mit einer Freiheitsstrafe von bis zu drei Jahren geahndet werden soll, wobei es bei einer Verurteilung jedoch in der Regel zu einer Geldstrafe kommt. 

Im Mai 2024 bekräftigte das deutsche Bundesjustizministerium den Erlass von Nancy Faeser und erklärte die Parole zu einer „Hamas-Parole“ und damit zu einer strafbaren Handlung. Nur wenige Tage nach dieser Erklärung verkündete das Bundesland Nordrhein-Westfalen das Verbot der Gruppe Palästina-Solidarität Duisburg wegen angeblicher Unterstützung der Hamas vor dem Hintergrund ihrer Verwendung der Parole. Dies führte im Mai 2024 zu mehreren Hausdurchsuchungen bei den Aktivist:innen

Zudem bereitet das deutsche Innenministerium ein drakonisches Migrationsgesetz vor, welches die freie Meinungsäußerung für nicht-deutsche Staatsangehörige in Deutschland effektiv beendet und den Weg für eine umfassende Online-Überwachung von Migrant*innen ebnet. 

Das deutsche Parlament scheint nicht gewillt zu sein, diese Entwicklungen zu verhindern. Stattdessen bereitet es eine Erklärung vor, in der umfassende staatliche Repressionen gegen jede Person gefordert werden, die auch nur vage  Palästina-Solidarität zum Ausdruck bringt. Diese beinhaltet Kriminalisierung, sowie auch die Streichung von Kulturförderung und Einschnitte in akademische Freiheiten.  

Während ein Großteil der Repressionen gegen die Palästina-Solidaritätsbewegung auf bundesdeutscher Ebene erfolgt, hat die Berliner Landesregierung Berlin besonders eifrig auf noch autoritärere Maßnahmen gedrängt. Das absurde und nicht umsetzbare Verbot der roten Dreiecke hat etwa in letzter Zeit für Stirnrunzeln gesorgt. Besonders besorgniserregend ist das Gesetz, welches es erlaubt Student:innen von Berliner Universitäten zu exmatrikulieren und ihnen das Recht auf Bildung aus politischen Gründen, insbesondere im Hinblick auf Palästina-Solidarität, zu verweigern.  

Einige Versuche die Parole zu kriminalisieren, wurden jedoch in der Vergangenheit vor deutschen Gerichten erfolgreich abgewehrt. Im Juni 2024 sprach ein Gericht in München einer Demonstration das Recht zu, die Parole zu rufen.  

Aktivist:innen werden Darias Prozess mit einer Kundgebung vor dem Gerichtsgebäude am Donnerstag, den 22. August ab 9:00 Uhr begleiten. Bei der Anhörung in einem anderen Fall am 6. August hatte sich eine große Gruppe zur Unterstützung versammelt. Als die Angeklagte den Gerichtssaal verließ, wurde sie von Dutzenden solidarisch begrüßt, und es erklang der laute Sprechchor: Palestine will be free from, the river to the sea.

Categories
Case Update

Court Victory against corporate complicity in Germany’s authoritarianism 

In June 2024 Berlin Appellate Court ruled that the freezing and cancellation of the association Jüdische Stimme für gerechten Frieden in Nahost – EJJP Deutschland e. V. / Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East – EJJP Deutschland e. V.‘s bank account by the partly state-owned bank Berliner Sparkasse was illegal. Jüdische Stimme is a non-profit, independent Jewish association acting as the German branch of the umbrella organisation “European Jews for a Just Peace” (EJJP). 

Ahmed Abed, the lawyer representing Jüdische Stimme stated: 

“In a gross violation of the terms of agreement and general civil law, the bank had frozen the association’s account on short-notice and cancelled their contract in March 2024. The bank argued that the business relationship with Jüdische Stimme could harm its reputation and a cancellation was necessary due to money laundering and terror-financing laws, to which the court found no basis whatsoever.” 

The decision of the bank to move against the human rights activist group needs to be understood in the context of the unprecedented authoritarian crack-down against the Palästina Kongress in Berlin. Palästina Kongress was planned as an assembly of Palestinian, Jewish, German and international voices calling for an end of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and denouncing Germany’s complicity. It was ultimately prevented from taking place in an illegal attack by German authorities with heavy police presence. Jüdische Stimme had previously administered donations for the Palästina Kongress via their bank account. In a statement following the bank’s cancellation of its account, Jüdische Stimme hinted at pressure by the German police that had repeatedly harassed the group, after the bank demanded a complete list of all the group’s members. 

Moreover, German security agencies evidently used a range of extralegal measures to repress and shut down the congress. Their shameful actions include intimidating venues to pressure them not to host the event, preventing speakers from attending, including through issuing travel bans such as in the case of Ghassan Abu-Sittah, and not least the raid that ultimately stopped the congress. 

German authorities are clearly acting outside of the law and are actively encouraged by increasingly authoritarian politicians. For instance, Germany’s minister of interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) had openly pressured the Berlin police to ”crack down hard” on the Kongress, and Berlin’s mayor Kai Wegener (CDU) declared: ”It is intolerable that a so-called Palestine Congress will take place in Berlin”. 

Corporate complicity 

German officials don’t necessarily need to resort to openly announcing illegal orders, they can often rely on corporate complicity. This is not the first time an unhinged misinformation campaign by German media and German authorities led to a cancellation of Jüdische Stimme’s bank account. 

This is part of a broader phenomenon known as derisking, where financial institutions limit or terminate business relationships to avoid perceived risks. This practice has notably increased in cases involving Palestinians and Palestinian organisations, reflecting a wider pattern of financial exclusion. Beyond account closures and freezing, derisking often includes blocking transactions and other financial services, all with the ultimate goal of hindering the flow of funds towards the Palestinian cause and Palestinian civil society. Such actions are part of a concerted effort to economically isolate and disempower entities associated with Palestinian advocacy. Jüdische Stimme’s experience is a vivid example of this larger context, where financial strategies are used to marginalise and stifle support for Palestinian rights.  

Berliner Sparkasse, the bank that has now been ordered by the court to reopen Jüdische Stimme’s bank account, has repeatedly demonstrated and continues to demonstrate their anti-Palestinian commitment. While it claims to celebrate and foster ”ethnic diversity in Berlin”, it hosts bank accounts of the far right Alternative für Deutschland Party as well as the Neo-Nazi Party Die HEIMAT and the Israeli lobby group ELNET. 

Furthermore, the state of Israel has recently thanked the bank for posting an Israeli propaganda message through all their ATMs.  Berliner Sparkasse also collected donations for the organisation Jüdisches Forum für Demokratie und gegen Antisemitismus e.V. (Jewish Forum for Democracy and against anti-Semitism), which surveils Palestinians in Germany, targets them with smearing and regularly engages in racist, anti-Palestinian incitement such as Nakba denial

Article VI of the Genocide Convention specifies that legal “persons” (including corporations) may be held liable for genocidal acts. Dr. Irene Pietropaoli, expert in Business and Human Rights at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law recently stated: “These companies and their managers risk charges of complicity in genocide and other international crimes in their home States or international courts. Banks and other financial institutions that finance companies selling arms or other military supplies to the Israeli military or that provide funds directly to the Israeli State may also be contributing to the commission of genocide in Gaza.” 

We will continue to call out and take legal action against corporate complicity in the ongoing genocide in Palestine and Germany’s authoritarianism. 


DEUTSCH 

Sieg gegen die Komplizenschaft deutscher Unternehmen und dem Autoritarismus des deutschen Staates 

Im Juni 2024 entschied das Kammergericht Berlin, dass die Sperrung und Löschung des Kontos des Vereins Jüdische Stimme für gerechten Frieden in Nahost – EJJP Deutschland e. V. durch die teilstaatliche Berliner Sparkasse rechtswidrig war. Die Jüdische Stimme ist ein gemeinnütziger, unabhängiger jüdischer Verein, der als deutscher Zweig der Dachorganisation “European Jews for a Just Peace” (EJJP) agiert. 

Ahmed Abed, der Anwalt der Jüdischen Stimme, erklärte: 

“Unter grobem Verstoß gegen die Vertragsbedingungen und das allgemeine Zivilrecht hatte die Bank das Konto des Vereins kurzfristig gesperrt und den Vertrag zum März 2024 gekündigt. Die Bank argumentierte, dass die Geschäftsbeziehung mit der Jüdischen Stimme ihrem Ruf schaden könnte und eine Kündigung aufgrund von Geldwäsche- und Terrorfinanzierungsgesetzen notwendig sei, wofür das Gericht keinerlei Grundlage fand.” 

Die Entscheidung der Bank, gegen die Menschenrechtsgruppe vorzugehen, ist im Zusammenhang mit dem beispiellosen autoritären Vorgehen gegen den Palästina Kongress in Berlin zu verstehen. Der Palästina Kongress war als eine Versammlung palästinensischer, jüdischer, deutscher und internationaler Stimmen geplant, die ein Ende des israelischen Völkermordes in Gaza forderten und die Mitschuld Deutschlands anprangerten. Er wurde schließlich durch einen illegalen Angriff der deutschen Behörden unter einem enormen Polizeieinsatz verhindert. Die Jüdische Stimme hatte zuvor über ihr Bankkonto Spenden für den Palästina-Kongress verwaltet. In einer Erklärung nach der Kündigung des Kontos durch die Bank deutete die Jüdische Stimme an, dass die Bank von der deutschen Polizei unter Druck gesetzt worden sei, nachdem die Bank eine vollständige Liste aller Mitglieder der Gruppe verlangt hatte. Die Gruppe wurde wiederholt von der deutschen Polizei schikaniert. 

Darüber hinaus haben die deutschen Sicherheitsbehörden offensichtlich eine Reihe von extralegalen Maßnahmen ergriffen, um den Kongress zu unterdrücken und zu beenden. Zu ihren beschämenden Maßnahmen gehören die Einschüchterung von Betreibern von Veranstaltungsräumen, um sie unter Druck zur Ausladung der Veranstaltung zu treiben, das Verhindern der Teilnahme von Redner*innen, auch durch die Verhängung von Reiseverboten wie im Fall von Ghassan Abu-Sittah, und nicht zuletzt die Razzia, die den Kongress schließlich beendete. 

Die deutschen Behörden handeln eindeutig außerhalb des Gesetzes und werden von zunehmend autoritären Politikern aktiv ermutigt. So hatte die deutsche Innenministerin Nancy Faeser (SPD) die Berliner Polizei offen gedrängt, “hart gegen den Kongress vorzugehen”, und der Berliner Bürgermeister Kai Wegener (CDU) erklärte: “Es ist unerträglich, dass in Berlin ein so genannter Palästina-Kongress stattfindet”. 

Komplizenschaft der Unternehmen 

Deutsche Beamte müssen nicht unbedingt offen illegale Anordnungen verkünden, sie können sich oft auf die Komplizenschaft von Unternehmen verlassen. Es ist nicht das erste Mal, dass eine gezielte Desinformationsskampagne deutscher Medien und deutscher Behörden zur Streichung des Bankkontos der Jüdischen Stimme geführt hat. 

Dies ist Teil einer größeren Entwicklung, die als “Derisking” bekannt ist und bei der Finanzinstitute Geschäftsbeziehungen einschränken oder beenden, um vermeintliche Risiken zu vermeiden. Diese Praxis hat insbesondere in Fällen zugenommen, in denen Palästinenser*innen und palästinensische Organisationen betroffen sind, was ein systematisches Phänomen der finanziellen Ausgrenzung darstellt. Neben der Schließung und dem Einfrieren von Konten umfasst das Derisking häufig auch die Sperrung von Transaktionen und anderen Finanzdienstleistungen mit dem Ziel, den Fluss von Geldern für die palästinensische Sache und die palästinensische Zivilgesellschaft zu behindern. Solche Maßnahmen sind Teil einer konzertierten Aktion zur wirtschaftlichen Isolierung und Entmachtung von Organisationen, die sich für die palästinensische Sache einsetzen. Die Vorgänge rund um die Jüdischen Stimme sind ein eindringliches Beispiel für dieses Phänomen, dem Einsatz finanzieller Unterdrückung, um die Unterstützung für die Rechte der Palästinenser*innen an den Rand zu drängen und zu behindern. 

Die Berliner Sparkasse, welche nun vom Gericht angewiesen wurde, das Konto der Jüdischen Stimme wieder zu öffnen, hat wiederholt ihr antipalästinensisches Engagement unter Beweis gestellt und tut dies auch weiterhin. Während sie behauptet, die “ethnische Vielfalt in Berlin” zu zelebrieren und zu fördern, führt sie Bankkonten der rechtsextremen Partei Alternative für Deutschland sowie der Neonazi-Partei Die HEIMAT und der israelischen Lobbygruppe ELNET. 

Außerdem hat sich der Staat Israel kürzlich bei der Bank dafür bedankt, dass sie an allen Geldautomaten eine israelische Propagandabotschaft ausgestrahlt hat. Die Berliner Sparkasse sammelte auch Spenden für die Organisation Jüdisches Forum für Demokratie und gegen Antisemitismus e.V., die Palästinenser*innen in Deutschland überwacht, sie gezielt verleumdet und regelmäßig rassistische, antipalästinensische Hetze wie die Leugnung der Nakba betreibt. 

Artikel VI der Völkermordkonvention legt fest, dass juristische “Personen” (einschließlich Unternehmen) für völkermörderische Handlungen haftbar gemacht werden können. Dr. Irene Pietropaoli, Expertin für Wirtschaft und Menschenrechte am Britischen Institut für internationales und vergleichendes Recht , erklärte kürzlich: “Diese Unternehmen und ihre Manager riskieren, in ihren Heimatstaaten oder vor internationalen Gerichten der Komplizenschaft bei Völkermord und anderen internationalen Verbrechen angeklagt zu werden. Banken und andere Finanzinstitute, die Unternehmen finanzieren, die Waffen oder andere militärische Güter an das israelische Militär verkaufen, oder die dem israelischen Staat direkt Gelder zur Verfügung stellen, tragen möglicherweise ebenfalls zum Völkermord in Gaza bei.” 

Wir werden auch weiterhin die Komplizenschaft von Unternehmen mit dem anhaltenden Völkermord in Palästina und dem deutschen Autoritarismus anprangern und rechtliche Schritte dagegen einleiten. 


.العربية

انتصار قضائي في مواجهة التواطؤ المؤسسي مع الاستبداد الألماني

في يونيو 2024، أصدرت محكمة برلين حكمًا يُبطل قرار بنك شباركاسه (المملوك جزئيًا من الدولة) تجميد وإلغاء حساب منظمة “الصوت اليهودي من أجل السلام العادل في الشرق الأوسط” – “يوديشه شتيمه” EJJP ألمانيا. تُعد “يوديشه شتيمه” منظمة يهودية مستقلة غير ربحية، وهي الفرع الألماني للمنظمة الأم “يهود أوروبيون من أجل سلام عادل”.

صرّح المحامي أحمد عابد، الذي يمثل “يوديشه شتيمه”:

“في انتهاك صارخ للقانون المدني وشروط الاتفاق، جمد البنك حساب المنظمة بشكل فوري وألغى عقدها في مارس 2024. برر البنك هذا الإجراء بأن العلاقات التجارية مع “يوديشه شتيمه” قد تضر بسمعته، وأن الإلغاء كان ضروريًا بموجب قوانين مكافحة غسل الأموال وتمويل الإرهاب، وهي ادعاءات لم تجد المحكمة لها أي أساس على الإطلاق.”

قرار البنك بالتحرك ضد مجموعة حقوقية ناشطة يجب أن يُفهم في سياق الحملة القمعية الشرسة التي استهدفت مؤتمر فلسطين في برلين. كان من المفترض أن يكون هذا المؤتمر منبرًا للأصوات الفلسطينية واليهودية والألمانية والدولية التي تطالب بوقف الإبادة الجماعية الإسرائيلية في غزة وتدين التواطؤ الألماني. إلا أن السلطات الألمانية، في هجوم غير قانوني مترافق مع حضور مكثف للشرطة، منعت انعقاد المؤتمر. كانت “يوديشه شتيمه” تدير التبرعات لصالح المؤتمر عبر حسابها البنكي، وبعد إلغاء الحساب، أشارت المنظمة إلى ضغوط من الشرطة الألمانية التي كانت قد طالبت بالقائمة الكاملة لأعضاء المجموعة.

علاوة على ذلك، استخدمت وكالات الأمن الألمانية إجراءات قمعية غير قانونية لإغلاق المؤتمر. تضمنت هذه الإجراءات ترهيب الأماكن المحتملة لاستضافة المؤتمر للضغط عليها لمنع الحدث، ومنع المتحدثين من الحضور، بما في ذلك إصدار حظر سفر كما حدث مع الطبيب غسان أبو ستة، وأخيراً المداهمة التي أوقفت المؤتمر.

تصاعد النزعة الاستبدادية في المشهد السياسي الألماني يشجع السلطات على التصرف خارج إطار القانون. على سبيل المثال، مارست نانسي فيزر (SPD)، وزيرة الداخلية الألمانية، ضغوطًا علنية على شرطة برلين “لتتصرف بصرامة” تجاه المؤتمر، بينما صرّح عمدة برلين، كاي فيجنر (CDU)، قائلاً: “من غير المقبول أن يُعقد ما يسمى بمؤتمر فلسطين في برلين.”

التواطؤ المؤسسي

المسؤولون الألمان لا يحتاجون للإعلان عن الأوامر غير القانونية علنًا، بل يعتمدون في كثير من الأحيان على التواطؤ المؤسسي لتنفيذها. وليست هذه المرة الأولى التي تؤدي فيها حملة التضليل المنظمة من الإعلام والسلطات الألمانية إلى إغلاق حساب “يوديشه شتيمه”، بل إنها جزء من ظاهرة أوسع تعرف باسم “تقليل المخاطر” (derisking)، حيث تقوم المؤسسات المالية بإنهاء أو تقليص العلاقات التجارية لتجنب المخاطر المحتملة. وقد تفاقمت هذه الظاهرة بشكل ملحوظ في الحالات المتعلقة بالفلسطينيين والمنظمات الفلسطينية، مما يعكس نمطًا واسعًا من الإقصاء المالي.

تشمل إجراءات “تقليل المخاطر” تجميد الحسابات وحجب المعاملات والخدمات المالية الأخرى بهدف عرقلة تدفق الأموال إلى القضية الفلسطينية والمجتمع المدني الفلسطيني. هذه الإجراءات جزء من جهد منسق لعزل وإضعاف الكيانات التي تدافع عن الحقوق الفلسطينية. تجربة “يوديشه شتيمه” هي مثال حي لهذا السياق الأوسع، حيث تُستخدم الاستراتيجيات المالية لتهميش ودحر دعم الحقوق الفلسطينية.

بنك برلينر شباركاسه، الذي أُمر الآن بإعادة فتح حساب “يوديشه شتيمه”، قد أظهر مراراً التزامه بسياسات مناهضة للفلسطينيين. في الوقت الذي يدّعي فيه شباركاسه تعزيز “التنوع العرقي في برلين”، يحتفظ بحسابات بنكية لحزب “البديل من أجل ألمانيا” اليميني المتطرف وحزب النازيين الجدد ”دي هايمات” ومجموعة الضغط الإسرائيلية “إلنِت”. علاوة على ذلك، شكرته دولة إسرائيل مؤخرًا على نشره رسائل دعائية عبر أجهزة الصراف الآلي الخاصة به، كما جمع تبرعات لمنظمة “المنتدى اليهودي للديمقراطية ومكافحة معاداة السامية”، التي تستهدف الفلسطينيين في ألمانيا بـ التشهير والتحريض العنصري وإنكار النكبة.

تنص المادة السادسة من اتفاقية منع جريمة الإبادة الجماعية والمعاقبة عليها على أن “الأشخاص” القانونيين (بما في ذلك الشركات) قد يتحملون المسؤولية عن أعمال الإبادة الجماعية. وقد صرحت مؤخرًا الدكتورة إيرين بيتروبولي، خبيرة في مجال الأعمال وحقوق الإنسان في المعهد البريطاني للقانون الدولي والمقارن، بأن “هذه الشركات ومديريها يخاطرون بتلقي تهم التواطؤ في الإبادة الجماعية وجرائم دولية أخرى سواء في دولهم الأصلية أو أمام المحاكم الدولية. البنوك والمؤسسات المالية التي تمول الشركات التي تبيع الأسلحة أو المعدات العسكرية الأخرى للجيش الإسرائيلي أو التي توفر أموالًا مباشرة للدولة الإسرائيلية قد تكون شريكة في ارتكاب الإبادة الجماعية في غزة.”

سوف نستمر في فضح ومقاضاة التواطؤ المؤسساتي في الإبادة الجماعية الجارية في فلسطين والاستبداد الألماني.

Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: July 2024

Dear friend,

In the past month, we’ve fought some crucial battles and secured a number of victories, which we bring to you in this month’s newsletter, along with some useful resources to continue mobilising for Palestine.

VICTORIES

NETHERLANDS: A VICTORY AGAINST ANTI-PALESTINIAN RACISM IN THE WORKPLACE 

The Dutch Human Rights Board (College voor de Rechten van de Mens) ruled that software company Speakap discriminated against N. A., an IT specialist from Gaza, when it fired him for condemning Israel’s crimes on LinkedIn. N. A. reached out to the ELSC, and we connected him with lawyer Şeyma Arikan. The Human Rights Board found that Speakap directly discriminated against N. A. based on political affiliation. This decision is an important step towardsholding companies accountable that silence and deploy punitive measures against employees speaking out for Palestine. 

BRITAIN UPDATE: KAMNA PATEL RESIGNS FROM UKRI 

ELSC proudly supported Dr Kate Sang of Heriot-Watt University, and Kamna Patel of UCL, throughout the UKRI’s shameful suspension and investigation procedure, which was concluded in March 2024.

Last month, in June 2024, Dr Patel resigned as Chair of UKRI’s Expert Advisory Group on equality, diversity and inclusion, taking a firm stance against the UK government’s authoritarian attacks on academic freedom and shameful attempts to silence dissenting voices. She writes:

I’m mindful that in all this what is lost are my original words (misquoted by the Secretary of State), which I said from a deep sense of civic responsibility and rooted in postcolonial scholarship – there is an ongoing genocide and practice of apartheid against Palestinians, a reference to a 76-year project of elimination by the Israeli state, now taking a most deadly turn. Since the Secretary of State’s claim these words constitute “extreme views”, the International Court of Justice concluded genocide of Palestinians in Gaza is a plausible risk, a view supported by renowned scholars of genocide, including Israelis. To this I add, it is emboldened by disgraceful efforts by the UK government to silence all dissent, including those rooted in scholarship and evidence. Over the past few months, we have seen the playbook of lobbing unfounded allegations and stoking an investigation into anybody critical of the Israeli state’s policies as a sufficient action to malign and silence them, irrespective of any evidence underpinning the charge or the outcome of any investigation. It is to this playbook that you have (been) played.

Dr Patel resigned

Together with BRISMES Campaigns and London Region UCU Reps, we put together a toolkit for higher education employees in Britain. If you work at a university in Britain and have questions about your rights, or concerns when advocating for Palestine, this guide will offer some helpful answers!

STUDENTS IN AMSTERDAM GOT THEIR SANCTIONS WITHDRAWN

In February 2024, Amsterdam University College (AUC) imposed sanctions (including suspension and formal warnings) on six students for their involvement in Palestine student protests on campus. The Public Interest Litigation Project (PILP) and ELSC assisted these students with sending objections to the university’s management. AUC has now informed the students that all sanctions have been withdrawn. This is an important move for the broader student movement. Freedom to demonstrate and freedom of expression do not stop at the entrance to the university building!


ONGOING CASES YOU CAN SUPPORT

LLOYDS CASE UPDATE: EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNAL

We are proud to have supported prominent activist Michel Legrand (President of ECCP and treasurer of CPJPO) in his case creating a promising precedent for the freedom of speech of Palestinian rights defenders in Luxembourg.

We are proud to be supporting Afra Sohail and Aunngbeen Khalid, who are now standing their ground at the Employment Tribunal. The hearings will continue until 17 July. Follow us for more updates on the hearings soon

OUR COLLECTIVE PUSH BACK AGAINST THE DEFUNDING OF PALESTINIAN ORGANISATIONS AND THEIR ALLIES 

One of our missions at ELSC is to support organisations whose funding is cut or restricted. Together with EuroMed Rights we provide an insight into the European context in a new FAQ published on our website

The defunding of Palestinian organisations is a deliberate tactic to suppress Palestinian voices and shield Israel from accountability for its genocidal onslaught on Gaza and continuous attacks against Palestinian life and land. We at ELSC are committed to monitoring the working of this tactic and supporting defunded Palestinian organisations. If you’ve faced similar issues, contact us elsc.support/intake

BOOKING: MAJOR ORGANISATION TERMINATES ITS BOOKING.COM SPONSOR DEAL 

Last month, the COC, the oldest interest group for the LGBTI+ community in the world, has officially terminated its Booking.com sponsor deal, due to Booking.com’s continued profiteering from illegal Israeli settlements.

Amplify on X & Instagram 

Your support of our legal action, along with other recent initiatives to raise awareness against Booking.com’s illegal practices, has had a notable impact, and the pressure on Booking.com is mounting. Together we can end the corporate impunity and complicity with Israel’s colonial enterprise

NO MORE WEAPONS FOR GENOCIDE: FURTHER LEGAL ACTION AGAINST GERMANY’S WAR WEAPONS DELIVERIES TO ISRAEL

The Lawyers Collective (Anwält:innenkollektiv) supported by the European Legal Support Center (ELSC), Law for Palestine, Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy (PIPD) and  Forensis (Forensic Architecture Berlin) has paved the way for further legal action against Germany’s deliveries of war weapons to Israel. We will now dedicate our resources to prevent Germany from illegally selling weapons to Israel. 

Using legal avenues implies huge financial costs for the solidarity movement. Legal fees are unfortunately infamously sky high; we ask you to please consider putting aside whatever amount you’re able to contribute to the steadfast movement’s efforts to hold Germany accountable. Funds raised will be used to cover court and lawyer fees amongst other administrative costs related to how the case progresses.

Share on X & Instagram 

HELP US BUILD OUR MONITOR DATABASE

All forms of repression that are reported to us helps us in developing our legal and communication strategies to defend the Palestine solidarity movement. Your story is important, we cannot allow these patterns of repression to be normalised. Let’s expose those responsible for our repression and hold them accountable together!


SUPPORT THE LEGAL AID FUND

Setting up a small monthly donation to our legal aid fund can go a long way to ensure ELSC’s stability and security at this critical time where we face an unprecedented all-time-high number of repression cases. We cannot do this alone and we need your help to continue supporting the movement! 

As a member of our community of supporters, you will also get early access to ELSC volunteer opportunities and community events and an opportunity to brainstorm with us in the future about how to scale up the ELSC and better serve the Palestine solidarity movement.Click here to join our community of supporters with a monthly contribution! 


MORE VICTORIES FOR THE MOVEMENT

MORE AND MORE CITIES CUTTING TIES

Last month, new localities made steps to comply with their obligations to uphold international law. Following the City Council of Bologna, the Legislative Assembly of the Emilia-Romagna Region also voted for the adoption of an ethical procurement policy to exclude contracts with companies involved in violations of human rights and international law. This paves the way to target companies complicit in Israel’s genocidal onslaught on Gaza and its crimes all over Palestine.

The Municipality of Copenhagen cut ties with companies involved in Israeli settlements, including Booking.com, Expedia Group and Airbnb. Mayor Sophie Haestorp Andersen stated: “As a large investor, we have a responsibility for things like human rights. That’s why I don’t think we should invest in companies that have to do with illegal settlements.” 

Lasty, the Province of Utrecht decided not to award their profitable contracts to Dutch company EBS Public Transportation. ELSC, among others – including BDS activists – had called on the province to cut such ties because of the involvement of its parent Israeli company (Egged) in serious human rights abuses in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.


ELSC IN THE MEDIA

Widespread media coverage on our criminal complaint against Booking.com continues, with a recent piece published by ABC News Australia where our Senior Legal Officer Daan recalls that colonies established in the West Bank are war crimes and that Booking.com is profiting from war crimes by listing accommodations in these settlements: “So our argument is that any money derived from those settlements is also indirectly derived from those war crimes”.

Our Monitor Project Officer for Germany Tobias provided research and commentary on the policing of solidarity with Palestine during the Euros 2024.

One of our Germany lawyers and expert on migration law, Alexander Gorski, talks about the most recent developments in Germany’s racist legislation and their implications with regards to surveillance and attacks on freedom of expression. Read more about it in German here, and here.

Share the related AlarabyTV reportage on X 


ELSC EVENTS

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS SESSION AT UNIVERSITY OF MILAN 

In June, we held our first ‘Know You Rights’ session in Italy at the university of Milan. Two lawyers from our legal network provided Palestine solidarity activists with advice on how to protect themselves from increasing repression as they continue to mobilise for divestment and an end to complicity with Israel’s most recent genocidal onslaught on Gaza and the ongoing colonisation of Palestine.  

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS SESSION WITH STUDENTS IN BERLIN  

Together with three lawyers from our Solidarity Lawyers Network in Berlin, we organised a Know Your Rights Session with about 40 students mobilising at universities in Berlin. We provided legal advice and strategies to collectively move against the growing repression of student activism in Germany.  

COMMUNITY EVENT IN BERLIN  

We held our second Berlin Community Event on Saturday, 22nd June, at Haus der Demokratie, to collectively reflect on the current political context and to think through strategic collaborations and needed priorities for the ELSC to effectively support the Palestine solidarity movement in Germany. The event was attended by over 50 activists including student activists, journalists, and movement lawyers.

At our event this year we also presented our unique, extensive Monitoring Database on anti-Palestinian repression across Europe which is soon to be launched. In the past years, our Monitor Team has collected, documented and exposed forms of repression, policies, legislation and case law related to the criminalisation of the Palestine solidarity movement in Europe. 

PALESTINE SOLIDARITY ONLINE  

Watch our Germany Senior Legal Officer Nadija speak at the United Nations about the intensifying repression against Palestine solidarity in the country and the importance of continued collective mobilisation (12min40):  

……….

Our Senior Legal Officer Kiran and Advocacy & Communications Manager Alice gave a workshop to the “community of practice” of Systemic justice where we presented our work and our vision for Movement lawyering in the context of the Palestinian struggle for liberation


USEFUL RESOURCES

GERMANY: RESOURCES OF SUPPORT AGAINST FINES & TRIALS  

If you are facing fines or trials for speaking out and mobilising for Palestine, here are some organisations that you can reach out to for support! Resources include free legal advice, open consultation hours for people experiencing racial profiling and racist police violence, contacts with lawyers in solidarity, trial support or financial aid. You are not alone in this, and we will not let the state repression get us down.   

For more recourses of support, get in touch with Palestine at the Forefront: Fighting Repression in Germany

BRITAIN: PROTESTING AT UNIVERSITY? Here’s what you need to know

Video
SHARE & MOBILISE

EXPOSING TIES BETWEEN THE FILM INDUSTRY AND THE ISRAELI STATE & MILITARY 

Camera4Palestine, a film industry initiative investigating links between the film industry and the Israeli state, has published a new report, which investigates the international supply routes for Israeli state propaganda. Read More


CALLS FOR APPLICATIONS

Would you like to join our team? We are currently seeking an Advocacy & Communications Officer for the Netherlands. The deadline for applications is 18 July 2024. For more details about the position and how to apply, please follow the link below!  

Our comrades at The Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy (PIPD) are seeking an Advocacy & Campaigning officer. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Find out more here

We are proud to be in community with you. As you continue to organise and take action, make sure to visit our Know Your Rights resources and continue to report any form of repression

In solidarity,   

Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: April 2023

Dear friend,

Today, as we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the ongoing Nakba, we want to reaffirm our unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people fighting for justice, liberation and return. 

Don’t forget to sign up to our newsletter!


CASE UPDATES

TIME TO ACT! 3 WEEKS LEFT UNTIL THE HEARINGS AGAINST ONE OF THE UK’S BIGGEST BANKS

22 days left until the hearings in which Lloyds employees Affy and Aliya will face the financial giant in court! The two women are fighting Lloyds’ discriminatory treatment after the bank sanctioned them for speaking out in support of Palestinian rights. 

It is only with your help that we have managed to reach this far, meeting almost 50% of our fundraising goals to cover the fees for this important legal battle! Join us in reaffirming Affy and Aliya’s hope and unity as they embark on the last three weeks before resisting this violation of their rights in court!  

Help us reach our £30K goal to support the two brave women standing up against one of the UK’s biggest banks. 

📣 SHARE on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook 📣


VICTORY IN THE UK: TRADE UNION ACTIVIST REINSTATED AFTER BEING SUSPENDED FOR UNFOUNDED ACCUSATIONS OF ANTISEMITISM

In November 2021, Victor, an advocate for Palestinian rights and trade union activist was suspended as a trade union representative for allegedly posting antisemitic comments online. The alleged incriminating messages were largely about criticism of the policies of the state of Israel by former Labour Party members and included a reference to Palestinian revolutionary and poet Ghassan Kanafani.

In support of its decision to suspend Victor as senior representative, the union referred to an ‘expert opinion’ authored by a person known for his pro-Israel stance. After our lawyers rebutted the controversial opinion by submitting our own expert opinion, exposing the bias and proving that the allegations against our client were unfounded, we managed to get Victor reinstated and rehabilitate his reputation inside the respective trade union. After a significant period of suspension, following the internal hearing in September 2022, Victor was immediately reinstated to his elected and appointed positions with immediate effect. Action pays off! 

SHARE THIS VICTORY!


LUXEMBOURG CRIMINAL COURT UPHOLDS FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION OF PALESTINIAN RIGHTS DEFENDER 

We are proud to have supported prominent activist Michel Legrand (President of ECCP and treasurer of CPJPO) in his case creating a promising precedent for the freedom of speech of Palestinian rights defenders in Luxembourg.


⚖️ Will you help us win more cases? ⚖️

Consider a monthly donation to the ELSC. Every donation, no matter how small or large, makes a difference.


INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY

OPEN LETTER TO THE UNITED NATIONS: RESPECT HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST ANTI-SEMITISM 

More than 100 civil society organisations, including the ELSC, signed an open letter to Secretary-General António Guterres and the High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Ángel Moratinos, initiated by Human Rights Watch

Read more about this important action on Middle East Eye 


ELSC EVENTS

ITALY: ELSC ORGANISED EVENT ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION & THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN PALESTINE

On the 18th of April, the ELSC with the support of VoiceOver Foundation and PIPD organised a conference on “Shrinking spaces, freedom of expression and the protection of human rights in Palestine” at the University of Milan. We were glad to be joined by Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian occupied territories.  

It was a key opportunity to develop critical thinking on the Palestinian narrative in Italy. Thanks to our speakers, we had the chance to explore issues related to the censorship of Palestinian voices and the increasing limitation of the space for those who support Palestinian rights and action.

SEE MORE HERE


ELSC PARTICIPATES IN THE 2023 PALESTINE DIGITAL ACTIVISM FORUM

We are excited to join 7amleh’s 2023 Palestine Digital Activism Forum! Our colleague Alice Garcia will facilitate a session on 24 May 2023, discussing how to push back against smear campaigns and racist speech against Palestinians and supporters of the cause. Register today!


ELSC ONLINE

ELSC gave an interview following censorship in Austria

Our colleague Layla Kattermann spoke to Salma Shaka about the intensifying attacks against Palestinian rights advocates in Europe, after the Museumsquartier Vienna cancelled an event with BDS Austria and the ELSC

ELSC gave two interviews on the #NakbaDay arrests in Berlin in May 2022 and the new bans in April 2023 

Our colleague Safaa Moussa spoke to Perspektive Online about the #NakbaDay arrests in Berlin last May, when the Berlin Police detained and fined dozens of individuals for walking in the street and peacefully showing solidarity with Palestine following a city-wide ban on commemorations of the 74th anniversary of the Nakba. 

Especially with regard to Palestine, there is an increasing tendency to impose restrictions, the illegality of which is then repeatedly established by the courts.

The Berlin police continues to ban Palestinian protests this year, and this criminalisation of speech and right to protest is already underway in other German cities. In light of the 75th commemoration of the Nakba, the ELSC has reaffirmed its solidarity with the nakba_75 campaign that is fighting to end Germany’s attempts to criminalise solidarity with Palestine.


USEFUL RESOURCES

30+ U.S. states have compromised the First Amendment of the Constitution to shield Israel from accountability, paving the way for an attack on climate action, gun control, reproductive rights, & more. Learn how the attack on the #RightToBoycott in the U.S. started and how it is evolving in this new visual from Visualizing Palestine with Palestine Legal and Just Vision Media, featuring 443 anti-boycott bills introduced since 2014 at the state and federal level.

Just Vision has produced the free accessible movie Boycott, which provides rich context on the rapid spread of anti-boycott bills in the United States. The film follows the personal journeys of three protagonists as they defend freedom of expression and lays bare what is at stake if they are defeated: the constitutionally protected right to boycott.  


BRILL has published Landmark Al-Haq book, “Prolonged Occupation and International Law” on Palestinian Land Day.  


Read Rasha Jundi’s article on resisting the systemic silencing of Palestinian voices in Germany. A portrait on collective anger and hopes for a future of justice and freedom:

Cacti have traditionally surrounded Palestinian lands. They remain silent witnesses of depopulated villages and to the continued colonisation of our home. They symbolise beauty, continuation and tough resistance. When one Palestinian voice is raised, it echoes and spreads like cacti. It shall never be silenced. In spite of forces like those in Germany.


Remember to follow the ELSC on social media and amplify our work!

If you are interested in empowering the Palestine solidarity movement in Europe, we welcome your one-time or monthly donations to the ELSC. For any inquiries, contact us at info@elsc.support.

If you would like to put your skills (whether legal, editing, artistic, communications, or any other skills) at the service of our movement in support of Palestinian rights advocates, please contact us at info@elsc.support.

Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: March 2023

Dear friend,

We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people facing mass repression. As Europe carries on with its concerted efforts to silence Palestine, the movement perseveres, and we nonetheless have victories to report!

Don’t forget to sign up to our newsletter!


UK UPDATES: WOMEN CHALLENGE REPRESSION IN COURT

NEW CASE: WE ARE TAKING LLOYDS BANK TO COURT TO PROTECT PALESTINIAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY!

Two Muslim women, Affy and Aliya are suing their employer Lloyd’s Bank, one of the UK’s biggest banks, for discrimination. In May 2021, both posted statement in support of Palestine on the bank’s internal chat for employees. Affy and Aliya were investigated and subsequently sanctioned for breaching the bank’s policies on discrimination, harassment, abusive and offensive content. In addition to unimaginable consequences for their personal and professional lives, they both lost their annual bonuses and received written warnings that could remain on their records indefinitely while Affy lost a prestigious graduate role.

The ELSC launched a crowdfunding campaign to help both employees cover the costly legal fees of their lawsuit against Lloyds.

We need at least £30 000 to support Affy and Aliya in Court!

Join our fight against all types of racism and support Affy and Aliya’s claim by sharing this campaign across all platforms! 

📣 SHARE on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Linkedin 📣


SHAIMA DALLALI RESISTING NUS DISMISSAL

Following Shaima Dallali’s summary dismissal from her role as President of the National Union of Students (NUS) after an investigation accusing her of antisemitism based on her beliefs concerning the Palestinian struggle, she is now taking legal action!

In bowing to political pressure, the NUS has undermined its own commitment to anti-racism, including the fight against antisemitism, and has abandoned its duty of care to its elected President Shaima Dallali. She has been subjected to the most intense public scrutiny and horrifying abuse, including death threats.

The ELSC signed a joint statement with other organisations in the UK to condemn Shaima Dallali’s dismissal by the NUS.

Read more about the NUS repressing Palestine advocacy here


DR SHAHD ABUSALAMA CONTINUES THE FIGHT AGAINST THE REPRESSION FROM SHIEFFIELD UNIVERSITY
 
Dr Shahd Abusalama has been countlessly targeted with intensified anti-Palestinian smears by pro-Israel groups, outlets, and social media trolls, which culminated after her enrolment at Shieffield Hallam University (SHU).
 
After successfully fighting two investigations and the suspension of her teaching, SHU launched a third investigation. Dr Shahd Abusalama was cleared but decided to leave this hostile environment.
 
The fight now continues as SHU decided to violate Shahd’s employment rights and disclosed misleading information to the pro-Israel ‘Jewish Chronicle’, which instigated a further round of brutal smears in the media. Dr Shahd Abusalama is fighting back and pursuing legal action to hold SHU accountable!

SUPPORT SHAHD’S ESSENTIAL FIGHT

As a Palestinian woman, I want to be able to articulate my story and political views without being harassed and subject to discrimination. But this is not just my lawsuit. With this legal fight, we will make sure that no other individual faces persecution or harassment for their legitimate beliefs from our employers. This case will challenge systemic issues, including the oppressive IHRA definition, the rights of workers to fair treatment, and legitimate protest and free expression.

Shahd


NEWS FROM GERMANY

DR ANNA YOUNES’ SURVEILLANCE CASE: THE FIGHT CONTINUES WITH TWO NEW LAWSUITS

On 2 November 2022, exactly three years after she discovered RIAS’ covert surveillance of her activities and after two legal victories, German Palestinian scholar Dr Anna Younes launched two new lawsuits. She requests the Administrative Court of Berlin to find the preparation and transmission of the secret dossier on her unlawful, and acknowledge that RIAS/MBR’s surveillance and false labelling of Dr Younes as an anti-Jewish racist violated her right to privacy and right to reputation. In addition, she requests compensation for the ensuing harm inflicted by RIAS/MBR for over two years.

Read more about the case and watch this video.

⚖️ Donate to support Dr Younes in her legal battle as she reclaims her rights in court ⚖️


DEUTSCHE WELLE CASE: THE FIGHT GOES ON

After the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) fired seven Arab journalists in February 2022 based on allegations of antisemitism, we witnessed two victories last year as the dismissals of Maram Salem and Farah Maraqa were found unlawful.
 
A year later, on 24 February 2023, journalist Zahi Alawi also won his lawsuit! A Labour Court found his dismissal by DW unlawful and ordered his reinstatement. 
 
But the fight goes on! In a last-minute gambit, Deutsche Welle appealed the decision issued by the Berlin Labour Court in favour of Farah Maraqa. A new hearing is taking place on 10 May 2023, but Farah is confident and stands firm.

SUPPORT FARAH’S ONGOING FIGHT!


BERLIN: FIRST VICTORY AT THE TRIALS OF THE 2022 NAKBA DAY ARRESTS

Following a city-wide ban on commemorations of the 74th anniversary of the Nakba, the Berlin Police detained and fined dozens of individuals for walking in the street and peacefully showing solidarity with Palestine, such as through wearing the Kuffiyeh or the colours of the Palestinian flag. Some of them were beaten. Read more about our urgent letter to UN Special Rapporteurs and request for accountability in relation to unjustified repression and violence from the Berlin police.

9 months later, several protesters are challenging the fines in German courts. Stay tuned as more hearings will happen in the coming weeks and support!

SIGN the call to stop Germany’s attempt to criminalise solidarity with Palestine & DONATE to help with the legal proceedings’ fees

For more information on the bans and repression, read Human Rights Watch statement by Omar Shakir.


THE MOVEMENT PERSEVERES

We have published many of our legal victories in the UK, in Germany, in Austria, and in The Netherlands on our website. Pushing back is possible when we stand together!


⚖️ Will you help us win more cases? ⚖️

Consider a monthly donation to the ELSC. Every donation, no matter how small or large, makes a difference.


RESISTING THE ISOLATION OF PALESTINIAN CIVIL SOCIETY

As part of our work at ELSC, we monitor and support European and Palestinian organisations facing attacks and incidents in the EU and the UK leading to defunding by donors, the implementation of policies restricting funding and/or de-risking by financial institutions.

These incidents happen in a context of coordinated smear campaigns led by pro-Israeli groups and the Israeli government, which form part of a larger strategy to shut down Palestine advocacy while shielding Israel from accountability.  

Do you want to know more? Check our twitter thread!


ELSC ONLINE

ELSC gave an interview on Antisemitism, Palestine and academic freedom

We spoke to Dr Sevgi Doğan for Security Praxis blog about the impact of the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism on academic freedom and unfounded allegations of antisemitism in academia. Read it here.
 
Read ELSC comments given to Hebh Jamal in +972 Magazine on the chilling effects on free expression of Palestinian rights advocacy and legitimate demands for accountability as Germany takes drastic steps toward further criminalising Palestinian activism.
 
ELSC was hosted by Lina Hadid and Lamia Bazzari to speak on defending and empowering advocates for Palestinian rights across Europe on their Free Palestine Podcast. Tune in!


USEFUL RESOURCES

Visualizing Palestine introduces the system and actors involved in suppressing speech critical of the Israeli regime and Zionism in its recent visual #SystemofSilencing. This is the first of five visuals that will be published in the next months, highlighting attacks on freedom of expression aimed at shielding Israel from accountability. Follow along!


UK-based organisation CAGE published two expert reports signed by leading scholars, Professor John Dugard SC and Professor Avi Shlaim on the notion of “Israel’s right to exist”. As observed in several cases of suppression of Palestinian rights advocacy, this concept is often very broadly interpreted by pro-Israel actors and raised to purport allegations of antisemitism and target Palestinian rights advocates.


Thank you for your continued support!

In solidarity, 

The ELSC team


Remember to follow the ELSC on social media and amplify our work!

If you are interested in empowering the Palestine solidarity movement in Europe, we welcome your one-time or monthly donations to the ELSC. For any inquiries, contact us at info@elsc.support.

If you would like to put your skills (whether legal, editing, artistic, communications, or any other skills) at the service of our movement in support of Palestinian rights advocates, please contact us at info@elsc.support.

Categories
Statement

Dutch NGOs call upon the international community to take action against Israel for targeting Palestinian human rights organisations 

After the Israeli army violently raided and closed seven prominent Palestinian human rights organisations last Thursday, this weekend it threatened the director of Al Haq (Shawan Jabarin) by telephone and detained the director of Defense for Children International – Palestine (Khaled Quzmar) several hours for questioning. This escalation proves once again that statements by European governments expressing serious concerns are insufficient. This, together with the killing of critical journalists and other Palestinian civilians with impunity, has reached the point where the international community must set a clear boundary. This is the limit, according to a broad representation of Dutch organisations. 

In October last year, 32 Dutch organisations condemned Israel’s decision to designate six organisations (now seven) as terrorist on the basis of Israeli anti-terror laws. On 12 July 2022, the Netherlands and eight other EU countries expressed their support for the organisations. The EU countries have so far not seen any evidence of the terrorist designation and therefore rejected the Israeli allegations, as “no substantial information has been received from Israel that would justify a review of our policy towards the six Palestinian NGOs on the basis of the Israeli decision to designate these NGOs as ‘terrorist organisations'”.

What we warned about in October is happening: in an attempt to suppress the work of human rights defenders, Israel is raiding their offices, confiscating property and documents, then sealing them with metal plates and leaving a military order declaring the organisations illegal. This is a serious violation of the right to freedom of expression and freedom of association and assembly. This ever-increasing restriction on civil society is not in keeping with a country that claims to be a democratic state based on the rule of law.

Several of the seven organisations that have been affected provide evidence of alleged war crimes by Israel to the International Criminal Court. The Netherlands, as host country of the ICC, has an additional responsibility to ensure that civil society organisations, individuals and states can continue to provide the ICC with evidence and information. 

Without significant action, the longstanding pattern of repression and undermining of Palestinian organisations will further deteriorate. This is unacceptable and it has become clear that statements alone are not enough to make Israel change its policy. The international community should immediately take the following actions in the face of the threat to the existence of Palestinian civil society organisations and human rights defenders:

  • Urge at the highest diplomatic level that Israel withdraws the charges against the seven organisations and brings the underlying anti-terror legislation into line with international law;
  • Protect Shawan Jabarin and Khaled Quzmar and other employees from interrogation, arbitrary arrest and detention, and ask Israel to cease all harassment practices and policies, including arbitrary detention, torture and other forms of ill-treatment, institutionalised hate speech and incitement;
  • Add action to it, in line with the 2013 recommendations of the AIV, and attach (diplomatic) consequences to this escalation; 
  • Openly increase financial, political and where necessary logistical support to Palestinian organisations and civil society, guided by the needs of these organisations;
  • Give priority in its policy towards Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories to protecting civil society and human rights defenders;
  • Call on the Assembly of States Parties and the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to ensure the viability of organisations working to present evidence to the Court.

Signed by:

  • PAX
  • Amnesty International Nederland
  • SOMO
  • The Rights Forum
  • OXFAM Novib
  • European Legal Support Center
  • Defence for Children Nederland
  • ActionAid Netherlands
  • Both Ends
  • Human Security Collective
  • Stichting Aflatoun International
  • Right to Play Netherlands
  • Transnational Institute (TNI)
  • Stichting Kifaia
  • MENA Werkgroep FNV
  • Gate48
  • Plant een Olijfboom
  • Kairos Sabeel Nederland
  • Nederlands Palestina Komitee
  • Een Ander Joods Geluid
  • Grote Midden Oosten Platform
  • Plan International Nederland
  • International Child Development Initiatives
  • Dutch Scholars for Palestine

Photo: DCI-Palestine

Read the statement originally published on the website of PAX.

Categories
Statement

Over 150 Organizations Demand International Community Stand Against Raids and Closures of 7 Palestinian Organizations

The ELSC joined over 150 organisations to condemn the raids and closures of 7 prominent Palestinian organisations and urge the international community to take effective measures. Read below the joint statement originally published on the CIHRS website.

Amid Israel’s escalating attacks targeting their work, a group of more than 150 Palestinian, regional, and international organizations express our full solidarity with the designated seven leading Palestinian civil society organizations, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, Al-Haq Law in the Service of Man (Al-Haq), Bisan Center for Research and Development, Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCI-P), Health Work Committees (HWC), the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC).

On the morning of 18 August 2022, the Israeli occupying forces (IOF) raided and sealed the doorways into the offices of the seven Palestinian organizations. The IOF also confiscated documents and equipment and destroyed items in the offices. On the doors of the organizations, military orders were left behind ordering the closure of the offices under Article 319 of the Emergency Regulations of 1945. This development follows the 19 October 2021, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz designation of six leading Palestinian civil society organizations as terrorist organizations under Israel’s Anti-Terrorism Law (2016), which was then extended to the West Bank on 3 November 2021 by a military order that outlawed the same organizations.

We urge the international community to unequivocally condemn Israel’s targeting of Palestinian civil society and tactics to further repress of freedom of expression. States must take all necessary action to support and protect Palestinian human rights defenders and ensure the continuation of their invaluable work.

These raids and closures represent the latest escalation in Israel’s widespread campaign aiming to silence and discredit any Palestinian individual or organization that dares to seek accountability for Israel’s grave human rights violations, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The “persecution of organizations and persons, by depriving them of fundamental rights and freedoms, because they oppose apartheid” is a method used by Israel, amounting to acts of apartheid prosecutable under the Rome Statute, to maintain its domination and oppression over the Palestinian people.

The organizations remain at an additional risk of closure of bank accounts, travel bans and movement restrictions, and the arrest and detention of staff members for their work. Israel’s attacks against these organizations pose an existential threat to independent Palestinian human rights organizations and civil society who work to monitor and document violations of human rights and provide basic services to the Palestinian people.

We call upon the international community to demand that Israel immediately revoke its designations of Palestinian human rights and civil society organizations as “terrorist organizations,” reverse the military orders designating the organizations and closing their offices and repeal its Anti-Terrorism Law (2016) as it does not meet basic human rights standards.

Moreover, we call on the international community to take effective measures to end all other actions that deny Palestinians their inalienable human rights.

Lastly, we call on the members of the international community to continue their support and increase funding to the organizations and engage with financial institutions to ensure the transfer of funds to the organizations.

Signatories:

  1. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
  2. 11.11.11
  3. Abductees’ Mothers Association
  4. Academic Program for Studies of Arab and Muslim Communities in Diaspora
  5. ACAT-France
  6. Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association
  7. Advokatfirmaet Roli
  8. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
  9. Al-ataa Benevolent Association
  10. Aldameer association for human rights
  11. Al-Haq
  12. Alrowwad Cultural and Arts Society
  13. Andalus Institute for Tolerance and anti-Violence Studies
  14. Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ)
  15. ARTICLE 19
  16. Artists for Palestine UK
  17. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
  18. Asociacion Palestina Biladi
  19. Association Belgo-Palestinienne
  20. Association des Universitaires pour le Respect du Droit International en Palestine (AURDIP)
  21. Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression
  22. Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS)
  23. Aswat Nissa
  24. Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children’
  25. Australian Centre for International Justice
  26. Basmeh & Zeitooneh for Relief and Development
  27. Baytna
  28. Bds Maroc
  29. BDS Netherlands
  30. BDS Vancouver Coast Salish Territories
  31. Belgian Campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (BACBI)
  32. Bytes For All, Pakistan
  33. Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)
  34. Center for Constitutional Rights
  35. Center for Strategic Studies to Support Women and Children
  36. Centre for Global Education
  37. Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales
  38. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
  39. CNCD-11.11.11
  40. Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid
  41. Comhlamh Justice for Palestine
  42. Committee for a Just Peace in the Middle East, Luxembourg
  43. Committee for Justice
  44. Community Empowerment and Social Justice Network (CEMSOJ)
  45. Conectas Human Rights
  46. Cultura è Libertà, una campagna per la Palestina
  47. DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)
  48. Een Andere Joodse Stem / Another Jewish Voice (Belgium)
  49. Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms
  50. Egyptian Front for Human Rights (EFHR)
  51. Egyptian Human Rights Forum
  52. Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
  53. El Nadim Center For Management & Rehabilitation of victims of violence
  54. ESCR-Net, International Network for Economic, Social & Cultural Rights
  55. EuroMed Rights
  56. European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine – ECCP
  57. European Legal Support Center (ELSC)
  58. European Trade Union Network for Justice in Palestine
  59. FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
  60. Financial Justice Ireland
  61. Foundation for Middle East Peace (Washington, DC)
  62. Front Line Defenders
  63. Fundación Mundubat
  64. Gaza Action Ireland
  65. Global NPO Coalition on FATF
  66. Herbst Law PLLC
  67. Human Rights & Democracy Media Center “SHAMS”
  68. Human Rights for All (HR4A) Saskatchewan
  69. Human Rights in China
  70. Human Rights Watch
  71. Human Security Collective
  72. ICAHD-USA
  73. International Accountability Project
  74. International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group
  75. International Commission to support Palestinian People’s Rights
  76. International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT)
  77. International Service for Human Rights
  78. International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific
  79. Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign
  80. Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions – UK
  81. Just Peace Advocates/Mouvement Pour Une Paix Juste
  82. Just Words Limited
  83. Justice for Palestinians Calgary
  84. Justitia Center for legal protection of human rights in Algeria
  85. Kairos Ireland
  86. Kenya Human Rights Commission
  87. League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI)
  88. Local Development and Small Projects Support (LDSPS)
  89. Makan
  90. MakeShiftPublishing
  91. MENA Rights Group
  92. Muslim Peace Fellowship
  93. Mwatana for human rights
  94. Nederlands Palestina Komitee
  95. New Weapons Research Groups
  96. Niagara Movement for Justice in Palestine Israel
  97. North Bronx Racial Justice
  98. Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO-Norway)
  99. Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees
  100. NOVACT Institute for Nonviolent Action
  101. Oakville Palestinian Rights Association
  102. Palestina Solidariteit vzw Belgium
  103. Palestine Solidarity Alliance
  104. Palestine Solidarity Campaign UK
  105. Palestine Solidarity Network – Edmonton
  106. Palestine Solidarity, St. John’s, NL
  107. Palestine Solidary Organisation at Nelson Mandela University
  108. Palestinian and Jewish Unity (PAJU)
  109. Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign (Stop the Wall)
  110. Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
  111. Pan African Palestine Solidarity Network
  112. Paz con Dignidad
  113. Peace and Building Foundation
  114. Physicians for Human Rights Israel
  115. Platform of French NGOs for Palestine
  116. Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED)
  117. Project South
  118. Riposte Internationale
  119. Sadaka-the Ireland Palestine Alliance
  120. Sadaqa
  121. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
  122. Scottish Friends of Palestine
  123. Sexual Rights Initiative
  124. SOLIDAR
  125. Solsoc
  126. South African BDS Coalition
  127. South African Jews For a Free Palestine
  128. STEILAS
  129. Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM)
  130. Tamkeen for Legal Aid and Human Rights
  131. Teaching Palestine: Pedagogical Praxis and the Indivisibility of Justice
  132. The African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies
  133. The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ)
  134. The Association of Norwegian NGOs for Palestine
  135. The Canadian BDS Coalition
  136. The civic coalition for Palestinian rights in jerusalem
  137. The Danish House in Palestine
  138. The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT)
  139. The Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church USA
  140. The Norwegian Initiative DEFEND INTERNATIONAL LAW
  141. The Palestine Committee of Norway
  142. The Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy
  143. The Palestinian Human Rights Organization “PHRO”
  144. The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy – MIFTAH
  145. The Rights Forum
  146. The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP)
  147. Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA (Australia)
  148. United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine and Israel (UNJPPI)
  149. University Network for Human Rights
  150. University of KwaZulu-Natal Decoloniality Action Group
  151. US Campaign for Palestinian Rights
  152. Visualizing Palestine
  153. Viva Salud
  154. Vrede vzw
  155. West African Human Rights Defenders Network
  156. Women in Black Vienna
  157. Women Now for Development
  158. Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling (WCLAC)
  159. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
  160. Yemen Future Foundation for Culture & Media Development
Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: June 2022

This month, at least three cases confirmed, again, that public pressure and collective support, sometimes coupled with litigation, constitute a great tool to achieve our rights as advocates for Palestinian rights!

GERMAN AUTHORITY HOLDS RIAS AND MBR ACCOUNTABLE FOR VIOLATING ANNA YOUNES’ DATA RIGHTS

The Berlin Data Protection Authority (DPA) held German organisations RIAS Berlin and MBR accountable for violating the rights of German Palestinian scholar Dr. Anna-Esther Younes. The two organisations had previously circulated a secret dossier which led to her disinvitation from a public event.

Two years after Dr. Anna Younes filed a complaint to the DPA with our support, the DPA finally found that RIAS/MBR violated European data protection law (GDPR) in refusing to give Dr. Younes access to the data they hold on her. The DPA recognised Dr. Younes’ basic data rights as a European citizen, which comes after another previous success where the civil court affirmed the right of Dr.Younes to have access to her data.

READ MORE

Share this new victory on social media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn

But this is not over yet! RIAS/MBR previously acknowledged that the purpose of the dossier was to identify Dr. Younes’ positions on Israel and BDS. They secretly sent this dossier to a third party to get her disinvited. However, the DPA considered that this was lawful and that RIAS/MBR pursued a legitimate purpose in collecting and transmitting information about Dr. Younes.

We will appeal this decision. Do you want to help us?

DONATE

Read more in the last media articles published about the case:
– See an update by Dania Akkad in Middle East Eye
this piece by Hebh Jamal in +972 Magazine
a piece in German by Nidal Thawri in Marx21
– an oped by Abir Kopty in Middle East Eye


EU RESUMES FUNDING TO TWO PALESTINIAN NGOS

After Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq started legal proceedings against the European Commission for suspending its funding in May 2021 based on an Israeli disinformation campaign, the EU recognised there were no grounds to do so and resumed its funding to Al Haq on 28 June 2022.

Read Al-Haq’s statement and share the good news on Twitter.

The EU also resumed unconditionally and with immediate effect its funding to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), which had faced the same suspension as Al-Haq.

READ MORE


MOHAMMED EL KURD V. GOETHE INSTITUTE

The prominent Palestinian activist and poet Mohammed El Kurd faced an attempt of censorship at a conference organised by the Goethe Institute in Hamburg about right-wing extremism and authoritarian regimes’ tactics, where he was invited to speak. Few days before the start of the conference, the institution revoked the invitation, raising social media posts criticizing Israel that they “did not find acceptable”. In solidarity with El Kurd, the curators of the conference Moshtari Hilal and Sinthujan Varatharajah withdrew their participation and denounced the climate of anti-Palestinian racism in German institutions. Thanks to this push back, many other participants of the event withdrew, which led to the entire program being scaled down.

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OTHER CASE UPDATES IN GERMANY

We also celebrate a victory in Stuttgart this month, as the City of Stuttgart decided it will not appeal the decision issued by the Stuttgart Administrative Court on 21 April 2022 in favour of the Stuttgart Palestine Committee. The Court had upheld the Committee’s complaint against the City’s decision to remove their access and details from the Municipality’s website.
 
This incident had happened following a smear campaign launched by the Jerusalem Post against the Committee because of its support to the Palestinian-led BDS movement. The City of Stuttgart had justified its decision citing the Bundestag’s anti-BDS resolution, while the Court had recalled that the BDS movement is protected by freedom of expression and that the Bundestag’s resolution is not binding.

READ MORE

But this time, the City acknowledged the illegality of their decision. One of their spokespersons said:

for purely legal reasons, we have decided not to appeal against it. Based on the current jurisprudence, as it has been elsewhere, we estimate the chances of being successful with an appeal to be very low. That is why we have put the address of the Palestine Committee back on the municipal homepage.

Share this victory on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook


Palestinian-Jordanian journalist Farah Maraqa, who has been unfairly dismissed by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) along with five other Arab journalists in February 2022, published an update about her court case against DW.

READ MORE

SUPPORT HER CASE


AUSTRIA: THE CASE OF PALESTINIAN SCHOLAR WALAA ALQAISIYA

Dr. Walaa Alqaisiya, Research Fellow at Columbia University, the LSE Middle East Centre and Università Ca’ Foscari, also faced anti-Palestinian racism and censorship from Austrian public institutions when she was disinvited by the Mumok Museum and the Academy of Fine Arts of Vienna from their Spring Curatorial Program at the end of May 2022. The cancellation of her lecture followed a smear campaign on social media and a complaint from pro-Israel advocacy groups. Art media Art Forum and Hyperallergic wrote about the episode.


Hundreds of artists, writers and academics, including Judith Butler, Roger Waters, Angela Davis and Dirk Moses, have voiced their outrage in the wake of the last-minute cancellation, which pushed one of the co-curators to remove the remainder of the program from the premises of the cancelling institutions. Nevertheless, the Fine Arts Academy and the MUMOK still have not stepped back on their statement, nor recognised the damage done to Dr. Alqaisiya’s reputation. She is still waiting for a public apology from the Rector of the Fine Arts Academy and further explanation on the decision making process.


7 MORE MONTHS TO BAN EU TRADE WITH ILLEGAL SETTLEMENTS WORLDWIDE!

Join the European Citizens Initiative #StopSettlements to ban EU trade with illegal settlements!
 
With one million EU citizens signing the Initiative, the EU will have to reassess its complicity with illegal settlements. It would be an historical step in realigning the EU with its own rules when it comes to trade and in making Israel accountable for its illegal settlement policy.

SIGN

Send the petition to your friends, family members. Share on your chat groups and social media: Twitter, InstagramFacebook, and LinkedIn.


UK: LEGAL ACTION AGAINST TWITTER TROLL AFTER AN ONLINE SMEAR CAMPAIGN

Peter Bolton is a journalist with The Canary, where he writes about Israel-Palestine among other topics. One year ago, Peter Bolton published a piece denouncing the continuous smear campaigns and unfounded allegations of antisemitism made against the Left in the UK.

Following that, Peter Bolton became himself the target of similar unfounded allegations on Twitter. A fake Twitter account started to spread smears against the journalist, which were amplified by other accounts and retweeted many times. Peter Bolton decided to take legal action against the troll to make it accountable and deter others who would spread defaming allegations online against anyone standing for justice with Palestinians and Palestinian rights advocates.

SUPPORT HIS CASE


EVENTS: PANEL DISCUSSION IN THE NETHERLANDS

Last month, the ELSC joined the in-person panel organised in Amsterdam by the Leonhard-Woltjer Foundation (LWS) and Een Ander Joods Geluid (A Different Jewish Voice) on “How Israel lobbies make it harder to speak up against Israel’s policies”.

Our Advocacy and Communication Officer Alice Garcia joined Dina Zbeidy (anthropologist at Leiden University and LWS board member), Peter Beinart (professor of journalism and Editor-at-large of Jewish Currents), as well as Layla Kattermann and Itaï van de Wal (student activists in Leiden and Utrecht universities) in the panel to give an overview of the situation in The Netherlands (see from 45min).

Read our report on the attempt to suppress Palestinian rights advocacy in the Netherlands.


OTHER GOOD NEWS FROM EUROPE

In a milestone decision for accountability and Palestinian rights, Catalonia Parliament became the first Parliament in Europe to recognise that Israel is committing the crime of apartheid, after the approval of a resolution.

READ MORE

Categories
Press Release

European States should adopt a Consistent Approach toward Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Palestine during Human Rights Council Session 49

The ELSC took part in a initiative led by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) to ask key EU institutions and Member States to uphold the rule of international law and human rights for Palestinians at the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council. Read the press release of the CIHRS below.

The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) and partners in Europe and Palestine wrote to key European Union (EU) institutions and Member States[1] and the United Kingdom (UK), urging them to uphold the rule of international law and human rights for the Palestinian people at the current 49th regular session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council. The letters noted the EU’s priorities in the UN Human Rights Fora in 2022, namely its commitment to respect, protect and fulfil human rights and the rule of law “consistently and coherently in all areas of its external actions” as well as the UK’s commitment to defend the rights and freedoms of the most oppressed and vulnerable around the world. The letters called on the states to reaffirm their longstanding commitment to international law and human rights standards by voting in favour of the three resolutions under agenda items 2 and 7 pertaining to accountability, human rights, illegal Israeli settlements, and the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people.

CIHRS and partners urged the states to recognise and condemn the reality of Israel’s apartheid against the Palestinian people and all associated violations. The organisations also called on states to acknowledge, welcome and engage with the content of the final upcoming report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the oPt during the session, which will examine the crime of apartheid. In addition, CIHRS and partners called on states to support all existing relevant international accountability mechanisms, namely the UN Commission of Inquiry established in April 2021 and the UN database of businesses involved in Israel’s settlement enterprise – as a means to end the ongoing cycle of impunity granted to Israel.

Given Israel’s unsubstantiated designation of six prominent Palestinian human rights and humanitarian organisations as “terrorist” and “unlawful”, CIHRS and partners urged states to call on Israel to immediately revoke these designations and to ensure the continuity and protection of Palestinian civil society and human rights defenders. Furthermore, the communications urged states to call on Israel to immediately stop its annexation of Palestinian land and the expansion of its illegal settlement enterprise in occupied territory, cease the forcible transfer and displacement of protected persons, and end its policy of administrative detention and release all Palestinian political prisoners. During this Council session, the international community must urge Israel to immediately, fully and unconditionally lift its prolonged illegal closure and blockade of the Gaza Strip.


[1] The countries are: Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg and The Netherlands. In addition, a separate letter was sent to the EU delegations in Geneva, Brussels and Jerusalem.


See more on the CIHRS’s website.


Picture: Human Rights Council – 34th Session. UN Photo / Elma Okic

Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: January

Dear friend,

This month we share with you our 2021 achievements in pushing back against silencing Palestinian rights advocacy, a campaign in support of an activist of BDS Austria sued over a Facebook post, updates on the repression of Palestinian civil society, an important ruling in Germany on the illegality of anti-BDS motion, and unfounded allegations of antisemitism to delegitimise Palestinian rights supporters in the UK.

ELSC 2021 ACHIEVEMENTS

The year 2021 witnessed a rise in global mobilisation efforts for justice, Palestinian rights, and an end of apartheid. As Palestinian rights advocacy exposed Israel’s human rights violations and empowered the discourse on Palestine, the Israeli government and its allied groups intensified their attacks against Palestinian rights advocates.

In this context, the ELSC provided legal support in 80 cases of repression against advocates for Palestinian rights in Europe, assisting over 140 advocates including Palestinian and European CSOs, activist groups, students, academics, artist and cultural institutions. Read below on the successful experience of Progetto Palestina, a student activist group based in Italy, which confronted repression with resilience:

It gave us new energy and we started working to transform this attack into an opportunity. The ELSC backed us, and allowed us to focus on our activities while they took care of the legal aspects of the issue. We started a communication campaign on and off campus, which culminated in a big demonstration on Nakba Day, when more than 5.000 people marched for the streets of Turin, demanding the end of the apartheid regime and a free Palestine.

Read more on our achievements here

Nakba Day Demonstration, May 2021, Turin.

Can you help us to win more cases? Support our Legal Aid fund with a monthly donation.

CAMPAIGN IN SUPPORT OF BDS-AUSTRIA FACING UNFAIR LAWSUIT

This month, we launched a public campaign in support of a member of BDS Austria facing a Strategic Lawsuit against Public Participation (SLAPP) filed by the Municipality of Vienna.

The Municipality claims defamation over a picture posted by BDS Austria on Facebook showing the famous “Visit Apartheid” poster with the logo of the City of Vienna, which was placed by unknown people on a billboard in Vienna.

This case reflects the pattern of targeting Palestinian rights advocates through the adoption of the illegal anti-BDS motion as illustrated in this expert opinion. The activist is now facing a lawsuit with legal costs and damages that could amount up to €35.000. The lawsuit was challenged in a court hearing on the 28th of January and the case is still pending. To support the activist, we are raising donations to help him cover the legal fees, if you stand for Palestinian rights advocacy please support by donating.

Donate here

Over 1600 people have signed our petition, co-sponsored with the European Coordination of Committees and Associations For Palestine (ECCP), calling upon the Municipality of Vienna to withdraw its unfounded lawsuit and repeal its anti-BDS motion.

Sign the petition

Share our Twitter thread, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram posts with the hashtag #ViennaVisitApartheid

UPDATES FROM THE UK

On-campus repression and violations of academic freedom in the UK escalate with the latest attack on the Palestinian PhD student Shahd Abusalama, supported by the ELSC. Shahd got suspended from teaching by Sheffield Hallam University as a result of a smear campaign by pro-Israel groups that deliberately targeted her as a critical voice against the reality of apartheid in Palestine. The significant #InSupportofShahd campaign successfully resulted in Shahd’s reinstatement, yet her case is still under an investigation.

Share our Twitter thread #InSupportofShahd

Graphic via SOAS Palestine Society on Twitter.

If you too have faced repression for Palestinian rights advocacy, make sure to fill out our incident report form and request legal support if you need.

Report an Incident

A VICTORY FOR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN GERMANY

The German federal court of Leipzig ruled that Munich’s anti-BDS policy violates the freedom of expression. The Federal court also affirmed that the anti-BDS resolution is not law. The ruling unfolds amidst a context of harsh repression of Palestinian rights advocates in Germany, and therefore represents a victory for the Palestine solidarity movement and BDS supporters in the country.

Read more here

Keep posted, we will soon release an analysis on the judgement! This jurisprudence shows more than ever the legitimacy and the necessity of the BT3P campaign that is asking the German Parliament to repeal its anti-BDS motion. After the Administrative Court of Berlin dismissed their complaint in October 2021, they recently filed an appeal to the Administrative Court of Appeal of Berlin-Brandenburg.

Read more on BT3P v. Bundestag

Donate to help the BT3P with their legal fees

CASE UPDATE IN FRANCE

A French Court is also set to be ruling on the legitimacy of BDS since on 27th January 2022, there was a hearing in the Court of Appeal of Lyon on the case of French activist Olivia Zémor who was sued for reporting boycott calls. The first instance judgement, in May 2021, was crucial as it acquitted her by referring to the landmark ruling of the European Court of Human Rights that asserted the legitimacy of BDS calls under freedom of expression.

Read more

We hope that the Court of Appeal will confirm the first instance judgement and reaffirm the legality of BDS. The decision is expected on 5 May 2022.

CHALLENGING REPRESSION OF PALESTINIAN CIVIL SOCIETY

Lawfare and disinformation campaigns continue to harm Palestinian civil society as Israel seeks to enforce its unsubstantiated designation. Yet, a new article by +972 Magazine exposes another failed effort by Israel to convince European officials of the unfounded allegations of ties with terrorism against the six prominent Palestinian CSOs.

Even without any evidence on the misuse of funds – confirmed by an external investigation – the Dutch government has given into political pressure by ending its funding to the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), a vital organisation in the occupied Palestinian territory. The decision has been widely condemned by international civil society actors that mobilised collectively to urge the Dutch government to resume its funding to UAWC and reject Israel’s designation.

Read our joint statement with The Rights Forum

Read the joint letter of 60 CSOs here

Read the joint letter of 28 Dutch NGOs (Dutch)

In a statement, the Charity & Security Network also condemned the Dutch government’s decision and urged donors to continue their support for Palestinian civil society, providing them with an important briefing and guidelines.

Share on Twitter

In another politically driven move, the European Commission (EC) suspended funds to Al-Haq in May 2021. After a successful audit and while there is no evidence on the misuse of funds, the EC still has not resumed funding. Not only it contributes to the unfounded attack on the Palestinian civil society, but it also violates principles of good administration and proportionality.

Read Al-Haq’s statement

Check our Twitter thread

You can help us to ensure that defenders of Palestinian rights receive free legal advice and support by making a one time or monthly donation to the ELSC. Any donation would empower our fight for Palestinian rights in Europe.

Donate

If it is not possible to make a donation at this time, you could follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter and spread the word about repression of civic spaces for advocates of Palestinian rights.

Categories
Release

60 International CSOs to Dutch Government: “Resume Dutch funding for UAWC, reject Israel’s designation of Palestinians NGOs”

Along with 59 other civil society organisations from all around the world, we asked the Dutch government to resume its funding for UAWC and to reject Israel’s designation of Palestinian NGOs. Indeed, the Dutch decision to cut funding was baseless, and the Dutch government also failed to reject the Israeli designation whereas it was recognised as unsubstantiated. This is deeply harming Palestinian civil society and legitimises the ongoing Israeli politically-motivated smear campaigns against Palestinian CSOs.

Read the joint letter here.

Also read:

  • the joint letter we sent to the Dutch government with 27 Dutch NGOs.
  • our joint statement with The Rights Forum on the decision to cut funding for UAWC.
Categories
Statement

The ELSC and The Rights Forum condemn Dutch government’s decision to defund UAWC

The European Legal Support Center (ELSC) and The Rights Forum strongly condemn the decision of the Dutch government to end its funding to the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC). This decision was made despite an external investigation that affirmed UAWC’s institutional independence and cleared the organisation of the main charges levied against it by the Israeli government and its extremist allies.

UAWC is the largest agricultural development organisation in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), providing crucial training and supplies to Palestinian farmers and fisherfolk in the West Bank and Gaza. The organisation plays an essential role in making Area C of the West Bank liveable and accessible for thousands of Palestinians farmers as well as their families and communities. Accordingly, it is undisputable that the termination of Dutch funding for UAWC’s projects will have tremendous repercussions on Palestinians. It will encourage Israel’s illegal settlements enterprise and facilitate Israel’s de facto annexation of the Palestinian territory.

For years, UAWC, has been the target of smear campaigns led by a network of Israel advocacy groups claiming UAWC has institutional ties to the Popular Front of Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a Palestinian political party and a proscribed group in the European Union. These campaigns are part of a larger coordinated attack on Palestinian civil society and international organisations that provide solidarity to Palestinians which escalated in October 2021 when the Israeli Government designated UAWC and other five prominent Palestinian civil society organisations as “terror organisations”. Most of these lawfare and disinformation groups coordinate with the Israeli government in some fashion and have expressed support for the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements. In a report released in October 2021, the ELSC identified 12 attempts in the Netherlands – between 2015 and 2020 – by pro-Israel advocacy groups to pressure Dutch donors (mostly the Dutch government) to defund civil society organisations supporting the Palestinian people.

The groundless nature of the allegations brought against UAWC has now been openly acknowledged by the Dutch government itself. According to the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, the findings of the Dutch investigation into UAWC confirm that there is no evidence that:

(a) there are any organisational links between UAWC and the PFLP;

(b) there are any financial links between UAWC and the PFLP;

(c) the PFLP directs UAWC;

(d) board and staff members used their position at UAWC to organise or support any terrorist activity.

However, in the Dutch Government’s view, UAWC’s failure to screen and select its staff and board members on the grounds of their political opinion and affiliation is considered “undesirable” and displays a “lack of candour” by the organisation. That is the sole basis put forward by the Dutch government to terminate its funding of UAWC, which started in 2007.

This decision is extremely problematic, as it starkly contradicts the essential findings of the investigation and ignores UAWC’s legal obligations and internal policies to not discriminate its employees on the basis of the political views expressed outside their duties within UAWC. By doing so, the Dutch government neglects its policy of supporting human rights defenders, thus enabling the efforts to repress Palestinian civil society by the Israeli Government and the disinformation groups it works with.

To protect the health of our democracies as well as any hopes for a future peace in Israel/Palestine, governments, donors, policymakers, and businesses around the world should acknowledge and firmly reject smear campaigns targeting human rights defenders.

Therefore, we:

  1. call on civil society and solidarity groups world-wide to join and amplify the protest launched by The Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network  PNGO by sending protest letters to the Dutch Foreign Ministry MENA department;
  2. urge all other donors of UAWC, both governmental and private, to maintain their funding for UAWC.

Download the statement.

Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: November

Dear friend,
 
This month we share with you important updates on challenging Israel’s attack on Palestinian civil society and the repression of Palestinian rights advocacy in Europe including in the Netherlands and the UK, a webinar, op-eds, and other news and resources.  
 
On the 29th of November, which marked the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, we shared our solidarity statement reaffirming the need to stand and defend Palestinian rights (advocates) every day.

ELSC NEWS

We released a new leaflet addressing 10 situations in which our team can defend the right to advocate for Palestinian rights as to empower advocates and help them to challenge repression through legal avenues.

Share on Twitter

UPDATES FROM THE UK

The ELSC has recently intervened at an event on Combatting the Chilling Effect on Academic Freedom and Palestine advocacy on UK campuses organised by the UCU (University and College Union) inWarwick University and open to staff and students.

On-campus repression of Palestinian rights advocacy continues in the UK, as LSE students were heavily smeared for protesting against the participation of the Israeli ambassador in the UK Tzipi Hotovely in a debate on Middle East Peace. We have stood in firm support to the LSE students who have the full right to protest against apartheid regimes and their representatives, and we have urged the university to ensure the provision of a safe space for dissenting opinions.

Share our statement on Twitter

Such illegitimate repression is met with resilient efforts to amplify Palestinian rights advocacy. Queens Mary Students have voted to revoke the adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, as to reclaim the unprotected rights of students and academics to advocate for Palestinian rights on-campus.

On the same topic, Larissa Kennedy – the President of the National Union of Students in the UK – signed an op-ed titled “After BLM, Palestine solidarity is the litmus test for UK campus freedom of expression” where she asserts the rights of the student movement to protest and continue the struggle for justice and liberation.

CHALLENGING REPRESSION OF PALESTINIAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY

An investigation released by +972 and The Intercept showed that the “evidence” claimed by the Israeli government to designate six Palestinian prominent human rights organisations as “terrorist” was flawed. Despite that, the responses from EU States and institutions to the unfounded designation remained relatively weak. Therefore, we joined more than 100 organisations, human rights groups, unions, and parties to call upon the EU to take strong actions against this serious attack on Palestinian civil society.

Read the letter

With our partners Al Haq, PAX, SOMO and the Rights Forum, we held a webinar on challenging the repression of Palestinian rights advocacy in Palestine as well as the attempts to silence advocates in the Netherlands. The webinar featured Wesam Ahmad from Al Haq, who focused on the implications of the designation and the expected actions from third state parties including the Netherlands. Giovanni Fassina (ELSC) and Lydia De Leeuw (SOMO) also addressed the responsibilities of the Dutch government in protecting civic space for Palestinian rights advocates in the Netherlands.

UPDATES FROM THE NETHERLANDS

Our op-ed “How Palestine advocacy is silenced in the Netherlands” has been published by Middle East Eye. The ELSC’s Director, Giovanni Fassina, covers the main findings of our report on “The Attempt to Chill Palestinian Rights Advocacy in the Netherlands”, which reveals a pattern of deliberate attempts by Israel-advocacy groups and other actors to intimidate, smear and silence those who legitimately stand up and advocate for Palestinian rights.

Read the full report

The outspoken academics Karin Arts and Jeff Handmaker also published their op-ed “The Netherlands must speak out against Israel’s attack on Palestinian organisations” urging the Dutch government and the European Union to stand up for the Palestinian NGOs under an illegitimate attack deliberately aimed at silencing voices for Palestinian freedom and human rights.

In further response to Israel’s attack on the six NGOs, directors of Palestinian NGOs were in the Netherlands to meet with Dutch officials. Read this article for an analysis by Shawan Jabarin, the director of Al Haq, who reiterated that they won’t be intimidated by such an attack.

RESOURCES & NEWS FROM AROUND EUROPE AND PALESTINE

In a recent report, Front Line Defenders reveals that six Palestinian human rights defenders, including three members of the groundlessly designated organisations, got hacked with NSO Group’s Pegasus Spyware. The hackings were confirmed just before the designation. Front Line Defenders asserts that counter-terrorism legislation must never be instrumentalised to repress legitimate human rights.

In response, a joint letter signed by a number of international CSOs and independent experts including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International has urged the EU to adopt targeted sanctions against NSO Group.

Additionally, Apple is suing NSO Group to hold it accountable for the abuse of state-sponsored spyware, surveillance and targeting of Apple users.

Importantly, on the 12th of November, the OECD UK National Contact Point found UK company JCB in breach of its human rights obligations due to the use of its products to illegally demolish Palestinian homes. Read the analysis of Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights on the case.

A few days later, Amnesty UK issued a new report exposing the responsibilities of JCB in war crimes being committed in the occupied Palestinian Territories.


If you have faced repression for Palestinian rights advocacy whether at university, work, or during a protest in a public space or online, make sure to fill out our incident report form. This information enables us to track how Palestinian advocacy is attacked and silenced, helping us to better defend activists in times of need and push back against shrinking civic space.

REPORT AN INCIDENT

You can join our movement to ensure that defenders of Palestinian rights receive free legal advice and support by making a one time or monthly donation to the ELSC. Any donation would empower our fight for Palestinian rights in Europe. If it is not possible to make a donation at this time, you could follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter, share our posts and spread the word about repression of civic spaces for advocates of Palestinian rights.

DONATE

Categories
Event

Webinar: Challenging the Repression of Palestinian Rights Advocacy

The European Legal Support Center (ELSC), PAX, SOMO, The Rights Forum and Al Haq are inviting you to a webinar on Challenging the Repression of Palestinian Rights Advocacy on the 18th of November 2021 at 5.30pm.

See the recording of the webinar:

In response to Israel’s designation of six prominent Palestinian human rights NGOs and civil society organisations as “terrorist”, Palestinian and international civil society organisations have collectively called upon the international community to take all necessary measures to protect Palestinian rights’ advocates. 32 Dutch organisations called on the Dutch government to publicly speak out against the decision of the Israeli government and to condemn it as an unjustified restriction on civil society as well as take action to protect human rights defenders in Palestine and those who stand up for the rights of Palestinians anywhere in the world.

During the webinar, Wesam Ahmad, a Director at the Center for Applied International Law in Al Haq – one of the six leading organisations groundlessly designated – will discuss the implications of this repression on Palestinian civil society. He will also address the responsibilities of third states parties such as The Netherlands and concrete actions we should expect from our authorities.

We will highlight the importance of civic space for human rights advocates in the Palestine/Israel context in general but also how it is connected to shrinking civic space in The Netherlands, through Giovanni Fassina and Lydia de Leeuw’s interventions. A recent ELSC report shows evidence of clear patterns to shrink civic space of individuals and groups expressing in favour of the rights of the Palestinians or criticising illegal Israeli policies, through deliberate smear campaigns, attempts to defund, cyberattacks, threats with lawsuits, and restrictions on academic freedom. Fassina will speak about the role and responsibilities of the Dutch government in protecting and promoting civic space.

The discussion will be moderated by Thomas Van Gool from PAX and the interventions will be followed by questions from the audience. The language will be English.

Registration is mandatory: REGISTER HERE. The link to access the webinar will be sent a few hours before the webinar.

Agenda

  • Thomas Van Gool, PAX: Welcome and introduction
  • Wesam Ahmad, Al-Haq: On the Ground Testimonies of Repression against Palestinian Civil Society
  • Giovanni Fassina, European Legal Support Center (ELSC): Main findings of the report on the Attempt to Chill Palestinian Rights’ Advocacy in the Netherlands
  • Lydia De Leeuw, the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO): A case-study on attempted repression of civic space for Palestine related human rights research and advocacy  
  • Discussion – Q&A
Categories
Newsletter

ELSC Newsletter: October

Dear friend,

This month we share with you news on our work to push back against the criminalisation of Palestinian civil society by Israel as well as our new report on shrinking space and Palestinian rights advocacy in the Netherlands. We also share good news from the UK where the authorities rejected unfounded allegations by a lawfare group, updates from the BT3P team who challenged the German Parliament in Court, and new job and traineeship opportunities with the ELSC.

Latest Israeli Attempt to Suppress Palestinian Civil Society

After the Israeli government’s latest attempt to criminalise six prominent Palestinian CSOs by designating them as “terrorist”, we signed a joint letter to express solidarity and collectively urge the international community to take all necessary measures to protect them. We also published a statement calling on the EU and its member states to reject the designation, to publicly oppose the repression of Palestinian civil society, and to continue their financial support to their Palestinian partners. A number of international actors have also firmly rejected the Israeli decision, you can keep track of these reactions here.

Read the statement and share it on Twitter.

First ELSC Monitoring Report on Chilling Palestinian Rights Advocacy in the Netherlands

The attacks against Palestinian civil society are part of a global strategy of the Israeli authorities and their allies to silence Palestinian voices and this echoes with what we have been observing in Europe. On the 12th of October, we released our first monitoring report on the attempt to chill Palestinian rights advocacy in the Netherlands, which sheds light on the actors responsible for incidents of repression, including Israel-advocacy groups along with enabling actors such as Dutch right-wing media outlets and political parties. The report documents 76 cases of repression and the tactics used to repress Palestinian rights advocates.

BT3P vs. the Anti-BDS Motion of the German Bundestag: German Court Dismisses the Complaint

Since 2020, the ELSC has been supporting Palestinian-Jewish-German initiative Bundestag 3 for Palestine (BT3P) with lawyer Ahmed Abed to challenge the German Bundestag’s anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) resolution that condemns the movement as antisemitic. Read our case summary.
On October 7, the Berlin Administrative Court held the first hearing on the complaint. The Court ruled that the fundamental rights of the complainants have not been violated and the Bundestag is allowed to use the controversial IHRA definition as a parameter to assess antisemitism and therefore dismissed the case at this stage. Nevertheless, the Court recognised both its jurisdiction on the case and BT3P’s legal standing to challenge the resolution. Amir Ali, one of the plaintiffs, said in response to this decision: “We will appeal. With this complaint we are opposing the systematic suppression of human rights work for Palestinians in Germany”. Lawyer Abed added: “We see good chances for the next instance.”

DONATE to help the team in their legal proceedings

UK Government Dismisses Attempt by UK Lawyers for Israel to Harm Palestinian Civil Society

In one of its latest attempt to delegitimise Palestinian civil society, UKLFI submitted a complaint to the UK National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (UK NCP) against PricewaterhouseCoopers Palestine Limited (PwC Palestine) for an alleged violation of the OECD Guidelines. In response, the UK NCP concluded that the complaint was unfounded as PwC Palestine “had appropriate policies and procedures in place to obtain reasonable assurance that its clients were upholding appropriate legal, compliance and ethical standards and also conducted reasonable investigations following the allegations by UKLFI.
Such a decision plays a crucial role in the struggle of global civil society against the phenomenon of shrinking civic space, as it exposes the groundlessness and unreliability of the accusations that lawfare actors such as UKLFI use to interrupt the activities of human rights organisations. Read more here.

Resources & News from Around Europe and Palestine

From Palestine, The Arab Center for Social Media – 7amleh just launched its Palestinian Digital Rights Violations Monitor 7or. If you are a Palestinian activist or a supporter of the Palestinian cause and you have had your social media account suspended or content taken down, faced online hate speech or other digital rights violations, report here and 7amleh will contact social media companies and follow up on your case.

This month, the French Platform of NGOs for Palestine also launched a report on the delegitimisation strategies employed against defenders of Palestinian human rights including attacks and defamation, with a focus on France. The ELSC contributed with some advice.

Other ELSC News

The ELSC is offering new job and traineeship opportunities. We are seeking a Development Officer to lead fundraising and administrative work, including management of human resources and strategic planning. The deadline to apply is 21 November. See the call for applications.

We are also very happy to launch our Movement Lawyering Traineeship that aims to educate the next generation of human rights lawyers and advocates by rooting their legal training, experience and practice in the Palestine solidarity movement. We accept application on a rolling basis for three positions:

Junior Legal Officer: Monitor and Defend

Junior Advocacy Officer

Junior Legal Officer: Empower

We are currently welcoming applications for the positions of Junior Legal Officer: Monitor and Defend starting from 15th of July 2022 and Junior Advocacy Officer starting from May 2022. Read more and apply here.

We are now on Instagram! Follow us on our account elsclegal for updates on our work in promoting the right to advocate, and defending Palestinian rights advocates in Europe!


If you have faced repression for Palestinian rights advocacy whether at university, work, or during a protest in a public space or online, make sure to fill out our incident report form. This information enables us to track how Palestinian advocacy is attacked and silenced, helping us to better defend activists in times of need and push back against shrinking civic space.

You can join our movement to ensure that defenders of Palestinian rights receive free legal advice and support by making a one time or monthly donation to the ELSC. Any donation would empower our fight for Palestinian rights in Europe. If it is not possible to make a donation at this time, you could follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter, share our posts and spread the word about repression of civic spaces for advocates of Palestinian rights.

Categories
Statement

The Netherlands must speak out against unsubstantiated accusations against six Palestinian organisations

Today, the ELSC joined 31 Dutch organisations to call the Dutch government to condemn the recent allegations against six prominent Palestinian NGOs.

We call on the Dutch government to:

  • To publicly speak out against the decision of the Israeli government and to condemn it as an unjustified restriction on civil society;
  • To call on the Israeli government to revoke the decision in question with immediate effect;
  • To continue its (financial) support to current Palestinian partner organisations and to ensure that Dutch banks and financial institutions do not follow this condemnation;
  • To publicly express its support for the work of the six affected organisations;
  • To give priority in its policy towards Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory to the protection of civil society and human rights defenders who stand up for the rights of Palestinians anywhere in the world.

Read the whole statement in English and in Dutch.

Picture: Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Ben Knapen. Cc Flickr | Sebastiaan ter Burg 

Categories
Release Restrictive Policies

Joint Letter: The International Community Must Support and Protect Palestinian Civil Society

The ELSC joined 241 organisations to express solidarity with Palestinian civil society and human rights defenders after the latest attempt from the Israeli government to silence them. We collectively urge the international community to take all necessary measures to protect them.

As a group of 235 regional and international organizations, we express our full solidarity with Palestinian civil society and human rights defenders as Israel continues to escalate its attacks to shut down critical human rights work and silence opposition to its occupation of Palestinian territory and apartheid over the Palestinian people as a whole. We urge the international community to take all necessary action to support and protect Palestinian civil society and human rights defenders and ensure the continuation of their invaluable work.

On 19 October 2021, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz designated six leading Palestinian civil society organizations as terrorist organizations, including Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, Al-Haq Law in the Service of Man (Al-Haq), Bisan Center for Research and Development, Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCI-P), the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC).

The Israeli government has continued to intensify its attacks on independent Palestinian human rights organizations and their staff, who regularly face smear campaigns, spurious accusations of links to terrorism as well as threats and intimidation, travel bans and movement restrictions, and arrest for their work. Independent Israeli and international organizations have also been targeted by Israel for their work documenting and advocating against Israel’s human rights violations. Israel’s actions clearly follow the pattern set by authoritarian states in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and around the world.

This unprecedented designation is merely the latest escalation in Israel’s widespread and systematic institutionalized campaign that has aimed to silence and discredit any Palestinian individual or organization that dares seek accountability for Israel’s grave human rights violations, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The “persecution of organizations and persons, by depriving them of fundamental rights and freedoms, because they oppose apartheid” is one of the methods used by Israel to maintain its domination and oppression over the Palestinian people.

On 18 October 2021, the Israeli Interior Minister announced the official revocation of the Jerusalem residency status of Palestinian-French human rights defender and lawyer Salah Hammouri based on “breach of allegiance” to the State of Israel, opening the way for more widespread use of residency revocation on this basis, putting thousands of Palestinians in Jerusalem at risk of arbitrary and punitive measures leading to their forcible transfer.

UN experts condemned the designations of the six NGOs as terrorist organizations “a frontal attack on the Palestinian human rights movement, and on human rights everywhere” and called upon the international community to “defend the defenders.” The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Israel to revoke the designations, affirming that “claiming rights before a UN or other international body is not an act of terrorism, advocating for the rights of women in the occupied Palestinian territory is not terrorism, and providing legal aid to detained Palestinians is not terrorism”. The designation has also been condemned by other international actors, including members of the US House of Representatives, European Parliamentarians as well as international civil society.

The designation presents a challenge to the international community, especially democratic states that speak out and support independent human rights organizations and defenders in other parts of the world. Remaining silent is insufficient given the urgent support and protection needs of the six organizations that are now at an additional risk of raids, confiscation of property and materials, closure of bank accounts, arrest of staff members, and closure of their offices. Israel’s attacks against these organizations pose an existential threat to independent Palestinian human rights organizations and civil society who work to monitor and document violations of human rights and provide basic services to the Palestinian people.

We call upon the international community to publicly condemn and reject Israel’s designation of Palestinian human rights and civil society organizations as “terrorist organizations” as an internationally wrongful act, to call for Israel to immediately rescind the designation, and to demand Israel repeal its Anti-Terrorism Law (2016) as it does not meet basic human rights standards and to end all other actions that deny Palestinians their inalienable human rights. We also urge members of the international community to publicly show support for the six organizations and Palestinian civil society at large.

Further, the international community, especially the European Union and its member states who are key supporters of and donors to Palestinian civil society, should ensure that banks and financial institutions in their jurisdiction are notified Israel’s designation of Palestinian organizations is unfounded and inapplicable.

Signatories:

  1. 11.11.11
  2. Abna Al-Quds Club
  3. Action for Change and Democracy in Algeria
  4. AFKAR for Educational & Cultural Development
  5. Agir pour le Changement et la Démocratie en Algérie (ACDA)
  6. Al Ataa Charitable Society
  7. Albanian Human Rights Group
  8. Al Dameer Association for Human Rights
  9. Al-Haq, Law in the Service of Man
  10. Al Karmel Culture and Social Development Association
  11. Al-Marsad Arab Human Rights Center in Golan Heights
  12. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
  13. Altawasol Forum Society
  14. Aman Organization Against Discrimination
  15. ANSWER Coalition
  16. Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem
  17. Arab Canadian Lawyers Association
  18. Arab Center for Agricultural Development
  19. Artists for Palestine UK
  20. Asha Parivar
  21. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
  22. Asociación Paz con Dignidad
  23. Association Africaine de Défense droit de l’Homme (ASADHO)
  24. Association Belgo-Palestinienne WB
  25. Association des Magistrats Tunisiens
  26. Association des Universitaires pour le Respect du Droit International en Palestine (AURDIP)
  27. Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS)
  28. Association Internationale de Soutien aux Prisonniers Politiques
  29. Association Nachaz
  30. Association pour le Droit à la Différence (ADD)
  31. Association Tunisienne des Femmes Démocrates
  32. Association Tunisienne de Soutien des Minorités
  33. Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children
  34. Australia Palestine Advocacy Network
  35. Australian Centre for International Justice
  36. Bait Lahia Youth Association Center
  37. BankTrack – Netherlands
  38. Basma Society for Culture and Arts
  39. Basmeh & Zeitooneh
  40. Baytna
  41. Beity
  42. Belady Foundation for Human Rights
  43. BDS País Valencià
  44. Broederlijk Delen
  45. Bytes For All
  46. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
  47. Canada Palestine Association
  48. Canadian BDS Coalition
  49. Canadians for Peace and Justice in Kashmir
  50. Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)
  51. Canada Palestine Friendship Society
  52. Carleton University Students for Justice in Palestine
  53. Catholics for Justice and Peace in the Holy Land
  54. Center for Civil Liberties
  55. Center for Constitutional Rights
  56. Center for Defense of Liberties & Civil Rights (Hurryyat)
  57. Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR)
  58. Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO)
  59. Central Blood Bank Society
  60. Coalition of African Lesbians
  61. Committee on the Administration of Justice (Northern Ireland)
  62. Community Empowerment and Social Justice Network (CEMSOJ)
  63. Community Media Center
  64. Conectas Direitos Humanos
  65. Confederación Intersindical Galega (CIG)
  66. Congregations of St. Joseph
  67. Citizen News Service (CNS)
  68. Citoyenneté, Développement, Cultures et migrations des deux Rives
  69. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
  70. CNCD-11.11.11
  71. Collectif des Familles de Disparus en Algérie (CFDA)
  72. Cooperazione Internazionale Sud Sud (CISS)
  73. Cultura è libertà una campagna per la Palestina
  74. De-Colonizer
  75. Defence for Children International – Italy
  76. DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)
  77. Defender Center for Human Rights
  78. Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN)
  79. docP – BDS Netherlands
  80. Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt, NY
  81. Dr. Haider Abdel Shafi Center for Culture & Development
  82. Edmonton Run for Palestine
  83. European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine (ECCP)
  84. European Legal Support Center (ELSC)
  85. European Trade Union Network For Justice in Palestine (ETUN)
  86. Fares Arab Foundation for Development
  87. FIAN International
  88. Finnish-Arab Friendship Society
  89. Free Gaza Australia
  90. Fundación Mundubat
  91. Gaza Action Ireland
  92. General and Autonomous Confederation of Workers in Algeria (CGATA)
  93. General Confederation of the Portuguese Workers (CGTP-IN)
  94. Gibanje za pravice Palestincev
  95. Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
  96. Grassroots AlQuds
  97. Groupe LOTUS
  98. Grup de Suport a Juani Rishmawi
  99. Gruppo Ibriq per la cultura e la causa Palestinese
  100. Hassan El Saadawi Association for Democracy and Equality
  101. Human Rights and Democracy Center (SHAMS)
  102. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
  103. International Accountability Project
  104. International Association for the Support of Political Prisoners
  105. International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
  106. International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights
  107. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
  108. International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific (IWRAW AP)
  109. Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign
  110. Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU)
  111. Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD)
  112. Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) – Finland
  113. Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) – Germany
  114. Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions UK
  115. Jabalia Rehabilitation Society
  116. Joussour De Citoyenneté
  117. Jurists without Chains
  118. Justice for Iran
  119. Justitia Center for Legal Protection of Human Rights in Algeria
  120. Kairos Ireland
  121. Kairos Sabeel Netherlands
  122. Kenya Human Rights Commission
  123. Land Research Center
  124. Leadership Team of the Dominican Sisters and Associates of Racine, WI
  125. League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI)
  126. Lebanese Center for Human Rights
  127. Libya Al-Mostakbal
  128. Libyan Center for Freedom of the Press
  129. Libyan Network for Legal Aid
  130. Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace
  131. Ligue Algérienne de Défense des Droits de L’homme
  132. Ligue des droits de l’Homme
  133. Ligue Suisse des Droits de l’Homme – Genève
  134. MA’AN Development Center
  135. MADRE – USA
  136. Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights
  137. Makan
  138. MakeShiftPublishing BV
  139. Manushya Foundation
  140. Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
  141. MENA Rights Group
  142. Mwatana for Human Rights
  143. Nā Pua Kūʻē – Hawaiʻi Dissenters
  144. National Autonomous Union of Public Administration Staff (SNAPAP)
  145. National Fisheries Solidarity
  146. National Syndicate of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT)
  147. Netherlands Palestine Committee
  148. Niagara Movement for Justice in Palestine-Israel (NMJPI)
  149. NOVACT
  150. New Weapons Research Group onlus
  151. Oakville Palestinian Rights Association
  152. Odhikar
  153. One Justice
  154. Organisation 23_10 d’Appui au Processus de Transition Démocratique
  155. Österreichische Liga für Menschenrechte
  156. Our Revolution Northern Virginia (ORNOVA)
  157. Palestina Solidariteit vzw
  158. Palästina Spricht
  159. Palestinakomiteen i Larvik-Sandefjord
  160. Palestine Solidarity Alliance of South Africa
  161. Palestine Solidarity Campaign – Britain (England, Wales, and Scotland)
  162. Palestine Solidarity Campaign – Gauteng (Johannesburg)
  163. Palestine Solidarity Campaign – Cape Town
  164. Palestinian Solidarity Group at Mount Holyoke College
  165. Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA)
  166. Palestinian Assembly for Liberation
  167. Palestinian Children in Israeli Military Prisons (PIM)
  168. Palestinian Counseling Center
  169. Palestinian Youth Movement
  170. Pax Christi Flanders
  171. Pax Christi USA
  172. PeaceWomen Across the Globe
  173. Plan International – Jordan
  174. Platform of French NGOs for Palestine
  175. Portuguese League for Human Rights – Civitas
  176. Princeton Committee on Palestine
  177. Project48
  178. Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice
  179. Racial Literacy Groups
  180. Réseau International des Droits Humains (RIDH)
  181. Rumbo a Gaza
  182. Salaam Ragazzi dell’Olivo, Comitato di Trieste
  183. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
  184. Sareyyet Ramallah
  185. Sexual Rights Intiative
  186. Sheffield Labour Friends of Palestine
  187. Sinistra Italiana
  188. Socialist Party (India)
  189. SOLSOC
  190. South African BDS Coalition
  191. South African Jews for a Free Palestine (SAJFP)
  192. SumOfUs
  193. Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM)
  194. Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ)
  195. Syrian Justice and Accountability Center (SJAC)
  196. The Community Action Center at Al-Quds University
  197. The Cultural Forum Center
  198. The Culture and Free Thought Association
  199. The National Society for Democracy and Law
  200. The Palestine Committee of Norway
  201. The Palestine Project
  202. The Palestinian Developmental Women Studies Association (PDWSA)
  203. The Palestinian Human Rights Organization (PHRO)
  204. The Rights Forum
  205. The Society of Women Graduates
  206. Toronto Palestine Film Festival
  207. Trade Union Friends of Palestine
  208. Transnational Institute
  209. Trócaire
  210. Tunisian Association of Defending Individual Liberties (ADLI)
  211. Tunisian Association of the Democratic Women (ATFD)
  212. Tunisian Youth Movement in Germany
  213. UK-Palestine Mental Health Network
  214. Union Aid Abroad APHEDA
  215. Union Juive Française pour la Paix (UJFP)
  216. Union Syndicale Solidaires
  217. United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine – Israel
  218. Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights
  219. USA Palestine Mental Health Network
  220. Visualizing Palestine
  221. Viva Salud
  222. WESPAC Foundation, Inc.
  223. Women Against Violence
  224. Women in Black Vienna
  225. Women Now For Development
  226. Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC)
  227. Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
  228. Women’s Studies Centre
  229. Youth Development Association (YDA)
  230. Youth for Tawergha
  231. Zochrot
  232. Committee for the Respect of Liberties and Human Rights in Tunisia
  233. Just Peace Advocates
  234. Business and Human Rights Resource Center (BHRRC)
  235. Egyptian Front for Human Rights
  236. Palestine Link
  237. Riposte International
  238. Belgian Campaign for an Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
  239. We Network
  240. Fagforbundet
  241. Associació Hèlia
  242. EuroMed Rights

Read the letter in Arabic

Categories
Restrictive Policies Statement

The ELSC calls on the EU to oppose Israel’s latest attempt to suppress Palestinian Civil Society

On 22 October 2021, the Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz announced the official designation of six prominent Palestinian human rights and civil society organisations (CSOs) as “terrorist” organisations. This decision is the most recent development of a longstanding strategy by Israeli authorities and disinformation groups such as NGO Monitor to repress Palestinian civil society through criminalisation and delegitimisation. This phenomenon has been widely acknowledged and denounced by national European governments, including in the Netherlands, Denmark and Belgium and the United Nations.

This is not the first time that the Israeli government and its allies have disseminated unfounded allegations to pressure European States and institutions in order to disrupt their financial support to Palestinian organisations. Nevertheless, these inflammatory accusations have already been rejected as unsubstantiated by the EU (in 2018 and 2021) and Member States, including Belgium and Sweden.

It is worth noting that, none of the Palestinian CSO’s or their staff members have been included in the EU’s list of proscribed organisations. In order to be added to this list, the Council of the European Union is required to designate the CSOs in the light of a decision taken by a competent authority which must be based on ‘serious and credible evidence’. The Court of Justice of the European Union has stated that, in order to rely on a decision of a third State, such as Israel, to designate CSO’s as proscribed organisations, the Council must carefully verify that the relevant legislation of that State ‘ensures in practice a protection of the rights of defence’ equivalent to that guaranteed at EU level by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.

This is certainly not the case as the 2016 Israeli counter-terrorism law poses serious human rights concerns. As explained by Professors E. Lieblich and A. Shinar, and clarified by the human rights organisation Adalah, the legislation in question allows entities to be included on the list of terrorist organisations without any right to a hearing or to submit defensive evidence beforehand. The designation is based on classified evidence that the listed organisations are not authorised to access, not even when opposing the decision before the Minister of Defence or the Supreme Court, thus erasing any guarantee of a fair trial.

We therefore firmly condemn the allegations by the Israeli Minister of Defence and call on the European Union and its Member States to reject the designation, to publicly oppose the suppression of Palestinian civil society, and to continue their financial support to their Palestinian partners.

See the reactions to the Israeli decision from the EU, Member States, international organisations and institutions.

Categories
Release Restrictive Policies

UK government dismisses latest attempt by UK Lawyers for Israel to harm Palestinian civil society

For many years now, politically-motivated actors have used legal fora to inflict damage on civil society organisations supporting Palestinian rights, by attempting to silence them and delegitimise their work. These attacks, generally referred to as “lawfare”, are mostly conducted by disinformation groups supporting Israel’s occupation and apartheid regime, such as: NGO Monitor, Regavim, Shurat HaDin, International Legal Forum, Lawfare Project, and UK Lawyers For Israel (UKLFI).

UKLFI in particular is a legal advocacy and campaigning organisation based in the UK that has been attempting to smear and disrupt the work of Palestinian human rights groups and their partners for years. While its disinformation campaigns have taken a toll on civil society, its attempts to get official bodies to accept its defamatory claims have been largely unsuccessful; its allegations have been found to be groundless on numerous occasions. Just between 2017 and 2019 UKLFI submitted several complaints to the government charities’ regulator in the UK against at least 3 charities, all of which were rejected. Moreover, on 9 March 2020, UKLFI was required to issue a public apology after being sued in a defamation case (which was settled) for having accused DCI – Palestine of providing financial and material support to proscribed organisations.

In one of its latest attempt to delegitimise Palestinian civil society, UKLFI submitted a complaint to the UK National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (UK NCP) against PricewaterhouseCoopers Palestine Limited (PwC Palestine) for an alleged violation of the OECD Guidelines (the Guidelines). In this case, the lawfare organisation claimed that PwC Palestine breached the Guidelines by providing its audit service to two Palestinian NGOs, Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), a leading agricultural development organisation which has been attacked for supporting Palestinian farmers in Area C of the West Bank, which Israel has targeted for continued settlement expansion, and DCI-P (once again). The complainant raised inflammatory allegations arguing that the latter Palestinian organisations had links with a proscribed organisation in the UK and that PwC Palestine had failed to expose such links.

In its response, PwC Palestine explained that it undertook thorough client acceptance checks as well as periodic continuance checks to comply with legal, regulatory and ethical obligations imposed by the Guidelines. Moreover, the respondent argued that “UKLFI’s allegations of links between PFLP and the 2 NGO charities are not well supported or evidenced.” On 24 September 2021 the UK NCP issued the final decision, concluding that the complaint was unfounded as PwC Palestine “had appropriate policies and procedures in place to obtain reasonable assurance that its clients were upholding appropriate legal, compliance and ethical standards and also conducted reasonable investigations following the allegations by UKLFI.

Such a decision plays a crucial role in the struggle of global civil society against the phenomenon of shrinking civic space, as it exposes the groundlessness and unreliability of the accusations that lawfare actors such as UKLFI use to interrupt the activities of human rights organisations. A recent report from Charity & Security Network, a US-based organisation that protects the ability of nonprofits to carry out peacebuilding, humanitarian, and human rights missions, delves into the harm caused by these lawfare actors and offers policy recommendations for governments, donors, and civil society groups.