{"id":1621,"date":"2025-10-28T16:33:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T16:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zeitzureden.org\/pastevent\/zeit-zu-reden-misunderstood-defamed-criminalized-solidarity-with-palestine-in-germany\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T08:28:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T08:28:14","slug":"zeit-zu-reden-misunderstood-defamed-criminalized-solidarity-with-palestine-in-germany","status":"publish","type":"nor-pastevents","link":"https:\/\/zeitzureden.org\/en\/pastevent\/zeit-zu-reden-misunderstood-defamed-criminalized-solidarity-with-palestine-in-germany\/","title":{"rendered":"Zeit zu reden: Misunderstood, Defamed, Criminalized \u2013 Solidarity with Palestine in Germany"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\r\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Zeit zu reden: Missverstanden, diffamiert, kriminalisiert - Pal\u00e4stinasolidarit\u00e4t in Deutschland\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Xh_GEVtxYHY?feature=oembed\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\r\n<\/div><\/figure><br>\n\n<p>Standing in solidarity with the people of Palestine is a delicate balancing act in Germany and it requires courage. Since October 7, 2023, symbols of Palstinian identity and culture\u2014such as the scarf (keffiyeh), the flag, and the watermelon\u2014have been portrayed as problematic, interpreted as support for Hamas, and even banned in certain contexts. Scholars refer to this phenomenon as anti-Palestinian racism. It involves denying the existence of Palestinians as a community, demeaning and vilifying Palestinian identity. This is not a new phenomenon\u2014the commemoration of the Nakba, for example, has long been hindered or outright criminalized\u2014but it has intensified significantly.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>The European Legal Support Center<\/strong>\u00a0(ELSC) documents examples of discrimination against Palestine solidarity in its own database, the\u00a0<em>Index of Repression.<\/em>\u00a0It records 766 incidents, including censorship, canceled events, media smear campaigns, arrests, police violence, house searches, dismissals, and financial sanctions. Those affected are primarily people with Palestinian migration backgrounds, but also others who express solidarity. In Germany, anyone who calls for an \u201cend to the genocide in Gaza\u201d or a \u201cfree Palestine,\u201d who advocates resistance against occupation or a boycott of Israeli institutions or companies, is quickly labeled an \u201cIsrael-hater\u201d or \u201cantisemitic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p>The panel discusses which narratives and prejudices underlie anti-Palestinian racism and what historical continuities are reflected in it. What distinguishes anti-Palestinian racism from other forms of group-based hostility such as antigypsyism, antisemitism, or anti-Muslim racism? How important is it to name it as a distinct form of racist discrimination? The goal is to better understand these dynamics in order to counter them more effectively. What needs to happen for those who oppose Israel&#8217;s actions in Gaza and the West Bank to publicly declare their disapproval and express solidarity with the Palestinians? What roles do politics, media, and academia play? What strategies help in the fight against dehumanization and defamation? And where can potential allies be found?<\/p>\n\n<p>This event is supported by the\u00a0<strong>Sch\u00f6pflin Stiftung,<\/strong>\u00a0the\u00a0<strong>Stiftung Mercator,\u00a0<\/strong>the\u00a0<strong>Robert Bosch Stiftung<\/strong>\u00a0and the\u00a0<strong>Postcode Lotterie.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p>Speaker: Prof. Sabine Schiffer, Qassem Massri, Dr. Peter Ullrich and Natali Gbele<\/p>\n\n<p>Moderation: Kristin Helberg<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/zeitzureden.org\/ergebnisse-der-umfrage-stimmungslage-der-in-deutschland-lebenden-palastinenserinnen\/\">Ergebnisse der Umfrage: Stimmungslage der in Deutschland lebenden Pal\u00e4stinenser:innen<\/a><\/p>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-pdf-viewer-block-standard\" style=\"text-align:left\"><div class=\"uploaded-pdf\"><a href=\"https:\/\/zeitzureden.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ZZR-Umfrage-Oktober-2025.pdf\" data-width=\"\" data-height=\"\"><\/a><\/div><\/div><br>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Standing in solidarity with the people of Palestine is a delicate balancing act in Germany and it requires courage. Since&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1623,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"nor-pastevents_cat":[],"class_list":["post-1621","nor-pastevents","type-nor-pastevents","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeitzureden.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/nor-pastevents\/1621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeitzureden.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/nor-pastevents"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeitzureden.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/nor-pastevents"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeitzureden.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeitzureden.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1621"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeitzureden.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeitzureden.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeitzureden.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1621"},{"taxonomy":"nor-pastevents_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeitzureden.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/nor-pastevents_cat?post=1621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}