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REPAIR THE REPARATIONS
Stella Meris | 28 October 2023

Every death is one death too many.

October 7, 2023 will be etched into the collective consciousness of Palestinians, Israelis and Germans. At the moment, every word can hurt. Peacefully intended statements can be one-sided or misunderstood. Blame is often dismissed with a denial of one's own responsibility. One-sided media reports distort perception. One thing is certain, however: innocent people suffer under the ruling power. Suffering is suffering. My sympathy these days goes to all the victims and their relatives and friends, those in Gaza and the West Bank, and those who died or were taken prisoner both in the rave and from Israeli settlements. The images evoke horrific associations for Jews worldwide, as the Nazi massacres were not that long ago. The same is true of the images from Gaza, which bring back memories of the Nakba. This pain and fear are understandable. My sympathy also goes out to more than 10,000 Palestinian political prisoners, including children and minors, who are spending their precious lives in Israeli jails and being held in inhumane conditions (the number has almost doubled from 5,300 since October 7!) [1].

Every loss of life is tragic and deserves to be mourned. There are no justifications to the deaths we are and have been witnessing. I think that many Israelis as well as Palestinians I have met in recent years would agree with this. Most simply want to live in peace. As far as I have been able to witness, the mutual recognition of pain is a fundamental part of the peace movement in Palestine-Israel [2]. This also includes coming to terms with and understanding historically induced collective traumas, such as those of the Nakba and the Holocaust. In addition, the ongoing oppression, expulsion and murder of Palestinians by the state of Israel must be brought to an end. The responsibility for this also lies with the international community, especially the Western states, which remain largely silent about Israel's war crimes or even support them, up to and including the current genocide in Gaza [3].

Palestinians implicated as innocents in German-Jewish history.

In the German discourse it is extremely challenging to see all these realities together. It is difficult to engage with and be close to the suffering and trauma of all affected peoples with both humbleness and consideration. It is one's own feelings of guilt and historical entanglements in the suffering of Jews that look for easy solutions and a new scapegoat. Instead of dealing with the fact that the consequences of National Socialism did not end with the extermination of 6 million Jews, but also led to the Nakba, – the Palestinian catastrophe, – a narrative is reproduced that Palestinians have always been bad and in the wrong. Their resistance to Zionist colonialism, which was justified by European anti-Semitism even before 1948 [4], and to the Israeli occupation has always been equated with terrorism and anti-Semitism. It is not recognized that Palestinians, as innocent people, were caught up in German-Jewish history and not only lost their homeland, but were also denied the right to their own identity and history.

Palestinians are dehumanized and criminalized.

The existence of Palestinians is systematically hidden and erased in Germany. Political parties in Germany have equated people who stand up for equal rights and shout, for example, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” as terrorism and anti-Semitism. They are accused that solidarity with Palestinians means the desire to eradicate Jewish life in Israel. However, the slogan is not directed at the Jewish religious community, but at the ethnocratic and therefore also deeply racist, undemocratic state of Israel, which makes a common, equal coexistence impossible. Voices that point to this and to the historical and present injustices are discredited in this country and banned from public discourse [5]. The few voices that are still perceived in public come mostly from German or Jewish people. Palestinian journalists, academics and artists in particular are excluded from the discourse [6].

And the political tone in Germany does not only affect Palestinians. Chancellor Scholz recently declared: "We finally have to deport on a large scale!" [7] and in this, all migrants are implicated, especially those who are read as migrants and those who fight back against the resurgent German fascism. In the media, Arab and Muslim people in particular are equated with terrorism, even though they are the ones being racially harassed and attacked by the German police on the streets of Berlin Neukölln [8]. Peaceful and non-violent forms of protest, such as demonstrations or commemorations of the Nakba, have been heavily criminalized and banned in Germany in recent years [9]. Even religious forms of protest, such as collective prayer in front of the Brandenburg Gate, are interpreted as support for terror [10]. It does not matter how Palestinians and their fellow citizens in solidarity express themselves against Israel's tyranny and Germany’s unconditional solidarity with these war criminals: they are always accused of anti-Semitism and support for terrorism.

October 7, 2023 did not come out of the blue. Many activists and organizations working against Israeli apartheid and the far-right government anticipated such an event. Their call for the liberation of Palestine, “Free Palestine”, was not only ignored worldwide, but has been strategically silenced.

There is no peaceful future scenario without the end of apartheid.

The work of the people who stand up for the rights of Palestinians is not based on nationalistic principles. It is based on the conviction that was already formulated by Dr. Martin Luther King: “No one is free until we are all free!” In this regard, I support so-called "leftist" as well as "liberal" or "religious" forces that subscribe to these values. The liberation of Palestine is not a niche issue, but one that also concerns the broader Israeli and also the German population. There is no peaceful future scenario without the end of apartheid. The challenge is not to recognize this necessity, because there are already enough reports for that, for example from Human Rights Watch [11] or Amnesty International [12]. However, the insecurity and despair of many people is in not knowing how to achieve this common goal. The war machine is too powerful and the existing structures seem insurmountable. In addition, there is grief, hatred and anger that have accumulated over decades. Defusing this emotional powder keg in such a way that as few people as possible are harmed and so that Palestinians are able to demand and achieve not only their basic rights but also their full right to self-determination is a difficult balancing act.

Coming to terms with historical trauma for a shared vision.

The voices of Palestinians and Israelis who have been working on the ground for decades for a shared future with equal rights and responsibilities are being censored. Their work to come to terms with historical collective trauma and to actively resist apartheid and develop a vision for a possible future is criminalized and despised. They pay a high price for their work, such as the lack of understanding from relatives, friends and family, but also financial disadvantages in their professional lives. Palestinians expose themselves to risks when they work with Israeli activists. They are accused of "normalization" or "betrayal" by their own society, and they are monitored by the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority. Young Israelis who refuse military service are put in prison [13]. Relations between Palestinian and Israeli activists are constantly sabotaged by the unjust system in which they live.

These brave people who, despite all the historical circumstances, appeal to humanity and speak out clearly against apartheid and occupation and stand up for Palestine to be liberated and for a future without oppression to be possible, are an example for the whole world. They stand against any form of discrimination. The Western media should listen to them. The widespread narrative of two sides being in conflict has long since had its day. Not only because the power imbalance between the highly militarized Israeli occupation state and the colonized Palestinian people could not be greater, but also because the line is not between "Israel" and "Palestine," but between those who are committed to the decolonization and liberation of historic Palestine and equal rights for all people in the region, and those who oppose these necessary steps. The end of the occupation in the West Bank, as well as the end of the blockade of Gaza, are indispensable to create sustainable peace and security for the entire region and all the people living in it. Those responsible for the numerous war crimes must be held accountable and removed from their positions of power.

The counter-violence is within the colonial context.

The counter-violence that claimed Israeli lives on October 7, 2023, certainly does not need to be condoned or excused, but it does need to be seen in a colonial context. What is clear is that it is unfair to demand a moral compass from the people of Gaza, who have been locked in an open-air prison for over 16 years, survived more than five attacks, and have been forced to live in cramped quarters in what the UN says is an uninhabitable area since 2020 [14]. The people of Gaza have been abandoned by the world community for more than a decade. Germany also shares responsibility for their pain and the hopelessness of their situation, which led to the events of that day.

Anti-colonial and anti-racist work against fascism.

Unfortunately, there is no way that the consequences of the Holocaust and Zionism can pause in order to be able to exchange and care for each other in peace. The resulting burden and time pressure in view of the ongoing genocide in Gaza exhausts activists not only in Palestine-Israel, but also here in Germany. It is especially now that it is important to stick to the common vision of a liberated Palestine and not only react to the current situation and repressions. Mass protests are very important, no question. But also beyond that, one's own impulses have to be brought into the discourse in order to oppose European as well as Israeli fascism in a clear and determined way. Anti-racist and anti-colonial work is elementary not only in relation to Palestine, but also in relation to the climate crisis and the fight against the shift to the right and the social division in Germany. If we want a future that has learned from the past and holds a vision for a plural society in which all fellow citizens can feel safe and free, there is still a lot to do in Germany. I think that a closer look at Palestine-Israel and German responsibility in this context will reveal many gaps in understanding and awareness. We must also take seriously the uncertainty, which is very much justified in the German climate, about facing all these questions upright. Many people do not dare to openly express their doubts about the common narratives for fear of making mistakes or being misunderstood and accused by others. Even as a white German with my own family history in Palestine-Israel, I find it difficult to take a public stand and speak out on the issue. The fear of being publicly branded as an anti-Semite or terror supporter, but also the fear of becoming a target of queer-hostile or right-wing extremist forces keeps me awake at night. Also the knowledge that I don't know a lot of things and that I can never look at the topic neutrally because of my own biography leaves me unsettled. But I also know that my intentions are good. I should stand up against the injustices that I have witnessed with my own eyes in the West Bank, and that I have witnessed through personal contacts over the last seven years. These experiences should be enough for me to be allowed to contribute to this German discourse.

Since I myself have family in Haifa, and many of my friends live all over the Palestine-Israel region, my commitment to a liberated Palestine is by no means selfless. I would like to see a real perspective for my relatives and my friends and a future that does not require any more wars and any more deaths. In order to get closer to this goal, I would like to encourage the German audience to question their view of Palestine-Israel anew and to break out of their own emotional patterns. This requires openness and a certain ability for self-criticism in dealing with one's own history and the feelings associated with it. I am convinced that this confrontation is worthwhile and contributes to being able to withstand the current slide to the right in Germany and to confront it with basic human values and solidarity. 

Rethinking necessary in Germany

It is time to unlearn some German reflexes, such as the dehumanization of Palestinians and Muslims, and to give the people who want to take to the streets for their loved ones the space for public mourning and anger. Their criticism of Israel and Germany as accomplices and as contributors to the current tragedy are their right. The impulse to defame their voices in order not to have to deal with the Palestinian suffering, in order not to have to stand up for them emotionally and, on the contrary, to make their situation even more difficult, should be outlawed in German society just as anti-Semitism is. Playing off the suffering of two peoples against each other is cruel and deeply destructive. It literally results in more deaths.

Settler colonialism and the ongoing Nakba, the displacement and dispossession of Palestinians since 1948, as well as Israel's Zionist state ideology are the root causes of the ongoing violence in Palestine-Israel [15]. The chants at protests such as “Ongoing Nakba,” “End Apartheid!” and “Stop the Genocide!” point to this ongoing violence resulting from Zionism and European anti-Semitism. German politicians, alongside other Western as well as Israeli politicians and media, vehemently strive to silence these courageous voices that stand up against this violence and to whom every single human life is worth more than ideologies, ethnicity or religious affiliation. Resistance to apartheid and the existing system comes from the people, from people who dare to reach out to each other, acknowledge each other's present and historical suffering, and work together for better living conditions and equal rights for all. This common resistance arises in the hard-fought spaces where dialogue is still possible at all, despite the Wall, despite checkpoints, despite repression and attempts at intimidation. These people who stand up for Palestinian rights are treated like criminals. In Germany, too, they are arrested and punished for their commitment against fascism and for basic democratic rights such as freedom of expression and international human rights. “Germany finances, Israel bombs” is another cry that can be heard in the streets of Berlin and other German cities. 

Reparation

Germany's financial involvement dates back to the 1952 Reparations Agreement. In the post-war period, the so-called reparation payments were mostly paid to the newly established Israeli state and not to Jewish individuals. It is important to point out the material and historical conditions of Israel. Germany was its main financier, at least in the early years. The money that Germany was willing to pay in consideration of its debt to the Jewish people was called Wiedergutmachung (reparations). This is a German word that, unlike "forgiveness," implies that the perpetrator himself could "make things right." I think the word is very awkwardly chosen, since it is not possible, after the genocide of 6 million Jews and the murder of other minority groups, to undo these crimes. Instead, the word also distracts from the fact that these German reparation payments were in fact German investments that helped Germany in the long run to re-establish itself economically and morally as a global player. Germany benefited on several levels from these payments to the State of Israel. In the agreement it was clear that the Nazi Globke and Adenauer would remain in office and Ben-Gurion would remain silent about it if he wanted the money. Therefore, it is hypocritical and wrong to use this term of reparation. The trauma and consequences of the Holocaust do not disappear by building a Jewish state, certainly not if it is built at the expense of other people. To this day, Jewish voices that disagree with this official political narrative are labeled anti-Semitic by Germans. In doing so, they remain silent about the real anti-Semitism, which unfortunately has never ceased in Europe and Germany.

The failure of German politics to allow Nazis to remain in positions of influence and, in most cases, never be brought to justice has already been pointed out by numerous activists, mostly migrants, who are most at the mercy of the persistence of right-wing extremism. Racist attacks like Hanau or Halle are not a coincidence, nor are they isolated incidents [16]. The failure of society and politics to protect these people from xenophobia and violence is more than bitter, as Germany boasts internationally about its "coming to terms with history." This urge to hide and distort one's own past, to reject responsibility, and to project one's own anti-Semitic history onto Muslims plays into the hands of right-wing forces. White Germans like various AfD politicians and Aiwanger can make explicit anti-Semitic statements and still remain in office and other institutional positions of power.

Most of the criminals of the Nazi regime are already dead and have never been brought to justice. My generation, as well as my parents' generation, is not guilty of the Holocaust, but they are responsible for learning from history and standing up against human rights violations, regardless of whom they affect. Therefore, I call on Germans to stand in full solidarity with the courageous Jewish, Israeli and Palestinian voices who have been doing just that for decades, working to ensure that “Never again!” applies to everyone.

Culture of remembrance.

Equally important is the call “Never forget!” to remind us of the atrocities of the past. There are still large gaps in the German culture of remembrance in this regard. The violence of German colonies as well as the injustice done to the Palestinians are not sufficiently dealt with. There is a lack of awareness of these stories in schools. The Palestinians, mainly Muslims but also Christians and Jews, lived in the territory of today's Palestine-Israel long before the Zionist project came into being and also long before the Holocaust. They are the main figures of this history, which is missing in the western media and in the German education system. Yet Palestinians are of central importance. It is impossible to understand German-Israeli history without them. Their existence is non-negotiable, and the efforts of Germany, Israel and other complicit countries to silence their voices for decades have been brutal. This refusal to confront the whole picture of history has had massive deadly consequences for the Palestinian people over the last 75 years. Their land has been taken from them piece by piece, they live under a brutal apartheid system that follows from the negation of their existence and their rights. Germany has to deal with the fact that the so-called reparations, the reparation of the German-Jewish relations, were made at the expense of the Palestinian people. The Palestinians are paying the price for crimes they did not commit. This is the core of all the problems that have been revealed in the public discourse in Germany not only in the last two weeks, but in the last 75 years. The equation of a state, in this case Israel, and a religious group, the Jewish people, is deeply problematic, and many academics and intellectuals have already denounced this. It is hypocritical to talk about the German culture of remembrance without mentioning the Nakba. The Arabic word for "catastrophe" commemorates the forcible expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians, 80% of the then Palestinian population forced to flee during the 1948 war. They lost their homes and their loved ones [17]. Germany does not recognize this crime and the right of these refugees to return to their homeland [18].

In Gaza, where 2.3 million Palestinians live, 70% of them are refugees in their own land [19]. As many Palestinian activists point out, the Nakba is not over. The displacement and ethnic cleansing continues to this day, not only in Gaza, where a genocide is currently taking place before the eyes of the entire world. And this is also in the West Bank, where attacks by settlers threaten the existence of the indigenous population of Palestine [20]. Neither in Germany nor in Israel is the full history taught in schools or families. Ignoring the existence of Palestinians and their rights is the core problem of all violence in this region. Many people are beginning to see and understand that Israel is a colonial project that will never bring peace because it is built on the denial and extermination of the indigenous population. Many people are calling for an end to apartheid and occupation, they have a vision of a free Palestine without discrimination and with equal rights for all who live between the river and the sea. Unfortunately, their voices are silenced by Instagram and Facebook and by the structural racism that is implemented in every aspect of Israeli and German society. People who openly advocate for this vision, for a state with equal rights for all, are censored and labeled anti-Semitic.

The Western countries and media have never perceived and treated the suffering of the Palestinians in the same way as other sufferings. The German state has pretended for 75 years that Palestinian pain does not matter. There are no reports about the countless murders of Palestinian people and no reports about those who are still alive and fighting for justice and freedom [21]. Neither dead nor alive do they matter to the war machine. A genocide is in full swing, and yet protesting it is not allowed. Those in power openly call for the complete destruction of Gaza [22], and yet here in Germany it is not allowed to cry out against it. Anger and tears are close together. It is important to see that, behind the anger of the pro-Palestinian demonstrators, there exists sadness and decades of suffering. Their demonstrations are justified, and for the sake of humanity, more people should join their calls for the freedom and liberation of Palestine.

The end of apartheid is inevitable. It is important to me to question the reparations made by Germany and to consider carefully how these reparations have led to even more suffering. With my slogan “Repair the reparations!” I call for a rethinking of Germany's way of dealing with the past and to finally stand by the anti-fascist voices who are working for real peace. Whether these people are Israelis, Jews from other countries, Palestinians or Germans should not matter. In the struggle against fascism and apartheid, we are of course affected differently, yet we need all forces. The recognition of our humanity and the failures of the past are central in overcoming our own powerlessness and helplessness and to strengthen and encourage each other. “We are one!” and we will not be divided. Against genocide and apartheid, against colonialism, against fascism, racism and anti-Semitism. We believe in a liberated Palestine and in our common future.

[1] “Israel doubles number of Palestinian prisoners to 10,000 in two weeks”, AlJazeera, 21.10.2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/10/21/number-of-palestinian-prisoners-in-israel-doubles-to-10000-in-two-weeks
[2] The Israeli-Palestinian Joint Memorial Day Ceremony, https://cfpeace.org/ceremony23e/
[3] “Aimé Césaire reminds us why Western powers accept the genocide committed in Gaza”, 25.10.2023, https://www.newarab.com/opinion/why-western-powers-accept-israels-genocide-gaza
[4] “Zionism, anti-Semitism and colonialism”, Aljazeera, 24.12.2012, https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2012/12/24/zionism-anti-semitism-and-colonialism
[5] “Germany’s anti-Palestinian censorship turns on Jews”, +972 mag, 4.4.2023, https://www.972mag.com/german-jews-antizionism-censorship/ 
[6] “Germany must face its issues over Israel and the past. Silencing a Palestinian author won’t help”, The Guardian, 20.10.2023, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/20/germany-israel-palestinian-author-frankfurt-adania-shibli
[7] “Wir müssen endlich im grossen Stil abschieben!”, Spiegel-Magazin, 20.10.2023 https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/olaf-scholz-ueber-migration-es-kommen-zu-viele-a-2d86d2ac-e55a-4b8f-9766-c7060c2dc38a
[8] “Statement on the racist police violence and Repression against Palestinians and Palestine Solidarity in Berlin”, The Left Berlin, 18.10.2023, https://www.theleftberlin.com/statement-on-the-racist-police-violence-and-repression-against-palestinians-and-palestine-solidarity-in-berlin/
[9] Human Rights Watch, https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/05/20/berlin-bans-nakba-day-demonstrations
[10] “Das ist dann wohl diese Unterwerfung”, Die Welt, 26.10.2023, https://www.welt.de/debatte/kommentare/plus248147052/Islam-Machtdemos-in-Berlin-Das-ist-dann-wohl-diese-Unterwerfung.html
[11] “Human Rights Consensus Around Crime of Apartheid”, Human Rights Watch, 24.3.2022, https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/25/human-rights-consensus-around-crime-apartheid
[12] Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2022/02/israels-system-of-apartheid/
[13] “Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories: Conscientious objector detailed in Israel: Yuval Dag”, Amnesty International, 13.4.2023, https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/6673/2023/en/
[14] “Gaza ist 2020 unbewohnbar”, Rosa-Luxembourg-Stiftung, 6.4.2020, https://www.rosalux.de/news/id/41914/gaza-ist-2020-unbewohnbar
[15] “The ongoing Nakba means ongoing resistance”, Mondoweiss, 18.5.2023, https://mondoweiss.net/2023/05/the-nakba-was-not-an-event/
[16] “Mölln, NSU, Halle, Hanau – Rechtsterror, Kontinuität und deutsche (Nicht-) Erinnerung”, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, Feb. 2023, https://www.rosalux.de/publikation/id/49926/moelln-nsu-halle-hanau
[17] United Nations, “About the Nakba”, https://www.un.org/unispal/about-the-nakba/
[18] “Palästinensische Flüchtlinge: Sonderstatus und "Recht auf Rückkehr", ZDF, 22.10.2023 https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/politik/palaestinenser-schutz-rueckkehrrecht-100.html
[19] UNRWA, ​​https://www.unrwa.org/where-we-work/gaza-strip
[20] “UN expert warns of new instance of mass ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, calls for immediate ceasefire”, United Nations Human Rights, 14.101.2023, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/10/un-expert-warns-new-instance-mass-ethnic-cleansing-palestinians-calls
[21] “How media coverage whitewashes Israeli state violence against Palestinians”, The Washington Post, 28.4.2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/28/jerusalem-al-aqsa-media-coverage-israeli-violence-palestinians/
[22] “Israel is clear about its intentions in Gaza – world leaders cannot plead ignorance of what is coming”, The Guardian, 24.10.2023, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/24/israel-gaza-world-leaders-un-genocide-palestinians