“It’s unbearable”
Wegner sharply criticizes the Berlin “Palestine Congress”.
April 12, 2024, 3:14 p.m
The “Palestine Congress” in Berlin is controversial. The organizers exclude the unprecedented massacre by Hamas in Israel. Now Berlin’s head of government Wegner is justifying his rejection of the three-day meeting. Meanwhile, the police fear calls for violence and are preparing for a large-scale operation.
Before the start of a controversial “Palestine Congress”, Berlin’s governing mayor Kai Wegner sharply criticized the event and announced that the police would take consistent action in the event of anti-Semitic statements. “It is unbearable that a so-called Palestine Congress will take place in Berlin,” said the CDU politician. “We do not tolerate anti-Semitism, hatred and agitation against Jews in Berlin. That is why the Berlin police will take consistent action if anti-Semitic statements or crimes occur at this meeting,” said Wegner. “I would like to thank the Berlin police officers for their commitment to ensuring law and order in our city – and protecting and defending our values.”
In addition to Wegner, other politicians and organizations also criticized the congress. The three-day pro-Palestinian event under the motto “We denounce” was scheduled to begin on Friday afternoon and run until Sunday. The exact location on Germaniastrasse in the Tempelhof district was kept secret for a long time – the organizers only announced it in the morning at a press conference in the Wedding district and on the congress website. It said: “Only people with a valid ticket can be guaranteed access.” It initially remained unclear how many participants would come, but there was talk of up to 1,000.
The Berlin police prepared for a major operation. According to a spokeswoman from the previous day, around 900 emergency services were planned for Friday and a total of around 2,500 police officers by Sunday. The location of the event was also unknown to the police for a long time. According to her own information, she is examining the possibility of imposing conditions for the meeting. They are also prepared for spontaneous demonstrations and rallies. Barriers were set up outside the venue.
Charged mood
Various groups and initiatives have invited people to the “Palestine Congress”. According to security authorities and Berlin’s internal administration, groups that belong to the anti-Israel “boycott spectrum” were the main mobilizers. There are also other anti-Israel groups such as the “Workers Power Group” (GAM), “Revolution” (REVO) and the “United Palestinian National Committee” (VPNK). In the announcement as well as in the press conference, the organizers accused Israel of, among other things, “apartheid”, “colonialism” and “genocide” in the Gaza Strip.
Germany bears “complicity” because it supplies weapons to Israel. The unprecedented massacre with more than 1,200 deaths that terrorists from the Islamist Hamas and other groups carried out in Israel on October 7th last year was not mentioned at all in the call and was only mentioned in the press conference after repeated requests from journalists.
At the organizers’ press conference in a small room of the “Internationalist Office” in Wedding, the mood was partly charged among the journalists, with some criticizing each other. The organizers initially hung the Palestinian flag incorrectly, but corrected their mistake before reading out statements.
Concern about calls for violence
Outside the press conference site, demonstrators protested against Congress and demanded the release of the Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7. The Berlin CDU parliamentary group wanted to drive through the city in a video van all day to mobilize against anti-Semitism. “It is important to show the flag,” said CDU parliamentary group leader Dirk Stettner.
The SPD domestic politician Martin Matz expressed fears that congress could make criminal calls for violence. “It is not about legitimate mourning for war victims or an exchange about a future for Palestine for all people living there,” he said.
A non-partisan “alliance against anti-Semitic terror” had already been formed before the congress and jointly opposed the event. The Central Council of Jews was one of them. “This event is a showcase of anti-Zionism and will certainly not find any answers to the suffering of the civilian population in Gaza,” Central Council President Josef Schuster said on Thursday.