On the 21st September, in Berlin, a 10-year-old pro-Palestine demonstrator was pursued and arrested by German police, as captured in a widely shared video.
Germany’s legal guarantees of free speech and assembly notwithstanding, the nation’s stance in favour of Israel seems to supersede any demonstrations or assemblies in favour of Palestine.
Numerous protesters in favour of Palestine have reportedly been arrested by German police, but many were taken aback by the youngster’s arrest.
A few have charged Germany with absolving itself of Holocaust responsibility at the expense of the Africans that Germany colonised in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as the Palestinians under Israeli occupation.
German support for Israel, according to author and researcher Denijal Jegić, is a pretext for intensifying anti-immigration policies and minimising anti-Semitic sentiment that exists within the country.
One of the main parties in Germany, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has declared that the words “free Palestine” have no place in Germany and are the “war cry of an internationally active terror gang.”
In light of Germany’s Holocaust atrocities during World War II, former German chancellor Angela Merkel has declared that Israel’s security and continued existence are inextricably linked to the development of modern Germany.
In addition to offering political and diplomatic backing to Israel, the German government has expedited the export of weapons in order to support the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of over 41,000 Palestinian civilians—or as many as 186,000 as of early July, according to a report published in the Lancet medical journal.