Berlin – "I feel ashamed to be German… and in solidarity with you (the Palestinians), I will tear up this German passport just like the Israeli army is tearing up Palestinian land and its people," said the German youth, Georg Ismail.
Al Jazeera Net reached out to the German young man, who confirmed in an extensive interview that his act was a protest against "the German double standards towards Palestinians," including those who hold German passports.
Ismail spoke about his solidarity story with Palestine despite the pressure, his view of what Germans call the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the possibility of changing their stances with the influence of social media and the rise of a new German generation.
Why did you choose this method of protest?
Because I am personally shocked and deeply affected by the suffering and injustice that Palestinians are currently facing. I have been an activist in a Palestine solidarity organization for a very long time and a friend of many Palestinians, and the dreadful stories I've heard happening in Gaza have affected me a lot.
I also have Palestinian friends who have German passports, and when they visit their families, for example in the West Bank, they face harassment by the occupation soldiers at the borders, with no regard for their passports.
The German embassy does not defend German citizens of Palestinian descent when they are detained in Israel. So, the passport does not represent the same thing for everyone.
A police officer gestures to protesters who climbed "Neptune Fountain" during a pro-Palestine demonstration in Berlin (Reuters)
Aren't you afraid of any negative consequences after tearing up your passport?
I took this step because I was born in "Saxony-Anhalt," which has already mandated the recognition of Israel to obtain citizenship. What the Christian party wants to do now is to pass a law that allows for revoking the citizenship of Germans for not recognizing Israel (if they hold another nationality), which could also lead to deportation.
It reveals not only the anti-democratic nature but also the racist nature of the law because the people who would be deported are non-Europeans. This project isn't just about banning the naturalization of individuals; it's also about withdrawing citizenship and then deportation.
In general, this is not new; under the Nazi regime, leftists, communists, and dissidents were deported, and later they began to move them to camps with Jews, Roma, homosexuals, and disabled people. As a German leftist and communist, the idea of revoking citizenship is very frightening to me.
Police officers detain someone during a manifestation in support of Palestinians in Berlin (Reuters)
Returning to your path, how did you start supporting the Palestinian cause?
I was born into a liberal leftist family, and my first political memories were watching fascists march in the streets, which I found frightening and therefore decided to oppose them. In a state with a significant number of Nazis, it's natural to hear racist and anti-Semitic jokes everywhere, which made me determine to fight against fascism.
Then I moved to Berlin at the age of 14 and joined a group for international struggle against forms of oppression around the world. I met Palestinians, Kurds, and many groups suffering oppression, but I decided to focus on supporting Palestinians within the communist 'Workers' Power' group, because I found other groups had plenty of support while showing solidarity with Palestine was controversial in Germany.
Was it easy for you to express solidarity with Palestine in a country where the Palestinian voice is suppressed in the media, parties, or schools, and the Israeli narrative prevails?
No, of course, it wasn't easy at all on many levels. I and many of my comrades were defamed, labeled as anti-Semitic, which had political consequences as we were excluded from many political activities.
It's noticeable that even some aspects of the left, like the group known as "Anti-Deutsch," reject us and don't want Middle Eastern activists to participate in their activities. I'm also sure that there is some danger to my life and my financial income due to my activism, but I've decided to continue and raise my voice.
You mentioned the "Anti-Deutsch" group (Anti-Germans), a radical left-wing youth group that supports Israel and rejects German positions. Does this confirm a German peculiarity?
I don't think they oppose Germany at all because, in reality, they support German foreign policy on all major issues.
This group supported the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, they celebrate the Israeli settlement occupation, and they support American imperialism. It's a shame to consider them as leftists because they have harmed German leftists a lot, but I'm happy that their numbers are starting to decline.
German parties almost unanimously support Israel, with the Green Party being extremely supportive, unlike many left-leaning environmental parties in Europe and globally. How do you view this?
In Germany, several parties are considered left-wing, although their positions don't reflect the true left, including the Social Democratic Party (the party of the current chancellor, Olaf Scholz).
The German Greens are no longer truly leftist, having supported the war in Afghanistan, endorsed sending German forces to Iraq, supported the war in Kosovo, and implemented policies that hit the rights of the German community through so-called 'reform programs.'
Based on your experience, how do Germans view the Palestinian-Israeli conflict? Do their opinions differ from politicians and the media?
People are not a homogeneous mass, but generally, Germans think they are enlightened and critical, but this is not true on this topic.
Most people here know nothing about Palestine or Israel and only care about the news during wars, forming opinions based on media reports without going back to the origins of the conflict and linking it to Hamas' attacks and the Israeli response to them.
They are unaware of the Nakba, the reality of Palestinian refugees, and the reality of thousands imprisoned in Israeli jails.
The German media contributes to this, practicing one-sided wartime propaganda in favor of the Israeli military. There's also a massive spread of ignorance even within the German media, with journalists and elites not wanting to educate themselves about this topic.
Isn't it different with the younger German generation connected to social media and the internet, capable of reading in English?
Yes, there's a new young generation in the major cities very globalized, experiencing various cultures, especially with migrants, and this generation participates in demonstrations in Germany. But things change slowly; it's important to note that the number of white Germans in these pro-Palestine demonstrations is much lower compared to residents of other Western or non-Western countries, possibly owing to Germany's history with the Holocaust.
A solidarity demonstration with Palestine in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin (German News Agency)
In Germany, there's the concept of "German collective guilt" (Kollektivschuld) regarding this particularity. How do you see that?
We must take the Holocaust seriously and protect Jewish life, no question about that, but the first to call for this were the young left-wing student movement in the 1960s, but now the state is trying to escape the guilt toward supporting Zionism.
This has turned anti-Semitism discourse purely white German, with politicians claiming that anti-Semitism is imported, meaning committed by migrants. This is very dangerous, endangering the lives of migrants and also Jews, as it downplays the severity of 'white' German anti-Semitism, which also comes from people hostile to Arabs, Muslims, and refugees.
