Which Side Are You On?

COWARDICE AND SELECTIVE EMPATHY ON THE LEFT

Many parts of the Left in Germany in general, and in Göttingen in particular, have lost the last remnants of credibility and integrity. They openly display their ignorance, arrogance, and racism. During the 18th month of the live-streamed genocide in Palestine, they pretend as if they cannot see the corpses, hear the screams, or smell the burning flesh. In this article, we aim to name some of the most notorious offenders.

If you are connected to these organizations, confront them. Hold your comrades accountable. Urge them to acknowledge their mistakes and do better.

ALTERNATIVE LINKE LIST (ALL)

For 18 months, ALL has not said a single word about Palestine. This, despite the University of Göttingen being complicit in the ongoing genocide through research projects that assist the Israeli military in killing more innocent people, and through collaborations with Israeli universities built on stolen Palestinian land. Their promotional materials proudly declare that they are antifascist and anti-racist. One would assume that this necessarily includes a rejection of apartheid and genocide. Perhaps one could discuss these positions with ALL—if they had the courage to issue even a single statement on Palestine.

The only statement they have made so far is through their actions. When Students for Palestine and the United Left Movement proposed a motion to boycott the university’s involvement with the genocidal Israeli regime, ALL sided with the right-wing RCDS and removed the motion from the agenda.

REDICAL M

While Redical M’s official communiqués are quite comfortable lecturing stateless and oppressed people about the evils of nationalism—from the very white, very German perspective of those already enjoying all the privileges that come with being part of the hegemonic ethnic group dominating this nation-state called Germany—they occasionally feign cautiously worded empathy, so as not to appear as cruel as other Zionist organizations. On March 8, for example, when addressing the pro-Palestinian crowd that refused to accept the silencing of the ongoing genocide at a demonstration, a member of the group announced: “It is understandable that people have empathy for those in Gaza.” Not “I have empathy for…,” not even “I understand that…,” while in the next sentence insisting this should happen without “nationalism.”

If you consider these people your comrades, then please let them know that Zionism is a genocidal, violent form of nationalism based on the eradication of an indigenous people from their homeland—which is arguably a far greater problem than a damn flag.

DEUTSCHER GEWERKSCHAFTSBUND (DGB)

At the national level, the DGB continues to work closely with the Histadrut, the Israeli trade union federation that is a key component of the apartheid system. Histadrut requires military service for full union membership. Palestinians living on land stolen in 1948 often have to pay dues without being represented by Histadrut unions.

Histadrut also represents arms manufacturers who produce the weapons used to massacre the Palestinian people, state companies like the water company Mekorot that manage the apartheid system, and businesses that exploit underpaid, non-unionized Palestinian labor in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Any serious union should be appalled and refuse to cooperate with a union that exhibits these characteristics, but for DGB leadership, this is not an issue. They should heed the call of their labor colleagues in Palestine, as published by the Palestinian Trade Union Federation. Instead, they consciously ignore the solidarity appeals of their fellow class members.

At the local and immediate level, DGB leadership in Göttingen claimed in this year’s Demokonsens announcement that “we cannot solve the wars of the world on May 11” and demanded that “national flags and secondary symbols” not be part of the demonstration. However, promotional stands from the German-Israeli Society—whose fanatical Zionist supporters reportedly distributed IDF promotional materials—seem not to be a problem for DGB leadership. Nor are the national flags visible at that and other booths.

The online toolkit for antisemitism prevention linked in the DGB consensus promotes blatant, ahistorical lies such as the denial of the Nakba and the claim that Palestinians “voluntarily” left their land.

A well-known senior DGB official even physically assaulted one of our comrades in broad daylight, in front of witnesses and running cameras. Naturally, we demand that the perpetrator be punished by the DGB, but given the DGB’s track record in this matter, we have little hope that this will actually happen.