Germany has banned Palestinian writer and journalist Khalid Barakat and his wife Charlotte Keats from attending pro-Palestine events for their support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Barakat has lived in the German capital Berlin for 18 months and works as a freelancer, while his wife is an international coordinator for Samidoon – a Palestinian media group which supports Palestinian prisoners. Both have been accused of supporting BDS, Arab 48 reported yesterday.
The growing attacks on the BDS movement in Germany, which led to the resignation of the director of Berlin’s Jewish Museum last week, are a dangerous sign that critics of Israeli policy should be afraid for their futures. @MairavZ reports: https://t.co/Ol757gBC94
— +972 Magazine (@972mag) June 24, 2019
The German police detained Barakat on Saturday as he headed to an event about Palestine, which had been organized by a number of Arab communities in the German capital.
According to Arab 48, the German police informed Barakat that he is now banned from taking part in any political or cultural events, as well as family meetings with more than ten attendees. If he breaks these restrictions, he will be detained for one year and forced to pay a fine.
Palästina Spricht (Palestine Speaks) calls on the German government to fight racism and apartheid – not those who oppose them. https://t.co/LCnY2lDsIc #Germany #BDS
— Mondoweiss (@Mondoweiss) June 23, 2019
Last month the German parliament voted to define BDS as anti-Semitic. The motion claimed “the arguments, patterns, and methods of the BDS movement are anti-Semitic”, arguing that BDS’ “don’t buy” stickers – which aim to identify products of Israeli origin so consumers can refrain from purchasing them – “arouse associations [with] the Nazi slogan ‘Don’t buy from Jews’” and are “reminiscent of the most horrific phase in German history”.
I have a lot in my mind to say about Khaled ban which connect so much to all the shrinking spaces for the BDS movement and Palestine voice in Germany… https://t.co/kpSeZfTZZR
— Majed Abusalama (@MajedAbusalama) June 24, 2019
The move has since been severely criticized, with the Palestinian Authority (PA) slamming the decision as “dangerous” and Palestinian NGOs arguing such actions delegitimize peaceful resistance.
(Middle East Monitor, PC, Social Media)
