Berlin police crackdown on pro-Gaza protest over Arabic chants

Criticism has mounted this week following the re-emergence of video footage from a Saturday protest in Berlin, showing police violently dispersing demonstrators at a pro-Palestine rally over the use of Arabic-language chants.

The incident has further fuelled concerns that Arab and Muslim voices were being disproportionately targeted targeted in Germany.

The footage, now shared by German and international news outlets, showed demonstrators gathered at Berlin’s Wittenbergplatz protesting against Israel’s military assault on Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire now takes hold.

Police forces can be seen assaulting protesters only after they chanted pro-Palestine slogans in Arabic, leading activists to believe they were targeted for their use of the language. 

Berlin police implemented a policy in April last year requiring speeches, music and chants at demonstrations to be conducted in either German or English, according to local media. 

During Saturday’s rally which was made up of around 300 people, police said that there were not enough Arabic-speaking officers or translators available to interpret the chants in order to monitor the demonstration, reports said.

One widely-circulated video reportedly published by an attendee of the rally, shows a female protester wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh chanting in Arabic, “Zionists, out, out!”.

Moments later, she is seen being manhandled by a police officer, before additional officers arrive to forcibly remove her from the demonstration.

Berlin police later claimed people at the rally were asked “to leave the square peacefully after their meeting was broken up by the police,” in a statement on X, later adding that some protesters had been arrested.

The New Arab reached out to the Berlin police for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Widespread criticism 

Many social media users have since expressed their concerns over the crackdown online.

“In Berlin Wittenbergplatz, police are violently suppressing a Palestine protest simply for chanting in Arabic,” one person posted on X.

 “This blatant repression shows that even speaking Arabic is now criminalised in Germany’s crackdown on Palestinian solidarity,” they continued. 

German journalist Tarek Bae also denounced police response, writing: “In Berlin, a registered demonstration against Israel’s genocide in Gaza was stopped by the police. Because of forbidden slogans? Or violence? No, nothing like that. Just because Arabic was spoken.”

“This is the state of freedom of assembly in our country. It’s insane,” he added. 

This is not the first time chants at Gaza protests have caused a clampdown on protesters. In April last year, Berlin police also targeted a pro-Palestine rally over chants in Arabic and Hebrew, threatening to arrest people.

Other countries and protests have also followed suit, with a pro-Ukraine demonstration reportedly banning the use of Ukrainian and the Irish Independent reporting that police dispersed a protest over people speaking in Irish.

Rights groups such as the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) have argued that Germany’s restrictions on certain languages have contributed to “regular accusations of censorship” nationwide.

The country has faced condemnation from critics over its free speech policies, particularly regarding pro-Palestine sentiment since 7 October 2023, following the outbreak of the war on Gaza.

Berlin has since announced that it will deny citizenship to those who use the widely known slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a chant used in demonstrations to express support for a Palestine without Israeli occupation and the right of return from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. 

This coincides with a significant rise in anti-Muslim discrimination in the country since the war in Gaza began, according to Germany’s Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency.

The Alliance Against Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Hate (CLAIM) reported at least 1,926 anti-Muslim incidents in 2023 alone.

Activists have stated that, even before 7 October, discrimination against Palestinians and the silencing of pro-Palestine voices were common in Germany.

This includes restricting protests, suppressing pro-Palestine voices, and cancelling cultural events.