“There are no threats here” – screams and boos at Baerbock event
Several participants disrupted a rally with Foreign Minister Baerbock at the Democracy Festival. Among other things, they called on her to immediately stop arms deliveries to Israel. A scuffle and physical altercations broke out.
AAt the Democracy Festival in Berlin on Sunday, there were loud protests at an event with Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens). In protest against the German government’s handling of the Gaza war, several participants disrupted a debate between Baerbock and citizens with loud shouts and banners. They accused the German government of corruption and bias and called on Baerbock, among other things, to immediately stop arms deliveries to Israel.
Baerbock tried to answer the questions calmly – but she also became loud in the wake of the tumult in the hall. “There are no threats here,” she shouted at one participant. Germany is working to ensure that both Israel and the Palestinians can live in peace, she assured. She asked the participants to stick to the facts.
At least eight participants had to leave the venue, the Tipi at the Chancellery, some of them amidst violent protests, as a dpa reporter observed. In some cases, there were scuffles and physical confrontations with security personnel. Two women remained in the hall despite repeated shouts of disruption.
Audience reacts to protest with boos
Foreign Minister Baerbock tried several times to address the two women and asked the security staff not to use violence against the demonstrators. Large parts of the rest of the audience responded to the protest with loud boos.
One of the two women later identified herself as an “anti-Zionist Jew.” She did not dare to voice her protest elsewhere; in Germany, she explained, her freedom of expression on the Gaza war was restricted. With Germany’s involvement, Gaza would be reduced to “ruins and ashes.”
Baerbock stressed that Israel has a right to self-defense. She referred to Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer, who had stressed that there is no Christian, Jewish or Muslim blood, “only human blood.” This principle also guides the German government in the Gaza conflict, said Baerbock.