There were loud protests at an event with Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the Democracy Festival in Berlin on Sunday. In protest against the German government’s handling of the Gaza war, several participants disrupted a debate between the Green politician 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 at times due to the tumult and constant heckling 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.
Baerbock tries several times to address the troublemakers
At least eight participants had to leave the venue, the Tipi at the Chancellery, some of them amidst violent protests, as a reporter from the German Press Agency observed. In some cases, there were scuffles and physical confrontations with security personnel. Two women remained in the hall despite repeated shouts of disruption. The Foreign Minister tried several times to approach the two women and asked the security personnel not to use violence against the demonstrators. She also interrupted her answering of questions several times to do so.
Large parts of the rest of the audience reacted to the protest with incomprehension and loud boos. One of the two women later identified herself as an “anti-Zionist Jew”. She did not dare to voice her protest anywhere else, as in Germany she was restricted in her freedom of expression on the Gaza war, she explained. 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.