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The German state has imposed a widespread ban on any demonstration in defense of Palestinians. The national parliament, including representatives of the Left Party and the Social Democratic Party, voted to ban Palestinian organizations like the Palestinian prisoner defense group Samidoun. In the face of this pro-Zionist witchhunt, our comrades of the Spartakist-Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands held a successful action on October 22 in defense of Samidoun. Below is a translation of their statement issued immediately following the protest.


This afternoon, comrades of the Spartakist-Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands seized the initiative and mounted protest actions at Hermannplatz in Berlin-Neukölln and at Rio-Reiser-Platz in Kreuzberg, standing up in defense of Gaza and against the ban on Samidoun and all state repression against Palestinian organizations.

While the bourgeoisie, backed by the leaders of the DGB trade-union federation, SPD and Left Party, was celebrating its support for Israel and its anti-Palestinian attacks at Brandenburg Gate today, the planned pro-Palestine demonstration on Potsdamer Platz was banned again. This state repression in support of the mass murder of Palestinians must be answered by actions of the left and workers—and that is what we did. Our first protest at Hermannplatz was stopped by the police, so we continued it in Kreuzberg.

So far, every left group has rejected our proposal for a united front in defense of the Palestinians, thus contributing to the continued isolation and weakness of the movement for the Palestinians. The socialist left limits its solidarity with the Palestinians to fine words and oh-so-deep sympathy and has so far refused to join us in action to defend Samidoun. But liberal phrases about the suffering of the Palestinian people will never win liberation!

We must take action to defeat the anti-Palestinian repression and move forward in the struggle for the liberation of the Palestinians. Our protest today was a small but very important action. It must be the start of a struggle to build a broad front of the left and labor movement against state repression and in defense of the Palestinians. We invite every leftist and fighter for the Palestinian cause to contact us and fight alongside us for the following demands:

Hands off Samidoun!

Immediate release of all pro-Palestine activists—Drop all charges!

Defend Gaza!