The Irish Bloc Berlin unequivocally condemns the apartheid state of Israel for the systematic oppression and crimes against humanity perpetrated in Palestine over the last seventy-six years. The ongoing genocide in Gaza since October 2023 demands urgent, unwavering international support for Palestinian liberation. There can never be peace without justice and liberation of Palestinians from the systems of oppression and ethnic cleansing that Israel, in its current form, imposes. We strive to do our part in bringing about a future of peace and equal rights for all the people, and peoples, between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea.
Why We Have Come Together
Irish Bloc Berlin was formed in February 2024 by Irish activists in Berlin, who felt an urgent need for a proactive community to resist the injustices faced by Palestinians in Germany and in Palestine. Today, we exist as an expanded group, open to anyone from any nationality or cultural background who feels alienated and enraged by the prevailing German attitude to Zionism and Germany’s apologism for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. The raisons d’être of the Irish Bloc are anchored in unique circumstances:
- Solidarity with Palestine: We stand forever with the people of Palestine, who have endured unimaginable and relentless brutality at the hands of colonialist forces over the past century.
- Germany’s Role: Germany, our home, aids the mass slaughter of Palestinians, perverts the course of international justice by interfering with attempts to hold Israel accountable for its systematic crimes against humanity, weaponises bad-faith accusations of antisemitism to silence voices speaking out against its complicity in genocide, and is taking increasingly extreme and shocking measures to suppress acts of solidarity on its own soil.
- Irish Solidarity: Our own experience of colonial violence, occupation, suppression of civil and human rights, famine, and genocide in Ireland primes us to empathise with those experiencing colonialism, occupation, and oppression.
Our Mission and Goals
Whether through outreach, demonstrations, or fundraising, using our tools as citizens to resist oppression and the abetting of genocide is a fundamental obligation. The systematic attacks on Palestinians and allies by German police, along with the often brutal and invariably unconstitutional silencing of pro-Palestinian voices, are clear evidence of Germany’s alarming slide into authoritarianism, and must not be ignored.
- Community Building: Building connections within the Irish community in Berlin, and between this community and other groups, to show solidarity and find strength in numbers.
- Raising Awareness: Promoting awareness of the genocide in Gaza and injustices throughout historic Palestine.
- Fundraising: Raising funds to support Palestinian causes.
- Advocacy: Advocating for a democratic, egalitarian, and peaceful future for all people between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
Our Actions
We support the right to resistance and self-determination and strive for an anti-colonial world free from exploitation. We stand in solidarity with all people fighting imperialism.
- Protest Action:
- Demonstration of Solidarity: Forming blocs during protests to express international solidarity for Palestinian rights.
- Legal Information: Sharing resources on legal guidance, especially concerning protest-related issues.
- Diplomatic Pressure:
- Public Statements: Clarifying our stances and actions.
- Advocacy and Pressure: Pressuring the Irish Embassy to speak out, in support of Palestine and against German repression of Palestinian advocacy.
- Lobbying: Pressuring the Irish government at home to take action on injustice in Palestine (especially regarding the Occupied Territories Bill, Illegal Israel Settlements Divestment Bill, and Arms Embargo Bill) as well as on the persecution of Palestinian and pro-Palestinian people in Germany.
- Media Outreach: Using our network of media contacts to draw attention to the stultifying atmosphere and extreme repression against Palestinians and their allies here in Germany; contributing interviews and appearances on television and radio as well as journalistic pieces to achieve this aim.
- BDS Action:
- Legal Guidance: Gathering advice on legal implications of BDS participation in Germany.
- Direct Action: Active participation in boycotts of products associated with the occupation, which in many cases have proved successful.
- Cultural Exchange: Hosting events that combine or exchange Irish and Palestinian culture to foster further mutual understanding and solidarity.
Our Call to Action
Irish Bloc Berlin stands as a forum for our collective refusal to comply with the authoritarianism and ongoing injustice in Germany. We support struggles against imperialism and stand behind anyone resisting injustice.
By supporting the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, we aim to enforce an end to genocidal occupation and apartheid in Palestine, and pressure Israel to comply with international law and uphold Palestinian rights and dignity, including the Right to Return.
We connect with individuals and organisations that share our vision for justice and liberation. Inspired by the Dunnes Stores strikers of 1980s Ireland, by Bernadette Devlin, and by many other anti-racist, anti-colonial Irish solidarity movements from throughout history, we draw strength from a legacy of Irish activism for international solidarity.
