On the morning of 4 July 2026, around 15 masked and armed “Antideutsche” individuals forced their way into our housing project, the AJZ KiTa / La Casa in Hellersdorf. They began forcibly clearing out the room of a comrade. In doing so, they singled out this person as the alleged ‘leader’ of the residents who support the Palestinian cause. At that time, guests were sleeping in the room. The guests were forcibly pushed out by the masked individuals, but put up a fight.
At around 10 am, other residents of the AJZ KiTa arrived on the scene and attempted to stop the masked and armed individuals. The Antideutsche attackers sprayed the residents directly, using pepper spray and batons. One resident subsequently had to be taken to hospital.
The Antideutsche attackers then barricaded themselves inside parts of the building. They attempted to take over the entire right-wing half of the building, as well as the event spaces of the “La Casa” pub collective, and to cut them off from the rest of the building. Throughout this time, there were also uninvolved residents in a shared flat. In doing so, the attackers showed particular disregard for people’s mental and physical well-being.
Some residents have agreed to be quoted here:
“At 10 o’clock in the morning, I was woken up by six masked people who started building a barricade outside my bedroom door. Some were armed with tear gas and batons. They told me to calm down and said they were only blocking the entrances. I could see that some of my flatmates were experiencing severe retraumatisation due to their time in prison camps. Despite our attempts to get them out of the flat, they kept forcing their way back in. This went on for hours.”
“Some white men interrupted my sleep and sprayed pepper spray into my eyes. I couldn’t breathe because I was having an allergic reaction. My face was still burning all day. I didn’t know where my personal belongings were. It was extremely re-traumatising.”
Within a very short time, solidarity groups mobilised to end the occupation and put a stop to the “Antideutsch” takeover.
By their own account, they had not anticipated such a level of opposition. Their attempt to mobilise external supporters also failed. Thanks to the determined action of those showing solidarity outside the building, the squatters were persuaded to leave. Nevertheless, they continued to mobilise people to the AJZ Kita, whereupon a few more turned up.
With this action, the self-proclaimed squatters appear to have grossly overestimated their own capacity for action and their potential to mobilise support. Thanks to our strong networks within libertarian and Palestine solidarity movements, our ability to react quickly and the resolute stance of our comrades, we succeeded in preventing their violent attempt to take over the space.
When the Antideutsche thugs realised they couldn’t maintain their “occupation” on their own, they tried to enlist the cops—who had arrived in the meantime—for their own purposes.
One of the Antideutsch association’s board members even tried at one point to have the area cleared. The police seemed to have little interest in doing so.
In the statement they published, they proclaimed an “occupation against anti-Semitism” . They spoke of an “anti-Semitic mob”. In their list of so-called anti-Semitic actions, it becomes clear that their definition of anti-Semitism begins with criticism of genocide and settler colonialism.
What happened before
As people in solidarity with Palestine, as young people with a vision for the AJZ Kita, we have long faced hostility here.
We campaign against genocide denial, racist and anti-migrant dynamics, macho behaviour, the monopolisation of space by older people, and the intimidation of younger comrades. Furthermore, we oppose authoritarian behaviour, which is exercised, amongst other things, through the use of bureaucratic pressure and the withholding of knowledge and access over many years.
For this reason, the “New Casa” was founded some time ago. The aim of “New Casa” is to take a free space out of the hands of a select few and open it up, in particular, to young, queer and anti-colonial perspectives.
Our criticism is generally met with the narrative that “we’ve been here for a long time and you’ve trespassed”, even though it is precisely the responsibility of those who have been here for a long time to open up the space to committed younger generations, rather than fighting against newcomers and the diversification of perspectives.
Contrary to their portrayal that we have only come to ‘liberate the house from the Zios’ and destroy existing structures, we have revived the non-functioning working groups in the house, organised financial resources, carried out necessary major building works, taken initiatives to open the house up to the wider community, and initiated mediation processes to de-escalate conflicts (which were, however, blocked). Nor are we unknown people; some of us have long supported the house through practical work and solidarity.
We are young people who want to organise ourselves in the neighbourhood and in this youth club, and yet our move-in processes were blocked.
This defies all logic; it goes against the democratically established proposals regarding move-in procedures, and accepting these blanket vetoes would have led to the financial and social collapse of the house, which is why all parties have decided to temporarily place responsibility for move-in decisions with the flat-sharing groups.
Most recently, as part of a planned campaign, a group of long-standing “Antideutsche” activists mobilised a number of people to attend a meeting in order to get themselves elected to the association’s executive committee by their peers. Their hope was that this action would enable them to take over the association and oust younger people who support Palestine.
The previously non-hirarchical role of the formal association’s executive committee has since been abused by them to override the democratic processes that had been practised in the house for years.
Instead, the executive committee now issues instructions and undermines collective decision-making structures.
The escalation of the executive committee’s abuse of power is also evident in the way new tenants are handled. People from the circle of friends close to the executive committee are being issued with valid tenancy agreements and keys without the consent of the relevant flat-sharing community.
The attack by the “Antideutsch”-thugs, the “Reclaim La Casa” campaign, is the result of the developments described above surrounding the new association’s executive committee.
How we will move forward
We, as residents, are very grateful for the rapid support and widespread solidarity we have experienced since then, and which will remain urgently needed in the future.
We counter attacks by thugs, Anti-Deutsche association bureaucrats and their gangs with solidarity and community. A solidarity that empowers us to wage a genuine struggle against crisis and war.
We do not intend to return to the status quo once the escalation has subsided. We would like to invite you to get involved. For many years, older people have blocked processes, slowed down ideas and closed off spaces for co-creation. The ongoing changes in the house enable us to realise our shared visions for the house even more effectively.
We want a housing project that is not just about living space, but about creating a movement that clearly fights against every form of colonialism, genocide, displacement and racism. We want a place of movement, exchange and struggle, which we fill with life together.
There is no such thing as a quiet outlying district!
Long live international solidarity!
Viva Palestine!
