Palestinian activist deported from Germany fights To appeal ‘racist and discriminatory’ decision

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Palestinian writer, Khaled Barakat, banned from entering Germany for expressing his political views on Palestinian human rights will challenge the decision taken by the authorities. Barakat has accused "Israel" of directly being involved in an effort to stop free speech on Palestine-“Israel”, specifically in the Arab community, labelling the decision previously taken against him “racist and discriminatory”.

Khaled Barakat was barred from practicing political and cultural activity in Germany, followed by a decision to deport him, in August 2019, prohibiting his return for four years. Khaled’s case to repeal Germany’s decision, which will convene on March 11, in Berlin, also comes against the backdrop of the country’s international-broadcaster, Deutsche Welle (DW) Arabic’s, decision to fire five Palestinian and Lebanese journalists for comments they made on “Israel”, which the news outlet claims were anti-Semitic. 

With Germany being one of the most pro-"Israel" countries in Europe, I interviewed Khaled Barakat on why he believes Berlin has taken such a pro-"Israel" position to the point of barring his political speech. I also asked him whether he believes that he will be able to beat the foreign office's previous decision taken against him and what it would mean for free speech in Germany. 

Q1: Why do you believe the German immigration office began its campaign against your presence in the country and why does it still persist?

A1: This is part and parcel of a state-sponsored campaign against Palestinians organizing to defend their rights and seek their freedom. The political ban against me came when I was going to give a lecture about Trump's so-called "deal of the century" in Arabic to Arab community organizations in Berlin. Then, this was shortly followed by the denial of our visa and then, even after we left the country, an exclusion order was instantly issued. This is an attempt to make an example of a Palestinian writer challenging Zionism, imperialism, and Germany's own destructive role. This is why it's important to fight back because we know they will continue to do this and target others. 

Q2: So you think the crackdown is designed to prevent Palestinians from organizing in Germany and also in the Arab community?

A2: The oppression against Palestinian rights and public expression about Palestine in Germany sometimes is worse than the oppressive measures taken in “Israel” -- while an Israeli journalist can sometimes publish an article criticizing Israeli policies of colonialism and apartheid, it can be nearly impossible for a German journalist to publish the same article in a German newspaper. This does not mean that “Israel” is a "democratic state", but that the repression in Germany is so severe and extensive. It is not an expression of guilt for Nazi crimes, but support for ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people. Yes, this is an attempt to stop the large Palestinian community in Germany from organizing and raising strong and clear political demands. They do not want to see the community organized, fighting against racism, and advocating for justice.

Q3: Germany has focused on your views on armed struggle in Palestine and it seems that this is a reason behind their resentment of your voice's existence in the country. Why is this controversial to their government, when they clearly support Israeli violence via its military?

A3: Palestinian resistance against Israeli colonization is an inherent and natural right of people who are fighting for their liberation. “Israel” not only occupies Palestine from the river to the sea, but also continues to occupy Arab lands -- the Syrian Golan Heights and Shebaa Farms, which is part of Lebanon. It is absolutely the right of the people of Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine to liberate their land, by all means necessary, particularly when “Israel” refuses to implement international law and UN resolutions. Was it wrong for the people of France to resist the Nazi occupation of France? When your land is occupied by a colonizer, resistance becomes a duty. 

Q4: Do you believe “Israel” and/or its lobby played a role in banning you?

A4: Yes, absolutely, “Israel” played a role in the political ban and continues to play a role in the repression of Palestinians in Germany. This also includes political and media incitement against me and other Palestinians in order to justify this repression. This also implicates the so-called "special relationship" between Germany and “Israel”, which Germany claims would be disrupted by my political activity. Germany is playing a very dirty and dangerous game by trying to transfer the responsibility of its own crimes against Jewish people and throw it on the shoulders of Arabs and Muslims, and especially Palestinians. 

Q5: Germany has opposed the ICC’s investigation into Israeli war crimes and more recently Amnesty’s German branch have distanced themselves from the report accusing Israel of Apartheid. Why is Germany so scared to offend "Israel", but persists with its double-standards for Palestinians?

A5: Germany opposes the ICC investigation and fully adopts the Israeli narrative because it serves the interests of Germany's ruling class and of “Israel” at the same time. They are allies. It serves the interests of German mainstream political parties who want to appeal to the support or endorsement of Zionist organizations in elections, despite the fact that many of these organizations are complicit in ongoing Israeli war crimes. Polls show that a majority of Germans actually support Palestinian rights. Take, for example, the relationship between the AfD, a fascist, right-wing German political party, that is truly anti-Semitic, and their full-fledged support for “Israel” and the Zionist movement. Also, Zionist organizations in Germany like the Jewish National Fund have a free hand to organize in support of ethnic cleansing in the Naqab under the pretext of "development." We also see the firings and harassment targeting Palestinian and Arab journalists at DW. These journalists are being defamed and stripped of their livelihood. This is a part of the same systems of oppression in my case. 

Q6: Are you hopeful you could win your legal case and why do you trigger this fight now?

A6: When Germany practices racist and discriminatory measures against the Arab community in Germany, we cannot be silent. We must fight back. That includes fighting against these measures in the legal system, which is another arena of voicing our narrative and defending our rights. I know that Palestinians will be victorious in our struggle for liberation, despite the forces arrayed against us by “Israel” and its allies and the ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people. We must fight back everywhere we can to defend our rights.