Several pro-Palestinian groups in Berlin have announced protests against a lecture by former Green politician Volker Beck on Jewish holidays. The event in the library of the Technical University of Berlin (TU) is about “anti-Semitism and the prevention of anti-Semitism in education”. Beck is scheduled to speak on “Jewish holiday practices and German holiday law – religious freedom and everyday life” in the late afternoon at 5.30 p.m.
A group calling itself the “student collective NotInOurNameTU” announced that genocide against Palestinians was taking place in Gaza and that Beck supported Israel’s military actions and spread anti-Islamic content. The group “Student Coalition Berlin” called Beck a racist on the Internet and announced a demonstration.
Beck explained that the police were concerned with the security of the event, but that the announced protests were “first and foremost not a security problem, but a democracy problem.” The activists wanted to “shout down and silence people.”
Beck called on the TU management team, including President Geraldine Rauch, to take a public stance. Beck is, among other things, president of the German-Israeli Society. The TU did not initially respond to a request for comment.
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