Judge says phrase ‘denied right of Israel to exist’ but woman’s lawyer says ruling is a defeat for free speech

A Berlin court has convicted a pro-Palestinian activist of condoning a crime for leading a chant of the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” at a rally in the German capital four days after the Hamas attacks on Israel, in what her defence team called a defeat for free speech.

The presiding judge, Birgit Balzer, ordered 22-year-old German-Iranian national Ava Moayeri to pay a €600 (£515) fine on Tuesday, rejecting her argument that she meant only to express support for “peace and justice” in the Middle East by calling out the phrase on a busy street.

Balzer said she “could not comprehend” the logic of previous German court rulings that determined the saying was “ambiguous”, saying to her it was clear it “denied the right of the state of Israel to exist”.

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  • barsoap@lemm.eeEnglish
    2·
    3 months ago

    Now you’re just selectively quoting and ignoring the repeated mentioning by Sholz of Israel as the Jewish State

    I suggest you learn English, then. Compare:

    German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says in Tel Aviv that Berlin will always stand beside the Jewish state, citing its responsibility following the Holocaust.

    German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says in Namibia’s capital Windhoek that Berlin will always stand beside the African state, citing its responsibility following the Herero-Nama genocide.

    How many African states are there? Also, that’s not even a literal quote who knows what Scholz actually said. Also why do you keep misspelling his name, don’t you care about accuracy?