CN: Genocide, Apartheid, Death
The following concerns the caption in our Instagram and RA posts for the event “Splinter Cell: Fundraiser for Palestine” on October 26, 2024.
We received critical reactions and outcalls from the community about the description of the Instagram post for our event “Splinter Cell: Fundraiser for Palestine” on 26.10.2024 at Kopfsalat, Leipzig. After some reflection, we realized that the text did not reflect our honest stance but rather repeated a harmful and normalizing narrative, which contradicts our claim to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian civilian population.
We want to make it clear that we acknowledge our mistake in downplaying the suffering of the Palestinians and failing to make a clear stance and unequivocal declaration of solidarity. In the following, we wish to explain how these mistakes occurred, apologize to those affected, and outline the consequences we will draw from them.
We do not tolerate sexism, racism, antisemitism, anti-Muslim racism, queerphobia, and other forms of discrimination of any kind. More on this in the about us & our values section of our website.
Why did we decide to organize this fundraiser?
We see that the Palestinian population is suffering great injustice. We have therefore decided to use our disposable resources to collect donations. Additionally, as a collective, it was important for us to take a clear position and not remain silent. We wanted to express our solidarity with the Palestinians, as well as with activists and cultural workers affected by state repression and police violence.
We condemn the widely documented genocidal war crimes and human rights violations committed by the state of Israel against the Palestinian people. Likewise, we condemn the illegal Israeli settlement policy and occupation of Palestinian territories, as well as the institutionalized Israeli system of oppression across the entire land, documented as apartheid by various organizations (see Amnesty International Report, 2022; B’Tselem Report, 2022). We protest against the systematic suppression of pro-Palestinian and Israel-critical activism, the curtailing of freedom of speech and assembly, the unconditional support and arms deliveries from Germany to the state of Israel, as well as the policies of both governments in this “conflict”, which have cost hundreds of thousands of lives over more than 70 years (see The Lancet Report, 2024; Geneva Declaration Secretariat: Global Burden of Armed Violence, 2008).
What did we do wrong?
Instead of taking a clear stance that reflects our opinion, we sent a double message in an ignorant and arrogant attempt to minimize criticism, unconsciously promoting a widely spread harmful narrative. This narrative, which is especially prevalent in Germany, advocates for a supposedly neutral stance that normalizes the suffering of Palestinians and subtly promotes the perception that any partisan solidarity with Palestine could be labeled as antisemitic.
In the first sentence of the caption, we wrote: “We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian civilian population suffering from the ongoing disproportionate violence and hardship in Gaza, as well as the Israeli civilian population affected by violence and antisemitism, especially regarding the events of October 7, 2023.” By this framing, we repeated the false propagandistic narrative that the events of October 7th could justify the extreme extent of Palestinian suffering, instead of recognizing the genocidal war crimes and human rights violations against Palestinians by the Israeli government as an independent injustice.
Germany is directly complicit in the genocide of the Palestinians. We are involved in this injustice through our tax contributions and yet have the privilege of largely not being directly affected (with that being said, we see the effect of the growing Anti-Muslim racism in Germany on one of our members). We did not sufficiently reflect on this privilege, which prevented us from giving the topic the priority and space it deserves.
We failed to show clear solidarity, thus missing the central principle of solidarity. Solidarity means standing actively and unequivocally with those who experience injustice or oppression. By not taking a clear stance, this fundamental concept was undermined, and we failed to fulfill our responsibility to take an unconditional and clear side.
Overall, after reflecting on the situation, we feel that the caption caused more harm than the fundraising event alone could have benefitted.
Our apology
We apologize to those affected whose suffering we downplayed, normalized, and trivialized, and who we triggered with our unclear and harmful declaration of solidarity.
We deeply regret that we only recognized these mistakes through external criticism and it is important to us to emphasize that the caption does not reflect our stance. It is our sole responsibility to ensure that such errors do not happen again.
What consequences will we draw from this?
We recognize that we were not sufficiently informed; therefore, we want to educate ourselves extensively. In the future, we will take a clear stance to ensure that we do not occupy spaces with unclear or half-hearted statements that those affected or activists need for their voices. Additionally, we acknowledge our privilege of not being directly affected, while simultaneously recognizing our involvement in the events.
We are grateful to everyone who has raised critiques; this reflection strengthens our growth and supports our ongoing journey to become a better collective. It is the least we can do to show solidarity with a people enduring a prolonged and widely documented genocidal campaign for over a year. Free Palestine.
Leipzig, November 7, 2024