German police banning Arabic at a pro-Palestine protest is a new blow for democracy

International law must protect everyone, or it protects no one, writes Erika Guevara-Rosas

At a time where dystopian scenes feel troublingly commonplace, a protest in Berlin’s Wittenbergplatz this time a week ago – in which marchers called for an end to aggression in the West Bank and an arms embargo on Israel – went even further when police banned the use of any language except German and English.

While protesters sang and chanted in Hebrew and Arabic, they were violently suppressed by police. Arabic music was drowned out by a loudspeaker declaring that “anyone who speaks Arabic endangers public safety”.

This feels unbelievable in a Europe that boasts about its leadership in human rights. Yet unwarranted measures by governments to curtail and punish expressions of solidarity with Palestinians have become increasingly prevalent across Europe.

In the face of President Trump’s absurd proposals to unlawfully and forcibly transfer Palestinians from the occupied Gaza Strip – and his decision to impose sanctions against the International Criminal Court – European countries have a choice to start upholding international law, or continue down the path of undermining the rule of law and endangering us all in the process. In short: to stop punishing Palestinians and those expressing Palestinian solidarity and begin a concerted cooperation effort to prevent, end and punish the committal of genocide and other atrocities.

Europe has long been a fertile ground for manufacturing consent for Israel’s apartheid, the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory and now genocide in Gaza. Overly broad and vague counterterrorism laws, increasingly used to suppress freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly across the continent, have been deployed to punish and deter Palestinian solidarity.

In November 2023, Amnesty International warned that the abuse of such laws could “stop speech cold”. Fifteen months later, its chilling effect has seeped into every workplace, home, school and university.

Since the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023, many European countries have built on this by hastily constructing a web of laws, policies, resolutions and restrictions that serve to legitimise Israel’s genocide in Gaza and other grave violations while curtailing efforts to hold the country accountable.

The German state Saxony-Anhalt introduced a requirement for people to declare that “Israel has a right to exist” as a requirement for obtaining citizenship. In November, Germany passed the "never again is now” resolution, which calls on the government to subject arts and science funding applications to an “antisemitic narrative” test.

This despite being widely criticised by Jewish intellectuals and Israeli human rights organisations, due to how it undermines human rights standards, potentially harming Jewish people and Israelis who openly criticise Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. Amnesty International’s research has identified a worrying pattern across Europe where public assemblies organised to express solidarity with Palestinian people have been banned or disproportionately restricted.

‘If Palestinians can attempt to rebuild their homes and lives, politicians must at a minimum defend international law’ (AFP via Getty Images)

In her August 2024 report on global threats to freedom of expression, the UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan documented how the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s “working definition” of antisemitism is inconsistent with international human rights law and undermines the fight against antisemitism.

Khan argues that in Europe, as well as globally, the definition has been used to restrict criticism of Israeli government policies and actions – and stifle growing calls for an end to the violations Israel is committing against Palestinians. The ability to criticise the actions of a state must always be protected.

Luckily for politicians in Europe, we are not asking them to demonstrate the bravery of Palestinian health workers, journalists or humanitarians who have continued to work in the face of death, injury, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances and torture. We are simply asking them to ensure all victims and perpetrators are treated equally, to uphold the rule of law and to revise laws and policies that dehumanise Palestinians and grant impunity to Israel.

Highly respected international expert opinion has coalesced around the fact that Israel is committing crimes against humanity and war crimes. Amnesty International has concluded that there is sufficient evidence that Israel is committing genocide. All actors, including Israel and its allies, have an obligation not to aid or assist genocide and an obligation to prevent it.

This starts with Europe complying with the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion and its international legal obligations to put an end to Israel’s illegal military presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory by September 2025. The first step towards that goal must be stopping all arms transfers to Israel and introducing a complete ban on trade and business with Israel’s illegal settlements.

From restricting protests to overly broad counterterrorism measures, Europe’s politicians must also review and tackle the deeply troubling legal landscape that they have constructed that dehumanises and stigmatises Palestinians and punishes those who support them, while legitimising Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and its violations and crimes in the occupied West Bank.

If Palestinian survivors of a genocide are courageous enough to attempt to rebuild their homes and lives, brick by brick, piece by piece, politicians across Europe must at a minimum abide by and defend international law.

International law must protect everyone – or it protects no one.

Erika Guevara-Rosas is the Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns at Amnesty International