[ENG] Statement on the over painted Israel-tags inside the house
2. Juni 2015

written by the General Assembly of AZ Conni

Recently it repeatedly came to our attention that tags have been painted over in the rooms of the AZ Conni. Israeli-flags on the wall have repeatedly been painted over, crossed out or have even been “supplemented” with swastikas; the slogan “Free Gaza from Hamas” has been turned into “Free Gaza”. Additionally, pro-Israeli stickers have been torn off and leaflets concerning the kaffiyeh (Palestinian headscarf) have been thrown in large numbers into the burning barrel. We are aware of the fact that there are and always have been different political views and arguments in AZ Conni. Due to the vehemence the discourse on the wall is held with and due to part of the opinions that are propagated, we find it necessary to take a stand in this debate and, by this, transform it from a symbolic to a more content related level.

It is not our intention to blame or denounce individuals that are part of the project AZ Conni or associated with it. Still we criticize the current over painting actions for their clear connectivity towards anti-Semites. Without doubt, the Israeli flag stands for the capitalist state, which, like every other, contains mechanisms of exploitation, exclusion and patriotism. If one wants to criticize these conditions, he_she should address the general model of a capitalistic state and not especially negate the necessity of this state as a shelter for Jews who are persecuted by anti-Semitism.

Furthermore, solidarizing with Hamas or equate Israel and National Socialist Germany is neither justifiable nor tolerable for us. Reading the still valid founding document of Hamas you will find an anti-Semitic manifest as well as the open denial of the shoah. The swastika put inside the flag relativises National Socialism and indicates an ahistorical and reactionary anti-Semitic attitude, which unfortunately also has a tradition within the political left. Thus, the German, or respectively European, denial of guilt implicated by this equalization is transformed into leftist rhetorics and furthermore propagated by these. Anti-Semitism is a false projection trying to chalk/blame everything subjectively perceived as “evil” or “bad” up to/onto the Jews. However, today the open expression of this ideology is widely tabooed and therefore substituted by alternative projections that locate the “root of all evil” in the class of major capitalists, certain companies or states that are supposed to be especially ‘imperialistic’. Following this logic, particularly Israel as the state of the Jews is constructed as the ‘Jew among the states’. These projections unmask themselves when Jews are attacked, threatened or become a target of hostility outside of Israel as representatives for their (assumed) Jewish identity and Israel’s so-called Zionist terror meaning its policies regarding settlers and warfare in the Middle East.

Isreal fulfills a special role as an area of protection for everyone affected by anti-Semitism, while, like no other state, being confronted with double standards, demonization and the permanent attempt to be delegitimized. This climate of hostility especially proofs this state’s right to exist and to defend itself as necessary and not to put into question.