When we first saw the call to action a few weeks before 8th of March 2024, we were delighted: Finally there was a feminist position that criticised the selective feminism of the last months in relation to the massacre of 7th of October massacre.
In order to be in solidarity with the Palestinian civilian population, it is not necessary to relativise the violence of 7 October!
We – a small group of FLINTA*, part of the Jewish Revolutionary Committee – got the impression that this demonstration was not about taking sides on the Israel-Palestine issue, but about being humane and feminist in solidarity with the civilian victims of violence – with Jews and Palestinians, with Kurds, Yazidis, Afghans and many more.
Finally, five months after the 7th of October, we had the feeling of being seen; the feeling that we were explicitly included at a left feminist event. This had rarely been the case in progressive left circles. On the contrary, the silence, relativisation and legitimisation of sexualised violence against Jewish people was the norm, not the exception. The lack of solidarity was justified by one side of the political spectrum with the argument that the massacres of the 7th of October was a legitimate act of the Palestinian liberation struggle. At the same time, Jews were instrumentalised by the other side for rassist narratives. This is painful for us.
Several of our group members attended one of the biggest events on the 8th of March last year: the antiracist demonstration of the Alliance of Internationalist Feminists. These visits were filled with insecurity and the feeling of not being included and not being welcome.
The Palestinian flag was the only flag flying at these demonstrations, placards celebrated Leila Khaled, who was involved in the hijacking of the Munich plane, as a feminist icon, and the Alliance’s website did not even mention anti-Semitism or solidarity with the Jewish FLINTA* in its list of forms of discrimination being fought against.
This year we read quotes like “Sexual assault as propaganda to facilitate genocide in Gaza” (https://www.instagram.com/p/C0kSxIpMwiO/?img_index=1) in Instagram posts by the Alliance of Internationalist Feminists. Participating in a demonstration that normalises and legitimises violence against Jewish people is impossible for us. The instrumentalisation of the conflict and the adoption of completely one-sided positions also leads to a polarisation that is dangerous for both Jews and Palestinians. We criticise such an instrumentalisation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – especially on Feminist Action Day.
In feminism_unlimited’s call, however, simultaneity was allowed. It sounded as if we would not have to choose between “Free Gaza” and “Bring them home”; as if there would be a left demo this year, which would take into account our own as well as other perspectives and experiences, and which would put the focus back on the feminist for the 8th of March.
So we walked with our small group on this sunny 8th of March to the feminism_unlimited demonstration. Disclaimer: Our participation in the demo was unfortunately not a pleasant experience and we would like to share our experiences with you.
Our criticism will focus on three aspects: firstly, the discrepancy between the call for the demonstration and its implementation; secondly, our impression as Jewish people of ultimately not being “part of the demonstration” and “not being included”; and thirdly, the fetishisation of Jewish people at the demonstration.
In several speeches at the opening rally, the 7th of October, the sexualised violence, the continuing violence of the kidnappings, the silence of feminist organisations worldwide and the fact that the principle of not believing the victims did not apply because they were Jewish was talked about. The fact that this was said, and that there were several statements by Jewish people, is enormously important.
But as time went on, we began to feel uncomfortable.
We noticed the one-sidedness of the speeches of the mostly Jewish speakers. Sharon Adler from AVIVA Berlin, Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, Hashomer Hatzair and the group Vitka spoke. As much as we were happy to hear different speeches from a Jewish perspective, where were the different perspectives of the people who had called for the demonstration in Instagram videos for feminism_unlimited? Finally, what had been missing from the leftist discourse for so long was addressed, but the ongoing violence against Palestinian civilians, the war in Gaza, the sexualised violence against Palestinian women and the rassist treatment of Palestinians in Germany were not mentioned?
The impulse of the demonstration, that it should also be about Jewish FLINTA*, was now changed to it should only be about Jewish FLINTA*.
But whenever two groups – as in the case of Israel/Palestine – are so violently and regularly pitted against each other, it is all the less acceptable to describe the suffering of only one side. And the violence inflicted on people must not be hierarchised or equated – it is different and individually cruel.
Selective solidarity is unacceptable in both directions, and as Jews we do not trust anyone who speaks out against anti-Semitism and for Jewish women while ignoring or deeming less important the violence against other groups.
In the case of white-Christian socialised Germans (“wc-Germans”), we suspect “purely symbolic criticism of anti-Semitism” or “wc-Germans who want to be on the right side of history”. But Jews also reproduce selective solidarity. We find it important to critically engage with the effects of this practice.
Because this one-sided discourse does not help Jewish people! On the contrary, it is a danger for us! A one-sided discourse on the Middle East conflict always harms Jewish people and therefore cannot be an anti-Semitic protest!
In the end, there was again the feeling of being instrumentalised for the need for binary thinking: the event of the Alliance of Internationalist Feminists on the one hand and that of feminism_unlimited on the other.
Throughout the entire duration of the kick-off rally, there were repeated references to violence against Jewish people and to Jewish people being left alone. This is violence that still continues. The 7th of October is not over for us. The kidnappings and the rocket attacks are not over. We have not come to terms with it. Shock, fear and trauma are still with us.
During the rally, we kept close to our Jewish friends, we chatted, we couldn’t stand listening the whole time and yet what we heard seeped into us. And while we stood on this sunny afternoon at the demonstration, which wanted to stand in solidarity with us, we suddenly felt alone and no longer part of the large crowd around us.
The event was organised by various people, including some Jewish people and BiPoCs. Nevertheless, it was a predominantly white Christian event. White Germans can denounce violence against Jews, be outraged and sympathetic, but they do so from a safe inner distance. We, on the other hand, know and feel constantly that we are explicitly included in the hatred of Jews that drives this violence. The speeches triggered a sense of being affected and a pain that left us isolated and lonely.
The situation did not feel like an empowering feminist march for us.
Could it be that the organisers had not thought of us? That this demonstration was not meant for the victims of the violence mentioned here?
The fact that we were photographed again and again from the moment we arrived at the meeting point speaks for this. The demonstration was full of cameras: Large cameras, small cameras, reflex cameras, mobile cameras, cameras with mini lenses and cameras with lenses that were almost as long as an arm. And they were all aimed at our small Jewish group.
It was not clear to us whether the photographers were part of the demonstration or for which medium they were photographing. Sometimes we were asked for our permission, sometimes people took photos of us without asking – with our placards on which we positioned ourselves as Jewish. If we hesitated, we were asked again, or we were given instructions as to which posters and people should be in the picture, or at what angle to the sun we should stand. It felt as if we, as visible jewish FLINTA*, we were rare exhibits whose presence was so exciting and exotic that people wanted to get hold of us by photographing us. As if people had a right to these images of us. We were exposed without protection, we were alone with it, and we were made different by it. Nothing about it was empowering for us.
In the end, we were approached so often, or simply photographed, that we began to disguise ourselves, to hold the placards in our faces and, after a while, to turn the placards over so that we could have a moment’s peace. Not only was this extremely unpleasant, but we wondered what these people were trying to achieve when they appeared with their cameras. A political protest is not a photo competition. And it’s not right to photograph people at left-wing protests (especially without being asked!) and then publish these photos on Instagram and the like. Why not? Because “public” means “everyone can see these photos”, and in a country with rising AFD poll numbers and thousands of hidden Nazis, this can be very dangerous for people who took part in a left-wing demonstration and are also Jewish.
After two hours of rallying and demonstrating, we were exhausted and gave up. Although we had been particularly looking forward to the contributions of Hengameh and Latkes*. In the end, we were left with the feeling that “this demo is not for us either”. And why had we dared to expect anything else?
We would have liked to have heard from the organisers that the demonstrators were not to be photographed – or, if they were, that the photos were to be put online in a blurred form. Now many of the photos are on Instagram with clearly recognisable faces, and @feminism.unlimited has been tagged. The sheer number of cameras was also striking. Next time, point your cameras at the police violence at the protests and not at the protesters!
Furthermore, we would have liked to see the protest also talk about the suffering of the civil society in Gaza. At least the call spoke of universal feminist solidarity. Raising the issue of sexualised violence against Palestinian women does not relativise the violence against Israeli women.
We can not only mention both, we must do so!
written by three FLINTA* of the Jewish Revolutionary Committee