Berlin

New Rules for Israel Palestine Discussions:

1. No more than 1 article per person per day, or 3 articles per person per week on the conflict in the Middle East.

2. Respect the local character of the sub. Discussion on this topic in this sub is limited to local people and sub members, discussing local events related to the conflict in the Middle East. The history and diverse make-up of the city of Berlin gives us a unique perspective on the current conflict, which is why we allow these discussions, but this is not a general debate sub. If you have no connection to the city of Berlin, and found this because an algorithm thought you might be interested in a thread here due to your interest in Middle East politics, you’re in the wrong place. For people reporting comments about this, people can have connections to multiple places. The important part is that they're interacting here, or on other local subs about other local issues too.

3. Do not use the conflict in the Middle East to incite hate against other local people.

4. Believe victims on both sides, unless there is credible evidence against it. This means we accept the Israel’s account of mass murder and rape on October 7th, and the causality figures from the Gaza health ministry.

5. Avoid inflammatory language. Comments including terms like “Zionazi” and “Pallywood” will be deleted. Comments cursing at, and/or insulting other users will be deleted, as the situation already results in enough heightened emotions without that. Argue with the idea, not the person.

6. Do not call for, or glorify genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity, including ethnic cleansing and rape. This includes things like claiming there are no civilians on one side. Claiming it’s okay to kill children because they’ll grow up to be terrorists, etc, is banned under this rule. It is acceptable to argue a war crime was accidental, an act of desperation, required for self-defense, or a rogue individual ignoring orders. It is not acceptable to claim the other side deserved it, or advocate in favor of one side committing further war crimes. “Kill them all” is never the answer.

7. Post credible written accounts of events from reputable sources. Do not repost social media rumors. Avoid videos, especially where the same content can be found in written sources. If a video is the only source, find the original published video, and link to that. Please see the first hand accounts recommendations below.

8. Do not insult other users when you disagree, and that includes making unsubstantiated accusations about others users being bots, paid, or representatives of a foreign government. In all likelihood you are speaking to another human who genuinely disagrees with you. If you think they support something that will inevitably lead to a horrible outcome, explain that. If you think their ideas are bad, argue with the ideas they’re proposing.  If you really think another use is a bot, or paid, be clear and discuss your evidence for that, without addressing what you think about their content.

9. At times moderators will need to freeze threads simply because we don’t have the bandwidth to keep them civil. We may try to re-open those threads later when someone is available to actively moderate them. Ideally we will give users a 30-minute warning before locking a thread to let people finish detailed comments, but this may not always be possible. Do not repost frozen threads, removed posts or removed comments. Doing so may result in a temporary ban.

10. Be intellectually honest. Don’t post propaganda, disinformation, or intentionally misrepresent or misquote your sources.

We Do Not Tolerate Antisemitism, but Harsh Criticism of Israel is Acceptable:

I know for many people are unfamiliar with antisemitism, or have only heard in discussed in ways that wrongly attempt to make all criticism of Israel seem antisemitic. Antisemitism is a deeply rooted problem in German society, and many native Germans are very familiar with it, but not all of us are German. However, the people who know the most about antisemitism are rarely German, but are Jewish people who experience antisemitism, often whose ancestors were forced out of Germany during the Holocaust.

Jewish people are still a vulnerable and persecuted minority in Germany, and have been for a very long time. Germany has made progress against antisemitism in recent years, and it is critically important that we don’t allow opposing the acts of a foreign government to derail that progress. Because Germany’s history with antisemitism is so long and complex, understanding how to avoid engaging in it isn’t as straightforward as it appears, so it is necessary to put time and effort into understanding antisemitism to engage productively with issues related to Israel here. To that end, I’ve put together a list generally pro-Palestinian Jewish sources explaining antisemitism, and discussing how to keep antisemitism out of our movements.

 

by April Rosenblum

Here are a few key points I’d like everyone to be aware of from “The Past Didn't Go Anywhere”

• Remember that, as with every oppression, it’s possible to spread antisemitic ideas without necessarily harboring any ill will toward Jews. Stay open to re-evaluating tactics, even though you know your intentions are positive and just.

• When people raise talk of antisemitism, train your mind to not go automatically to the Israel/Palestine conflict; consider the issue in its own right. Both are separate, vital issues that demand our concern.

• Don’t think using the word “Zionist” instead of “Jew” means you’ve avoided antisemitism.

• Be specific about the injustice you’re talking about. For instance, don’t jump into generalizations like “Israelis are like Nazis.” Focus on the original thought that led there; ie, “Israeli policies like [blank] treat Palestinians as if they’re not human.”

• Don’t casually use one-dimensional, caricatured portrayals of cruel Israelis. Rather than sensationalizing Israelis, and compounding anti-Jewish oppression in a world that already paints Jews as evil, help people see Palestinians: real people, suffering daily injustice, both mundane and extreme, and deserving of global attention.

• Israel did not, and does not, cause antisemitism.

There a few more things I’d like to be clear about in how we can avoid being antisemitic:

• No one should ever be discriminated against for showing a Star of David in this city again.

•  The word “antisemitism” means hatred and discrimination against Jews, even if it sounds like something else. Society has agreed that those sounds and combinations of letters have that meaning, even if the component parts don’t add up as you would expect. Derailing conversations by arguing over the definition of antisemitism is not acceptable. If you don’t like the word, you may use “anti-Jewish discrimination” instead, but accept what others are talking about when discussing antisemitism.

Recommendations for Dealing with Firsthand Accounts:

Speaking about what you personally witness or experience is always allowed, unless it violates another person’s privacy by sharing excessive identifying details. Please try to anonymize the account of events you share.

As this is a local sub, we should have an easier time authenticating firsthand accounts from local people. Ideally firsthand accounts will come directly from an eyewitness, or be part of a social media chain that allows some level of vetting the authenticity of the account, preferably bringing us back to a credible human eyewitness. Ideally videos from such sources will be accompanied by a written witness statement explaining what the video intended to capture by either the video's creator, or another person who witnessed the recorded events in person. A statement from a third party who did not witness the original event is not acceptable, unless that person is a professional journalist with a history of journalistic integrity on these topics, or an officer of the court involved in a related case.

Do not post photos or videos that have been tweeted, retweeted, and edited so often identifying the original source is impossible, unless a credible news organization verifies them.

That said, we need to protect the privacy of crime victims and activists, so it may be necessary to blur faces out of the video. Where this interferes with verification, discuss it with moderators beforehand, and preferably share an original with the moderation team.

If you know regular protest live streamers, or citizen journalists, their discussions of events they witnessed or recorded is acceptable. Original protest live stream footage is usually acceptable, especially if it’s required to verify an account of events, or is the only source. Do link to the original unedited footage if possible.

Edit: I removed the link to the Jewish Voices for Peace discussion on antisemitism, because so many people have a problem with it. However, to the people on the pro-Palestinian side who need to hear it, yes, even Jewish people who strongly support Palestinian rights see antisemitism as a problem that needs to be addressed.