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18. Januar 2010

On January 18, 2010, a joint session of the German and Israeli governments will be held in Berlin. 
In 2008 the two governments decided to hold regular consultations and the first one of this kind was held in Israel.

Call for a Protest Rally 
on January 18, 2010 - 11:00 am to 1:00 pm 
South of the Federal Chancellery, 10557 Berlin 

(On the meadow between Paul-Löbe-Allee and Heinrich-Gagern-Straße; Bus 100. 

(North of the chancellery another protest rally is planned for about the same time at 13:00)

On the occasion of the joint cabinet session of the governments of Israel and Germany we are protesting against the policies of occupation, settlement and war being followed by the Israeli government and the inhuman blockade of the Gaza Strip. Israel should not be supported in its activities, rather it should be called to account for its war crimes and abuses of human rights. 
The session is being held 13 months after Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip, in which more than 1400 Palestinians were killed. The number of Israelis killed is usually reported to have been 13. However, four of these were killed by the Israeli army; the other 9 did not all die during the Gaza War, but earlier. The UN Human Rights Council established a Fact Finding Mission led by Richard Goldstone, a noted judge, to investigate the events in Gaza. The independent and balanced report substantiates war crimes - some committed by Palestinians, but mostly by the Israeli side - as well as crimes against humanity. Israel simply declared that this report hinders the peace process and exempted itself from any investigation according to international law.

Instead, Israel renewed its settlement policies in the West Bank, but above all in East Jerusalem, where it drove Palestinians out and destroyed their houses. Unremittingly, often through raids night after night, the Israeli army attacks Palestinian villages which practice non-violent resistance against the occupation - for example the village of Bil'in near Ramallah.

The joint cabinet session creates the impression that the German government accepts the repression of the Palestinian people and the human rights abuses by the Israelis without a murmur, even supports them. Even closer collaboration is planned, not only in the areas of science, youth-exchange programmes and the environment, but the intensification of German-Israeli armaments cooperation is also being sought. This is a clear violation of the prohibition against delivering weapons to war and crisis areas.

According to newspaper accounts, "the Israeli government wants to have two modern warships and an additional submarine built in Germany as soon as possible. The federal government will provide the financing". Currently two "submarines with fuel-cell power plants" are being built for Israel in Kiel. (Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung 22.10.2009)

The Chancellor and the German government must be aware that they are making further war in the Middle East possible and helping to prepare for an eventual Israeli war against Iran!

The Israeli visitors include politicians who are responsible for the invasion of Gaza and the massacre of its population - among them is Defence Minister Ehud Barak, who prepared this invasion for months, according to the Israeli press. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is noted for his warmongering and racist hate-invectives: For example, during the Israeli military offensive in January 2009 he said Israel should fight Hamas like the USA fought Japan in the 2nd World War, then an occupation would not be necessary. This comment was taken to be a reference to America's dropping two atomic bombs on Japan. (Der Tagesspiegel 05.04.2009)

Wherever pressure from governments - political, economic, diplomatic - against Israel is lacking, that is where we, civil society, must apply pressure world wide. All those who committed crimes against humanity during the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip, through execution or command, must be called to account, as the chairman of the Fact Finding Mission of the UN Human Rights Council, Richard Goldstone, demanded for the Israeli invasion of Gaza.

We demand 
End the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip! 
End the occupation!
No German weapons to Israel and in the Middle East!
No deliveries of German Dolphin submarines and warships to Israel!
Freedom for the non-violent Palestinian activist Abdallah Abu-Rahmah and all other Palestinian political prisoners in Israel prisons.

Signatory organisations: 
AK Nahost Berlin, AK Palästina Tübingen, Aktionsbündnis für einen gerechten Frieden in Palästina, Allgäuer Initiative Palästina - Israel (AIPI), Arbeitskreis Globalisierung und Krieg of attac Karlsruhe, attac-AG Globalisierung und Krieg, attac Hamburg-AG Palästina, Bonner Nakba60-Gruppe, Bremer Netzwerk für einen gerechten Frieden in Nahost, das palästina portal, Deutsch-Israelisch-Palästinensische Gesellschaft (Board), Deutscher Friedensrat e.V., Deutscher Koordinationskreis Palästina Israel – für ein Ende der Besatzung und einen gerechten Frieden (KoPI), Deutsch-Palästinensischer Frauenverein e.V. (DPFV), Deutsch-Palästinensische Gesellschaft e.V. (DPG), Deutsch-Palästinensische Medizinische Gesellschaft (DPMG), DGB-Stadtverband Darmstadt, Farrah-France, Flüchtlingskinder im Libanon e.V. (Board), „Frauen in Schwarz“ Holzkirchen bei München, „Frauen in Schwarz“ München, Frauen wagen Frieden - Projektgruppe der Ev. Frauenarbeit der Pfalz, Frauennetzwerk für Frieden e.V. Bonn /FrauenWegeNahost, Freunde Palästinas an der Fachhochschule Frankfurt a. M., Friedensbündnis Braunschweig, Friedensbündnis Karlsruhe, Friedensnetzwerk Ulm, Friends of Sabeel Germany, Hochschulgruppe für gerechten Frieden in Palästina und Israel an der Universität Mainz, Institut für Palästinakunde e.V. (Bonn), Internationale Ärzte für die Verhütung des Atomkrieges, Ärzte in sozialer Verantwortung e.V. (IPPNW), Internationale Liga für Menschenrechte, Internationaler Versöhnungsbund/Deutscher Zweig, IPPNW Kiel, ISM-Germany, Jüdische Stimme für gerechten Frieden in Nahost e.V. – EJJP Deutschland, Kölner "Frauen in Schwarz", l'Appel de Strasbourg pour une Paix juste au Proche Orient, Lateinamerika-Komitee e.V. Ulm, Marxistische Initiative (MI), Mitglieder der deutschen Delegation des Gaza Freedom March, Nahostkommission von Pax Christi, Nahost-Komitee in der Berliner Friedenskoordination (Friko), Nakba-AG Karlsruhe, Ökumenisches Zentrum Berlin, Palästinensische Gemeinde Deutschland, Palästina/Nahost-Initiative Heidelberg, Palästina-Forum-Nahost Frankfurt/Main, Palästina heute (Renate Dörfel-Kelletat und Frank Dörfel), Palästina Initiative Region Hannover (PI Hannover), Palästinakomitee Stuttgart, Projekt Freundschaft. Münsteraner Arbeitskreis für Frieden in Palästina und Israel Salam Shalom.Arbeitskreis Palästina / Israel (München)

Individual signatories:
Nicola Abu-Khalil (Kiel), Ulrike Baumgarten (Lohmar), Kurt Behrens (Gröbenzell), Friedemann Binder (Rechberghausen), Winfried Belz (Heidelberg, Mitglied von Pax Christi), Dr. Andreas Bulling (Pfullingen), Dr. Anneliese Butterweck (Bergisch Gladbach), Claudia Caras (Frankfurt a.M.), Norbert Christmann (Kaiserslautern), Helga Dähne (Stuttgart), Dr. Ilina Fach (Marburg), Dr.med. Ernest S. Far (Bonn), Ursula Far-Hollender (Bonn), PaterRainer Fielenbach (Straubing), Prof. Dr. Hans Haußmann (Wolfschlugen), Evelyn Hecht-Galinski (Malsburg-Marzell), Lothar Heusohn (Roggenburg), Dr. med. Conny Holst (Kiel), Dieter Kaltenhäuser (Breisach), Martha Kellner (Gröbenzell), Annette Klepzig (Wilhelmsfeld), Peter Kranz (Berlin), Helmut Krings (Achern), Hannelore und Henning Kroymann, Dr. Ute Lampe (Braunschweig, Teilnehmerin am Gaza Freedom March) Felicia Langer (Tübingen), Rainer Luce (Königswinter), Prof.Dr. Mohssen Massarrat (for the Osnabrücker Friedensinitiative), Reuven Moskovitz (Jerusalem), Dr. Izzeddin Musa, (Cahirman) für die Gesellschaft zur Humanitären Unterstützung der Palästinenser e.V. (G.H.U.P. e.V.), Dieter Neuhaus (Eppstein), Gertrud Nehls, Eberhard Ockel, (Mitglied der Sprechergruppe von Pax Christi Münster), Matthias Plieninger (Neu-Isenburg), Prof. Dr. Fanny-Michaela Reisin (Berlin, president of the Internationale Liga für Menschenrechte), Ellen Rohlfs (Leer, Gush Shalom), Nahed Samour (Berlin), Günter Schenk (in the name of the Collectif Judéo-Arabe et Citoyen pour la Paix, Straßburg), Karl Schmidt (Stuttgart), Jörg Schreiner (Weisenheim), Marie Voss (for the Munich American Peace Committee), Dr. Viktoria Waltz, (Dortmund, Dozentin i.R.), Dr.Gabriele Weber (Freiburg), Sabine Werner (Königswinter), Hildegard Zeise (Aidlingen)

V.i.S.d.P. Martin Forberg, Berlin

[ Die Übersetzung ins Englische besorgte www.coorditrad.attac.org ]