(Viel zu spät: Sternbilder der inneren Höfe, abstrakt und vage unheimlich wie die Schatten der Äste vor den noch wachen Balkonen. Kunstlichtfantasie. Unbrauchbare Rituale für Traum und Schlaf.)
#outerworld #the_city_and_the_dreams_of_night #between_concrete_and_sky
Hinter der Dämmerung und die Luft ist immer noch mild. Kein Regen mehr. Einige Bäume vor den hohen Häusern stehen jetzt in voller Blüte, die Frühling färben und verströmen. Jenseits des Parkplatzes klingen leise Stimmen, dazwischen Musik, zurückhaltender als sonst, oder zumindest scheint es so. (Müde genug. Der Kopf schwer genug. Leicht genug. Zumindest für heute.)
Afternoon. Timeless and context-free. Somewhere and nowhere in particular. The sky's as wide and open as can be. Mental travel. // 366skies
#366skies #outerworld #smartphonephotography #dresden #between_clouds_and_birds
#between clouds and birds
Mond verschwindet hinter den Häusern. Nimmt den Tag mit, die wachen Träume, die verbliebenen Reste von Konzentration. Also: Musik verstummen lassen. Einige rohe Halbsätze verstauen in einer alten Zigarrenkiste, zwischen anderen Wunderlichkeiten und Krümeln von Tabak und Damals. Und der Nacht nicht länger widerstehen.
Into the evening. Looking for light. Watching the skies change and still stay the same. // 366skies
#366skies #outerworld #dresden #smartphonephotography #between_concrete_and_sky
#between concrete and sky
Germany’s much lauded ‘memory culture’ is pure, empty, self-congratulatory propaganda.
Published On 1 Mar 20241 Mar 2024
I am a #Jewish #pro-Palestine solidarity activist originally from the #NewYork area and now based in #Berlin. My #grandmother was a #Holocaust survivor from #Cologne who fled to the #UnitedStates during the Second World War at the age of 16. Her parents and much of her family were murdered during the Holocaust. I came “back” to #Germany about five years ago, a decision born largely out of the desire for intergenerational healing for me and for my grandmother, who was alive at the time. I learned German and was able to speak to her in her native language in the last few years of her life. I told her stories about living in Germany, she met some of my friends and she was grateful for the ways in which the country and its people had apparently evolved and atoned for their ugly history.
I am glad she died before I had the opportunity to recognise what a naive, idealistic delusion this was.
In the past few years as I have educated myself, become active in the movement for #Palestinian #liberation and extracted myself from the extreme #Zionist conditioning and #brainwashing baked into the fabric of my upbringing, my appreciation for German “Erinnerungskultur” (“memory culture”) has steeply devolved into the realisation that the entire concept is pure, empty, self-congratulatory propaganda. It is grounded in the intentional, racist displacement of anti-Semitism and responsibility for the Holocaust from the Germans who perpetuated it to the #Arabs, #Muslims and, above all, the #Palestinians, who they now demonise and scapegoat as a deflection and distraction.
A documentary from 1985, Ma’loul Celebrates Its Destruction, provides an account of the destruction of entire villages during the 1948 #Nakba. In it, an interviewer says to a Palestinian man who was displaced: “But they killed six million Jews.” His rightful response is, “Did I kill them? Those who killed them must be held accountable. I haven’t hurt a fly.” The fact that a truth this fundamental has been so deeply buried in the language of “complexity” and “conflict” is a testament to the commitment and breadth of the imperialist narrative disseminated by Israel, the #US and #Germany (and the #West in general). Meanwhile, more than 90 percent of all anti-Semitic incidents in Germany are attributable to the #far-right despite the media’s rampant efforts to ignore statistics, skew the reality of the violence and racism directed at Palestinians, and disguise the true apathy towards the so-called “fight against anti-Semitism”.
While actual incidents of anti-Semitism go largely unpunished, those of us standing in solidarity with Palestine are accustomed to brutal, state-sanctioned violence, repression and surveillance from police and the German government in response to peaceful #protests and #boycotts. This has intensified massively since the #genocide in #Gaza began in October, regularly under the guise of accusations of anti-Semitism and “Judenhass” (“hatred of Jews”). We are accordingly committed to remaining loud and visible, including through our refusal to be excluded from the fight against rising fascism and the extreme-right Alternative for Germany party ( #AfD ).
On February 3, I attended an #anti-AfD demonstration in Berlin as part of the pro-Palestinian bloc with the revolutionary #Marxist group #Sozialismus #von #Unten (“Socialism from Below”), in which I am an active member. I had quite a bit of trepidation about going to this protest after the violent, racist and disturbing experiences of my Palestinian and pro-Palestinian comrades at anti-AfD protests over the past few weeks. Folks protesting the AfD while showing solidarity with Palestine have been ruthlessly harassed, attacked, reported to the police and violently removed by both demonstrators and cops all over Germany.
In general, the #mood was positive, and there seemed to be more of a tangible solidarity in comparison with the earlier demonstrations. I stood with a sign that read, “ #Juedin #gegen die #AfD und #Zionismus, #fuer ein #freies #Palaestina” (“ #Jew #against the #AfD and #Zionism, #for a #free #Palestine”). We handed out flyers encouraging a strategic and systematic mobilisation against the AfD. We spoke to demonstrators about the link between fighting fascism and fighting for Palestinian liberation. We explained that Palestinians in Palestine are currently suffering under the fascist policies we are demonstrating against in Germany, and in Germany, Palestinians and those standing in solidarity with them are already experiencing the concrete infringement and denial of #fundamental #human #rights ( #freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly). We emphasised the importance of unconditional, #international #solidarity.
Some were cautious about engaging, ostensibly out of concern for being viewed as anti-Semitic, but many were curious, interested and open to learning. As much as the mainstream media have tried to distort and mangle news of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, a recent poll showed that among German voters, only 25 percent answered in the affirmative when asked if they believe Israel’s attacks on Gaza are justified; 61 percent believe they are not. The latter cohort was clearly represented at the demonstration.
After about an hour, I came into contact with a representative of the 25 percent of that poll. An older German man with an aggressive expression approached me, stopped in front of me and half-shouted, “So what do you think the #similarities are #between the #AfD and #Israel?” I could tell he had no intention of engaging in a reasonable conversation but nonetheless began trying to explain. After a few words, he rolled his eyes and spat at me.
It is hard to describe the particular shade of red I saw, the sourness of the blood pumping to my head, the bitterness of the fury on my tongue. It looked like the lifeless faces of my great-grandparents at the mercy of #Nazis, deported and murdered in the #Warsaw #Ghetto as they have appeared in my dreams since I was a child. It felt like the fierceness with which I will unconditionally defend the Palestinian resistance, the right of every people to resist their oppressor in any single form, until my last breath. It tasted like the rage and incredulity that have boiled in the corners of all of our mouths as we scream at the top of our lungs, watching the world passively observe the slaughter of Palestinian men, women and children for more than four and a half months – silent, complicit and accompanied by the relentless echo of more than #75 #years of #occupation, #apartheid, #theft, #ethnicCleansing, #lies, #dehumanisation and unforgivable #injustice.
I ran after the man, shouting at him that my family was murdered because of fascism during a genocide – in response to which he spat at me again.
He goaded me: “What do you know? The AfD is a fascist party. What does that have to do with Israel?” I began to state the obvious – “Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza as we speak …” – but didn’t finish my sentence before he spat in my face for a third time.
As I was shaking, incensed and disgusted, my final comment was, “You are clearly an anti-Semite.” Up to this point in the interaction, he had been condescending and full of contempt, but (as I knew it would) this final shot sent him into a blind rage. As I turned and walked away, he shrieked: “WHAT did you say to me?”
A friend of mine recently said to me, “The #Germans will #never #forgive the #Jews for the #Holocaust.” These words have rung in my ears and sat in my chest with nowhere in particular to go, a hard, ugly truth at the core of German society that precisely reflects my experience living in it. It is bewildering, it is comical, and it is accurate.
From the neo-Nazis of the AfD to “anti-Deutsche” leftists who claim to be combatting German anti-Semitism by obsessively and unconditionally supporting Zionism, many of today’s Germans are brimming with repressed rage towards Jews. Whether they are aware of it or not, this is resoundingly apparent in the deep, hysterical hypocrisy of a reaction such as that of the man at the demonstration – spitting in a Jewish person’s face for standing against fascism and genocide on the basis of her personal, generational relationship to fascism and genocide and becoming enraged at being identified as an anti-Semite accordingly.
This fury is seemingly a reaction to the “injustice” of Germans having to repent for the actions of their ancestors, something they have been widely celebrated for on the global stage. The #resentment takes the form of #narrowmindedness and #bigotry: The only acceptable concepts of #Judaism, #Jewish people and “Jewish life” are those they themselves, #non-Jewish Germans, explicitly sign off on. (Refer to the “anti-Semitism commissioners” claiming to represent the interests of Jewish people in Germany – not a single one of whom is Jewish or an expert in any relevant or related field.) For many Germans, the only palatable Judaism is Zionism, which in fact is no kind of Judaism at all. When forced to contend with perspectives in conflict with this toxic narrative or with Jewishness that doesn’t align with their understanding of it, their anger surfaces violently, explosively. “Anti-Deutsche” weaponise the fetishisation of Jews through their obsessive Zionism to an extreme degree, spearheading aggressive hate and smear campaigns against those who do not share their views (including anti-Zionist Jewish people). How dare anyone, most of all Jews, call into question the authority of Germans in defining and relating to Judaism, anti-Semitism and genocide.
The sick, decades-long collaboration between Israel and Germany and the widespread assertion that Israel’s security is “Germany’s reason of state”(“Staatsraeson”), which upholds Zionist socialisation in the interests of political, racist ends, has created an atmosphere of fear, shame, guilt and ultimately self-righteousness that permeates much of German society. It punishes questions, dissuades education and quashes the necessary understanding of Judaism as a broad, differentiated and historically diasporic culture that existed long before Zionism – and will exist long after.
This designation of all Jews and all Judaism as a single uniform entity, necessarily speaking the same language (modern Hebrew), holding the same values (Zionism) and sharing an identical culture (which in Germany, must be determined by Germans), is, in fact, the precise definition of #anti-Semitic, #Nazistic #racial #segregation and the othering, dehumanising rhetoric they employed in its service. The rigid and inherently anti-Semitic conception of Jews as an undifferentiated people “native” to one land, characterised by the nationalist settler-colonial Zionist movement, has merely served as a #continuation of #Hitler’s #work. It has erased secular Judaism in Europe. It has #eradicated the #Yiddish, #Ladino, #Judeo-Arabic, #Judeo-Persian and #other #Hebraic #languages. Eighty years after the Holocaust, it has succeeded in upholding the view of Jews as a monolith, a foreign nuisance separate from German society, the attempted annihilation of whom can now be exploited to justify the annihilation of another group.
The #tradition of #policing #Jewishness has been passed down in Germany for generations now, which, as in the case of the man at the anti-AfD demonstration, revolves not just around an established, homogenous definition of Jews but, crucially, also the exclusive right and obligation of the Germans to dictate it.
So what are we left with? I believe we can see it in our aforementioned statistic. The majority of Germans know, despite what they have been raised and conditioned to believe, that at the very least, what is going on in Gaza is wrong. Many can see that there is something significant and conspicuous missing in the mainstream narrative around anti-Semitism, Israel and Palestine. I would venture that the majority of those in the streets marching against the AfD are doing it because they genuinely want to stand on the right side of history. Meanwhile, what is in reality a minority is simply louder, angrier and more visible in propagating their anti-Arab, anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian racism, anti-Semitism and pro-genocide views and, in being so, intimidate the rest into docile silence.
#No #one in the mainstream German #media has reported on my experience at the anti-AfD protest. Given the cultural context, this is not a surprise. But highlighting this hypocrisy and the prevailing, ever-more destructive narratives illustrated by such an incident represents a powerful opportunity for education and empowerment. Calling out the root causes and social backdrop of this moment make them available and necessary for all to grapple with. As so many are stepping into the streets, it is our responsibility to arm them with the facts as fuel, to enable every single person to raise their voice and know decisively what they speak for and what they speak against. We will continue – with more resolve than ever – in the fight for a free Palestine and in mobilising in this way against racism, Zionism, (actual) anti-Semitism, fascism and genocide. We will repeat it again and again until the rhythm of our words becomes the heartbeat of a society that attempts to snuff out our resistance but will ultimately fail at doing so: Never again means never again for anybody.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
Early night. Clouds are not visible anymore, but the pale lights are. // 366skies
#366skies #outerworld #smartphonephotography #dresden #between_day_and_night
#between day and night
Abend, zwischen den gewohnten Stunden: Versuchen, die Dinge kurz anders zu tun als an anderen Wochentagen. Versuchen, das Verspannte von den Schultern zu werfen. Versuchen, auf dem harten Boden zu liegen, Decke und darüber Dach, Himmel, Sterne zu erahnen und die unruhige Stadt unter dem Rücken vibrieren spüren. Mit halboffenen Ohren durch die Gespräche hinter Wänden streunen, Klänge wahrnehmen, hoffentlich ohne Worte zu verstehen. Versuchen, in all dem den eigenen Rhythmus zu erahnen. (Komplizierte Unterfangen. Niemand sagt, dass es zur Nacht hin einfacher werden muss.)
#outerworld #later_that_day_later_that_night #between_concrete_and_sky
Etwas weiter weicht man dem Blick alter Industriestädte aus: Gründerzeithäuser, verwitternde Fassaden. Die schweren, kunstvollen Holztüren zerfallen im Fluss der Zeit. Kaum noch Leben auf der Geschäftsetage, in den Auslagen finden sich nurmehr Telefonnummern von Maklern inmitten von Zurückgelassenen der ehemaligen Eigner. Ein Dönergrill, eine Pizzeria, und der Getränkemarkt, vor dem man Bierkisten auf verschneite Kleintransporter lädt. Ein kurzer Durchlauf, tun, was es zu tun gilt, und versuchen, dem Gesprächsnebel zu entgehen und Wortfetzen schnell wieder zu vergessen. (Zwischen dem Tristen der Straße und den großflächigen Wahlkampfplakaten steht Hoffnung, klein und verloren, und zuckt nervös mit den Augen. Warme Sonne in glattem hohem Blau.)
Closing in on 10am. Watching contrails float apart in light-blue skies. Kitchen chat with colleagues while refilling coffee, the most striking part of Office Wednesdays isn't about productivity. Odd experiences of professional distance and personal communication, and getting acquainted to each other taking much longer in ages of remote work. (Also, usual issues: Trying wrong paswords to log into the wrong systems, and being asked questions not just by the machine. Needs refocussing.)
#outerworld #office_hours #between_concrete_and_sky #where_we_do_what_we_do
#office hours #between concrete and sky #where we do what we do
In motion.
#outerworld #pixelfed365 #fediphoto365 #monochrome #between_day_and_night #smartphonephotography
#between day and night
10pm and on. Quiescing the noise, muting external sources. Dimming that last light remaining for today. Leaving behind some notes for tomorrow mornings self, unsure whether that scribble will manage to carry its meaning through the dark hours. Watching some drunk young dudes disappear in a car way below, and a student slightly the same age staring into his books, somewhere across the street. Different lives different dreams different ways to fill nights.
#outerworld #borders_of_sleep #city_nights #between_sky_and_streets
Entlang der Straße. Oktoberlicht lügt Wärme in den Mittag, aber über dem Horizont ziehen die nächsten Schauer ins Land, in die Stadt. Voll und schnell die Strecke, wer kann, übt Rücksichtslosigkeit gegen alle anderen, weil es eben geht, und weil das Freiheit ist. Tropfen auf der Scheibe, Radiostimme im Ohr. Es gibt insgesamt Erfreulicheres während dieser Wochen. (Aber zumindest duftet es aus dem Kofferraum nach Äpfeln, und an den Schuhen klebt noch etwas Erde der Almen. Etwas zum Mitnehmen in den normalen Takt.)
Immer noch Ankommen. In vieler Hinsicht immer noch halb im Morgen. Nacht vor der Haustür, ein müder Blick tastet im Schwarz nach den Höhenlinien der Berge und rutscht haltlos ab. Das Dunkel trägt den Klang verschiedener Wasser und das Rascheln all jener, denen das Unterholz gehört. Dieser Tag blieb unnahbare Ferne, eine Aneinanderreihung von Punkten und Themen, die nachzulesen man gewillt war und die sich jetzt mit den Stunden im Vergangenen, Vergessenen auflösen. Kurzes Sinnieren darüber, ob die Zeit kürzer oder schneller wird oder nur in falschen Denkmustern verebbt, die altern lassen, ohne Antworten zu finden. Aber vielleicht spielt es keine große Rolle, wenn die Bilder, die sich in die Erinnerung schreiben, nur weit genug tragen. Gegenüber schließen die letzten Jalousien. Licht zieht sich zurück, die Augenlider des Abends sind schmal. Wieder spät genug.
#outerworld #the_village_and_the_hills #between_day_and_night #where_we_are_we_are #edge_of_darkness
#the village and the hills #between day and night #where we are we are #edge of darkness
(Aus der Zeit gefallen. Irgendwann: Ankommen wieder, inmitten der Hügel, dort, wo die Himmel weiter, die Sterne heller, die Bäume dichter sind, der Abend früher zu beginnen scheint. Ein immer neu seltsames seelisches Balancieren zwischen Heimaten und Realitäten, fern der Jugend, fern der Stadt, manchmal auch verloren in Anknüpfungspunkten und Verständnissen. Das Tor schließt, am Fuße des Efeu rascheln Mäuse, Bach rauscht durch das Halbdunkel der Wiesen. Woche fällt zurück. Alles wie immer. Zum Glück.)
#outerworld #home_and_the_hills #between_day_and_night #later_that_evening
#home and the hills #between day and night #later that evening
Später: Dinge nehmen Form an, ohne dass man viel dazu beiträgt. Also tut man die Kleinigkeiten, die man kann, kocht Kaffee und kühlt Flaschen. Und schämt sich insgeheim, dann und wann, dass man eher mit dem Kopf als mit den Händen zu arbeiten gewohnt ist. Darüber wird es Nachmittag, unruhige Wolken rasen über unruhige Himmel, ein Radio plappert vor sich hin, Schatten wandern und der Tag altert und reift. (Dann zieht man sich kurz zurück, weil einen die ungewohnten Interaktionen mehr Energie kosten, als man erwartet hätte.)
Abseits, im Vorüberziehen. Bahnsteig und Nirgendwo. Ein großes X aus Kondensstreifen am blassblauen Himmel. Duft von Rauch, Gras und Rost hängt über den abgelaufenen Steinen. Jogger unter zu enger Kleidung und gequälten Gesichtern stürzen dem Park, dem Feierabend entgegen und all den Erwartungen, die für die Zeit danach noch bleiben. Der Hopfen zwischen den Häusern verblüht, nebenan schippt der Hausmeister Streusand in den schmutzgrünen Container. Peripherie vertrauter Umgebung, Vorstadtidylle mit Fluss und Baustelle in den Farben eines noch kraftlosen Herbstes.
#outerworld #elsewhere #between_concrete_and_sky #early_autumn
10am and on. Lost in in-between time again. Fragmented day following a fragmented night. Wrestling stuck keys, flakey inputs and its amazing results. More coffee, more sun, an astoundingly cold wind. A few rough lines, a few snaps of indecisive days. Watching the trees wave, watching the leaves change colour, listening to the sounds of the city bustling with activity to ignore the fact it's still not even Monday noon.
#outerworld #home_office #between_seasons #watching_from_above
Viel weiter durch den Sonntag, zurück im Viertel. Dunstiger Sonnenuntergang, blasses Licht hinter den Dächern, vielleicht wirklich, vielleicht nur getrübt durch schemenhafte, unterbewusste Wolken, die durch diese Zeit treiben, manchmal leichter, manchmal schwerer. Irgendwo in den Straßen plärrt Musik, eine Gruppe Teenager in schwarzer Kleidung unter bunten Haaren trottet schweigend die andere Richtung, verschwindet schließlich zwischen Zäunen und Häusern. Einzelne Blätter fallen leicht auf Asphalt. Herbstlieder im Kopf, plötzlich. Aus fernen Jahren. Manches kommt gelegentlich wieder.
#outerworld #early_evening_phenomenon #weekend_moving_on #between_seasons
#early evening phenomenon #weekend moving on #between seasons
Close to 9pm. Bottle's still filled but it's just water for the day. Somehow, evening managed to cool down even more, still reluctant to consider rain though. An airplane taking off in the distance, the familiar sound of the engines, coming from everywhere and nowhere in particular. Windows opening to the backyards, the family next door getting together for a late dinner. There's music, there are chants akin to a prayer, words unheard, mood just vaguely captured. (Listening in a distant contemplation, without understanding. Trying to steer clear of the late days edges. Everything being a bit vague and hazy tonight.)
#outerworld #early_evening_phenomenon #between_sky_and_streets #calming_down
#early evening phenomenon #between sky and streets #calming down
