The protest camp of the self-proclaimed Palestine Committee at the Free University of Berlin (FU) attracted little interest on the second day. Hardly any visitors strayed to the group camping in front of the Henry Ford Building on the lawn next to the main entrance to the lecture halls on Friday. Anyone expecting riots, slogans and pepper spray like in mid-May, when masked FU students stormed a lecture hall and had to be stopped by the police, was disappointed. There were neither riots nor arrests. Quiet music from one of the loudspeakers was drowned out by the noise of traffic, and the participants remained on the small lawn, which was framed by a neatly trimmed hedge.
In the morning, around 20 men and women sit cross-legged in front of the tents and discuss things. The meeting is for “self-organization,” says one participant, and no demonstrations are planned today. The sun beats down on the igloo tents and the red roof of an information stand. Between a clearly visible large pack of sanitary towels, a box of headache tablets and various mobile phones lies a stack of A4 paper. The information material turns out to be a call for participation in the camp and a two-day-old press release.
A young woman in a bright orange safety vest is named as the camp’s current press spokesperson. She comes out from behind the information stand and immediately refuses. They don’t want to talk to WELT, but no reason is given. She points to the A4 sheets of paper on the table.
The report reveals the group’s various goals. Among other things, the camp is the “direct response” to the new Berlin University Act and to make it easier to exmatriculate. It is aimed at everyone who fights for a “democratic and critical university”, “against repression and for an end to genocide and a free Palestine”. They are also calling for the Henry Ford building to be renamed in order to send a signal against anti-Semitism. This repeats the demands of the General Student Committee (AStA), which had previously made this demand because of the anti-Semitism of the building after which it was named.
Other points of criticism from the demonstrators include the clearing of similar camps and “repression” against students. This refers to the new higher education law of the Berlin Senate as a result of violent anti-Semitic protests. Since then, students can be expelled for political activities. Similar protest camps to those in Berlin have taken place in recent months at other universities such as Bonn and Bremen.
The group plans to stay on the green area next to the entrance to the lecture hall building for another six days. As an accessible area, the lawn is covered by the demonstration law, and the event has been approved by the police. This is already the second camp of the “Palestine Committee”. It denounces a “genocide” by Israel and calls for protests.
Some participants wear neon-colored safety vests, others Kufiya scarves. A whiteboard is set up on the lawn with the plans for the next few days. There isn’t much written on it yet. Workshops and breakfast, the days from Sunday onwards are still empty. A student wearing a headscarf comes from the main entrance to the stand and leafs through the flyers. She offers to buy the protesting students snacks from the supermarket. “What do you need? Water in particular, right?” “Gummy bears,” says one of the camp participants. “I’ll get you some. I think what you’re doing is so great,” the visitor enthuses and hurries away.
15 officers are waiting in the police van opposite. The mini-camp is guarded around the clock. Isn’t it a very thankless task to spend the night in the cramped bus? “Keep your eyes open when choosing a career,” commented a policewoman. The campus is deserted, and FU President Günter M. Ziegler is also nowhere to be seen. He had already spoken out on Thursday and said that he assumed that the camp was “solely for the peaceful and free expression of opinion.” Reports would be filed against “anti-Semitism, racism, anti-Muslim sentiment and other forms of discrimination” as well as violence and property damage.
At midday, the police team bus leaves and is replaced by a minibus. The protest camp is deserted and the participants take a lunch break.