“Poses a threat to school peace”: Palestinian scarves, “Free Palestine” exclamation banned in Berlin’s schools

by shrigay

25 comments

  1. Against the background of Hamas’ attacks on Israel, Education Senator Katharina Günther-Wünsch (CDU) prohibits the wearing of Palestinian scarves and other symbols in Berlin schools. “Any demonstrative action or expression of opinion that can be understood as endorsement or approval of the attacks against Israel or support for the terrorist organizations carrying them out, such as Hamas or Hezbollah, represents a threat to school peace in the current situation and is prohibited,” the education senator said in a letter to school managements.

    In addition to direct symbols of Hamas or Hezbollah, as well as depictions and statements glorifying violence, these also include “symbols, gestures and expressions of opinion that do not yet reach the border of criminal liability,” writes Günther-Wünsch. This includes, for example, the kufiya, the scarf commonly known as the Palestinian shawl.

    Also prohibited are stickers with inscriptions such as “free Palestine” or a map of Israel in the colors of Palestine, as well as the exclamation “free Palestine,” the letter continues. “In the current situation, such actions and symbols endanger the peace at school.” This means “a state of freedom from conflict and conflict management that enables the orderly course of school so that the state’s educational mandate can be realized,” writes Günther-Wünsch.

    This protective purpose is of paramount importance. “The avoidance of political and religious-ideological conflicts in schools is an important common good, which justifies a restriction of freedom of expression,” said the Senator for Education.

    In this context, schools could also ban the use of mobile phones for all pupils if it became known that the smartphones were being used at the school to spread terrorist propaganda.

  4. Interesting, now you’re not even allowed to wear the scarf. Wouldn’t want to upset the white phosphorus throwing ally.

  5. I guess this is one of those fundamental differences between Europe and America. The government banning protests in France, Swedish government arresting a book burner, and pieces of clothing being banned in Germany is scary.

  7. Doing a bit of travelling around Germany next year, will make sure to put a Free Palestine patch on my backpack for the duration.

  9. Bit of overreaching going on, you’d expect more cooler heads to be in charge.

  10. Once again I must express profound disgust towards the authoritarian policies that are currently becoming more and more common in Western Europe… I fear where this road may lead on…

  11. Speedrunning all the antijew conspiracies of last decades being right.

  13. Children shouldn’t be bringing politics to school.

    It’s not like 13 year olds are going to have a well reasoned debate and formulate a sustainable Palestine Israel peace policy in their lunch break.

  14. What the actual fuck. Literally erasing Palestine from memory.

  15. How did they make the jump to equate “Free Palestine”, which is something the UN has been calling for for decades, and supporting Hamas. Hamas are trash. But then so is the state of Israel looking at how they have first displaced and then oppressed people that have been living there for hundreds if not thousand of years. All on the ridiculous idea that because their ancestors lived in the region between 2,000 and 3,000 years ago and for a very short time had a country of their own there.

  16. What the hell? This is so tone deaf reaction. Becoming Russia while fighting Russia.

  18. If you’re fine with this you should be fine with russia detaining anti war protestors

  20. Well, you also can’t have a Nazi flag in Europe, or a Soviet one in many countries in eastern Europe

  21. Well this is the kinda shit that happens when you decapitate and burn children alive. The hamas movement needs to be defeated

  24. Good. Abusing democracies and hiding sympathy for terrorism behind freedom fighting have to go.

  25. Holy crap the comments.

    Typical r/europe – enabling extremism, whenever possible.

    Hamas launches missiles at Izrael and people support Palestine – which basically no longer exists and exists as puppet-state used as a weapon against Izrael by the neighbouring Iran, which poisons it’s own schoolgirls. But as long as it’s Jews they’re fighting against, Europeans are fine with it.

    You’re hypocritic, far-right antisemites, who’ve forgotten history.

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