Fear of Communists and a strong Palestinian movement
On the banning on “Palästina e.V.” and the state’s attempt to isolate the KO
The Interior Ministry of the German state of Hessen has banned the association Palästina e.V., which had already been dissolved in 2024. The ban is intended to be a blow to the Palestine movement, which has maintained a persistent presence on the streets for three years and is mobilizing people who were previously not politically active. The Palestine movement advocates positions that are diametrically opposed to the Germany’s policy of an active complicity in the genocide. Despite its ups and downs, the Palestine movement has built a successful political and ideological social mobilization against the prevailing German federal policy.
The ban is specifically aimed at rendering the Palestine movement in Frankfurt incapable of action by claiming that the association continues to exist and is behind the many activities taking place in the city. This ban is intended to criminalize and shut down many of these activities. According to Article 9 of the German Constitution, associations or organizations may be banned if they violate the “constitutional order” or the “ideal of international understanding.” The claim that the association in question is said to have violated these principles is clearly far-fetched. The only thing the ban proves is that the former Palästina e.V. expressed political opinions—opinions that run counter to the state’s position.
However, expressing dissenting opinions is a fundamental constitutional right. The fundamental right to freedom of expression only makes sense if citizens can express opinions that do not serve the state’s interests without having to fear repression or suppression by the state. This is called bourgeois democracy. Communists know that this democracy is an illusion, but they are often the ones who consistently defend fundamental rights.
The ban on the association is intended to eliminate a specific position from within the Palestine movement. It concerns the unwavering stance against the illegal occupation of Palestine since 1948 and solidarity with the Palestinian people’s resistance against this occupation. This position is diametrically opposed to the Federal Republic of Germany’s material and ideological support for the terrorist occupying regime of Israel. Through its justification, the Hessian Ministry of the Interior seeks to establish that Palestine does not exist and, consequently, neither does the occupation, the expulsion, apartheid, nor genocide. Since the association’s founding in 2022, Palästina e.V. has been subjected to threats of dissolution.
Kommunistische Organisation in the Crosshairs
The Kommunistische Organisation (KO) is also at the center of the Hessian Ministry of the Interior’s justification for the ban. KO is alleged to have established the Palästina e.V. as its “offspring.” This claim contradicts the KO’s principles. As early as 2024, the domestic intelligence service has been working to isolate the KO from the Palestine movement and beyond, by emphasizing that it stands in solidarity with all forms of resistance. The goal is to purge the movement of this position and signal to it that it had better rein itself in if it does not want to be crushed as well.
The Federal Republic of Germany is on a war footing. It is preparing for war against Russia and is vigorously supporting the genocide in Palestine and the expulsion of the Palestinian people. The settler colony “Israel” is supported unconditionally, while resistance and solidarity with Palestine are combated and demonized. Zionism, a fascist ideology that has become normalized in Germany, is to remain normalized despite its increasingly overt fascist character. This fuels the rise of neo-fascist movements and parties as rallying points for an aggressive German war policy. The enforcement of the colonization of all of Palestine and the annihilation of national resistance is an important part of this war policy. Any criticism of this is to be silenced in order to shape German society for future colonial wars of its own.
Politicians and the media are stoking a climate of fear: The population is supposed to fear “the Russians” or “Hamas”—and not the fact that their governments want to lead them into the calamity of a new major war. Yet the mood among the population is not what the federal government would like it to be. Many people oppose supporting genocide and also oppose the plans for war against Russia. They oppose arms deliveries and the unprecedented military buildup in this country. The resistance in Palestine cannot be crushed, and solidarity with it is growing worldwide. Iran is tenaciously defending itself with the support of millions of people around the world. For many, the masks of imperialism have fallen. More and more people are recognizing that the imperialists are enforcing their aggressive and destructive policies with the help of fascist forces in order to maintain their global domination.
In this situation, clear positions that have the potential to reflect the views of large segments of the population and to organize them pose a threat to German war policy. With regard to Palestine, the KO advocates solidarity with the resistance and the liberation of all of Palestine. The KO also stands for solidarity with the Islamic Republic and takes the position that Russia must oppose NATO, which has established fascism in Ukraine in the form of revived Banderism in order to subjugate Russia. These positions—and especially their combination—are a thorn in the side of the German state.
Within the left-wing movement, some of the KO’s positions are met with rejection, which sometimes leads to rumors being spread against the KO and to its isolation. Open discussions are rarely sought; instead, contradictions are exacerbated. In part, fundamental differences and historical divisions provide the backdrop for this—for example, between Trotskyists and “Stalinists,” or the rejection of communists in general, who are labeled “authoritarian.” Forces such as the leadership of the Left Party seek to weaken the Palestinian movement as a whole in the interests of the state and primarily attack positions that side with the resistance. With its material resources, it repeatedly manages to co-opt the movement and put it to its own use, often with the support of groups that actually position themselves to the left of the Left Party. The Left Party aims to make positions such as—among others—the unrealistic two-state solution socially acceptable again and to transform the movement into one that is solely opposed to the “humanitarian catastrophe,” while refusing to name the perpetrator of the genocide in Gaza.
In addition to these debates, there are also contradictions and political struggles that arise from the events themselves. In order to reach a common understanding, the issues must be examined comprehensively and with nuance, which would require the creation of a constructive space for discussion. For example, the U.S. has exacerbated existing contradictions in Syria and exploited them for its own purposes to destroy the country and eliminate it as part of the Axis of Resistance. Whenever imperialists plunge a country into civil war, suffering ensues on all sides, which sometimes leads to the decisive role of the imperialists being overlooked. Mutual trust is necessary to discuss these developments in a way that, as far as possible, uncovers the causes of the divisions and differences.
On the side of the resistance
In addition to repressive measures such as bans and legal proceedings, conspiracy theories targeting the KO play an important role. The KO is portrayed as a dark force pulling the strings behind the scenes and said to be particularly radical. It is claimed that it pursues goals within the Palestinian movement that are different from the Palestinian cause itself. The lie of infiltration is being spread. The KO, however, was and is an organization that hides neither its politics nor its internal contradictions or its own weaknesses. As a collective, it is convinced that only open and public discussion can develop and advance the movement.
Politically, the targeting and a possible ban of the KOis meant to isolate its organized structures and thereby render them ineffective. For the German state, it is a threat that many people in the movement take a stance of supporting the resistance and that the KO, with its modest resources, potentially bolsters these positions. That said, support for the resistance does not depend on the KO as many other organizations and individuals in the Palestine movement hold the same positions entirely independently of the KO.
The KO’s goal is to strengthen the Palestine movement as a whole and to foster organized networks in which people advocate for the liberation of all of Palestine. KO comrades work hand in hand with many people and strive to learn together how best to wage the struggle. How does the enemy operate, who are our allies, and what is at stake in this political struggle?
The struggle for the liberation of Palestine is a central part of the struggle against the entire war machine, against the preparation and waging of further wars, and against the colonial subjugation of the oppressed world. A thorough examination of the history of Palestine and its occupation since 1948 inevitably leads one to recognize the connection to imperialism’s predatory domination of West Asia. Recognizing these connections is precisely what the state seeks to prevent through bans that suppress free speech. Scientific-socialism has developed in order to best understand these connections and to achieve the political impact of the movement against capitalism.
The Fear of Communism
Communism is the nightmare of the capitalist state. However, it does not arise or exist outside the many struggles for fundamental rights, for the improvement of living conditions, or against wars. Communism emerged from the movement and is part of it. It differs from the movement only in that it represents the cause of the entire movement and does not merely wage individual struggles. In order to unite these struggles, the communist movement must understand and be able to highlight the overall context of exploitation, oppression, and the disenfranchisement of people, both in Germany and worldwide.
The KO does not yet meet this standard. It is in the process of learning. It recognizes that the communist movement is in the midst of a deep ideological and organizational crisis and sees it as its task to overcome this crisis. The KO’s work is guided by the realization that, strategically, the goal must be to overcome the conditions in which human beings count for nothing and the profits of the few serve as the yardstick for politics, regardless of which party is in power. Every struggle for liberation from the deadly grip of the profiteers is legitimate and has its own demands, but all struggles must be waged in such a way that they act in solidarity and hand in hand against the common enemy. The enemy, however, sows division wherever it can. This includes the attempt to drive the movement apart through intimidation and repression with the current ban on the association.
Contrary to the accusation of ‘infiltration’, KO members act according to the principles of the KO’s resolution on mass work. As communists, we promote the establishment and development of democratic, active, and independent organizations that act in the interests of their own inherent class interests. These can be Palestine solidarity groups, neighborhood initiatives, workplace groups, or similar organizations. Precisely because we believe that autonomous and active organizations are necessary—places where people can learn to organize for their own interests and become capable of collective action. Autonomy is a key principle.
The Undemocratic Tradition of the German State
To undermine the vibrant connection between the movement and communists, mistrust is stoked, political differences are exploited, and repression is carried out. The repression against the entire Palestine movement has reached a scale not seen in quite some time: bans on demonstrations, bans on certain content, criminal proceedings, occupational bans, sanctions against citizens, and social ostracism. Yet all these measures are evidently not enough to crush the movement or steer it in a desirable direction.
The use of association bansuse of bans on association and organisations is the weapon with which the state nevertheless seeks to achieve these goals. The bans against Samidoun, Palestine Solidarity Duisburg (PSDU), and Palästina e.V. have only one purpose: to suppress political stances in support of the resistance and remove them from the streets. These are anti-constitutional and unconstitutional bans intended to undermine fundamental democratic rights.
The central aim is to eliminate organized forms through which people come together politically, articulate their views, and take action when fighting for political goals that contradict the government’s policies and are thus genuinely oppositional. For the Palestine movement, this means that criminalization follows when it fights against genocide, colonialism, and displacement.
The so-called Association Act, which the Federal Republic of Germany applies, is essentially a law banning associations, since it deals almost exclusively with how associations can be banned. This law stems from a long tradition of the German state. The right to form associations is the result of the struggles of the labor movement since its inception. All fundamental rights, including the freedom of association, were won through struggles, specifically by those who were disenfranchised and, in the state’s view, were meant to remain without rights. The German state has always responded to the demands of the labor movement with particularly repressive measures. Laws were enacted to combat, control, and curtail these organizations and, by extension, freedom of expression and assembly.
Palestine Movement – Movement for Democracy
The KO’s experiences to date show that the struggle for democratic rights is indispensable for discerning the social balance of power. For even when the population makes the smallest demands, the state opposes them and attempts to disperse and undermine them. The more successes are achieved in this struggle, the more forcefully the state will push back against them. Achieving genuine and comprehensive democratic conditions for the masses of the population will not be possible without overcoming capitalism. But even under capitalism, more democratic conditions can be won through the strong organization of the people in defense of their own interests.
Every political opposition movement is confronted with these tools of repression. The Palestinian movement is fully aware of how important the struggle for democratic rights is. It is confronting the political struggle launched against it by state authorities, courts, and prosecutors. In the past, it has been shown time and again that it pays not to simply accept all restrictions. The Palestine movement has successfully fought back against various forms of repression, ranging from the criminalization of slogans to restrictions on demonstrations. The struggle against the Association Act, against bans on associations, and against the intimidation associated with them is an important part of this. The state has declared war on the movement and seeks, above all, to isolate it socially. It wants to prevent more and more people from joining its cause.
It is becoming increasingly clear: The Palestine movement is the movement for the defense of democratic rights, international law, and the Constitution against interior ministers, public prosecutors, and so-called “anti-Semitism commissioners.” This constitutional order, as well as international law, poses an ever-greater obstacle to German imperialism. In order to wage a war against Russia, this order must be adapted and altered accordingly. The struggle to preserve and protect democratic rights stands in direct opposition to these preparations.
The enforcement of democratic rights is a fundamental prerequisite for nearly every oppositional movement in Germany. This reveals the undemocratic character of the elites and their traditions, which also manifest themselves within the Federal Republic of Germany itself. The FRG’s constitution protects an order in which people count for nothing and, instead, property and the power of large corporations reign supreme. That is why the communists voted against this undemocratic order. However, the then-chairman of the KPD, Max Reimann, aptly identified who would defend the constitution and who would dismantle it: “We will not sign it. However, the day will come when we Communists will defend this Basic Law against those who adopted it!”
Let us take up the fight. Let us learn what kind of opponent we are dealing with and what methods he employs. Let us expose him as an enemy of democracy. Let us study the laws, the traditions of the state, and its intentions. Let us learn how more people can organize themselves so that they can be politically effective and have a say, rather than watching helplessly and at a loss. In summary: Do not remain silent, do not cave in to the guilt by association, take a stand on the issues, and advance the liberation of Palestine!
The state must understand that the Palestinian movement cannot simply be silenced. What if, in Germany, masses rise up against genocide and war policies and stand up to the crimes of those in power? Thwarting the plans of those in power means recognizing our own—our human—interests and standing up for them.