Repression Across Europe must be resisted

JVL Introduction

The right to protest and the right to free speech is under great threat in many parts of Europe.  This article focuses particularly on what has been happening in Germany but looks also at the Netherlands, France and the UK.  We have published extensively on the use of the IHRA WDA (Working Definition Antisemitism) to suppress support for Palestinian rights and criticism of the State of Israel. And we have also seen the right to protest used for other causes that challenge the orthodoxy of political elites, most obviously in relation to demonstrations for the environment and protesting against fossil fuel use.

It is not just on the right to protest, however important that is, but also impacting on refugees and asylum seekers, funding for voluntary organisations, academic research, scholarships and jobs within and beyond the academic sector. In the UK we have no confidence that the government will reverse any of the repressive measures of the previous Tory government but resistance is vital and we can and must work with our colleagues in other countries.  Our own rights as well as the rights of Palestinians and much more are at stake.

LL

This article was originally published by Al Jazeera on Wed 8 Jan 2025. Read the original here.