“Viva, viva, Palestine” – students protested in front of Berlin high schools

There were protests and police operations at two high schools in Berlin-Friedrichshain on Friday morning. According to police, around 60 students blocked the entrances in front of the Andreas-Gymnasium on Koppenstrasse and the Leibniz-Gymnasium on Schleiermacherstrasse. The police opened several investigations.

A police spokeswoman confirmed to the “Tagesspiegel” that there had been “spontaneous gatherings in front of the entrances” in front of both schools. At around 7:30 a.m. the entrances were blocked and partially locked. In addition, other students were prevented from entering the schools.

According to a police spokesman, the protests in the morning were generally peaceful. There were no disturbances or violence; the schools were accessible via other entrances.

On the sidelines of the protest, however, there was a physical injury to a resident who wanted to take her garbage to a garbage dump. “We have begun investigations on suspicion of breach of the peace, bodily harm, physical assault and damage to property,” the police said. She was on site with 30 emergency services.

According to information from the dpa news agency, the Andreas-Gymnasium initially informed parents and children that morning that access to the school was blocked. The children would be looked after by teachers. Classes should begin as soon as the gates are opened.

According to the “School Strike Against Conscription” initiative, the protest in front of the Andreas-Gymnasium was directed against compulsory military service and for more money for education. Around 60 young people can be seen in front of the school entrance in videos on Instagram. However, some of those involved also show Palestine flags, and chants of “Viva, viva, Palestine” can also be heard.

One banner reads the slogans “Stop conscription and cuts to education” and “Merz leck Eier”. There are also calls for an education strike on November 20th, for which left-wing groups are also mobilizing.

According to information from the “Tagesspiegel”, people from the left spectrum who do not belong to the school also took part in the protest. The headmistress of the Andreas High School did not want to comment on the blockade.

Benjamin Jendro, spokesman for the police union (GdP), said in an interview with WELT TV that it was completely legitimate for students to want to express their opinion. Politicians should also listen because the scenes in France are very disturbing, where violence and vandalism occur again and again during student protests. “We have radical forces that want to divide us, that endanger our democracy and that of course have now had an effort,” said Jendro. “I expect a clear positioning from the political sphere here.” Schoolyards must remain safe and should not become places “where masked people commit crimes and agitate against Israel.”

Already on Monday, 150 students at the French high school in Berlin-Mitte blocked entrances and demonstrated. It was the first student protest in Germany in solidarity with the school protests in France.

Pupils and students have been taking to the streets there since the end of September, demanding, among other things, better equipment in schools, more teachers and better learning conditions. There are repeated riots and attacks on police officers.