Welcome to Berlin, during the 2023 Hamas-Israel conflict. My neighbourhood, Neukölln, is home to many people of Arab descent, including children of Palestinian refugees. And some of my neighbours were clearly angry about what they saw as Europe's unconditional support for the ongoing Israeli bombing of Gaza.
Another demonstration elsewhere in Berlin the same night had been very different: maybe 300 people, all tip-toeing carefully around Germany's increasingly diffuse definition of anti Semitism to voice their discontent. For example, they avoided the slogan - "Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea" - because it implies denial of the State of Israel's right to exist.
The demonstrators were peaceful but the police were not. "Why are you pushing me?" one middle-aged German woman cried out, eyes brimming. Another young woman, shoved heftily from behind by an officer, tripped and fell. Despite brandishing my press pass like a small, ineffective plastic shield, I got a whack, too.
Dit verhaal komt uit de November 04-10 2023 editie van New Zealand Listener.
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Dit verhaal komt uit de November 04-10 2023 editie van New Zealand Listener.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Al abonnee? Inloggen
A hint of mermaids
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Execution over innovation
Big and bold ideas are fine, but being the best beats being first.
Something's wrong with all of them
Engaging dissection of the 20th-century novel likely to send the reader in search for the book under discussion.
Cell warfare
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When caring is ‘woke'
Some years ago, I sat in a small plane circling over Punta del Este in Uruguay. There was a delay and we sat in tense silence until we began our descent. Outside the tiny airport, a taxi ferried us past private Lear jets; these had been the cause of the hold-up. The driver pointed to two planes side by side. \"This one is a Trump plane.\"
Getting along swimmingly
The presenters of Endangered Species Aotearoa spend a fair bit of time on and in the water in the second season.
That clingy feeling
Our pets display the same types of attachment behaviours as we do, or so it seems.
The famous furred
A peaceful little spot in LA is the final resting place for the pets of some of Hollywood's biggest names.
Gone girl
She wandered in on Thursday morning looking very wan, and climbed into her bed. I sat on the edge and stroked her back.
