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Al Arabiya
11 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
German court rules Holocaust memorial can bar people wearing keffiyehs
A German court said Wednesday that a Nazi concentration camp memorial has the right to refuse entry to those wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh scarf. The higher administrative court in the eastern state of Thuringia rejected a request from a woman to be allowed entry to the Buchenwald concentration camp memorial while wearing a keffiyeh. According to local media reports, the woman was turned away when she attempted to attend a commemorative event marking the 80th anniversary of the camp's liberation in April while wearing the scarf. She then petitioned the courts to allow her to return to the memorial for another commemorative event this week while wearing a keffiyeh. The court found that the memorial was within its rights to deny her entry, pointing to the woman's declared aim of 'sending a political message against what she saw as the (memorial's) one-sided support for the policies of the Israeli government.' 'It is unquestionable that this would endanger the sense of security of many Jews, especially at this site,' the court said. The court said the woman's right to freedom of expression was outweighed in this case by the memorial's 'interest in upholding the purpose of the institution.' Germany, still trying to atone for the murder of six million Jews in the Holocaust, has been one of Israel's staunchest allies. However, in recent months it has sharpened its criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz announcing this month that no more licenses would be granted for arms exports to Israel that could be used in Gaza. The Buchenwald memorial faced criticism last month when an internal document was leaked which described the keffiyeh as 'closely associated with efforts to destroy the state of Israel.' The director of the memorial, Jens-Christian Wagner, said subsequently that the document contained 'mistakes' and would have to be reworked. On the question of the keffiyeh, he told the NDR broadcaster last month that it was not per se 'a forbidden symbol' at the memorial. 'However when it is used together with other symbols... to relativize Nazi crimes, then we would ask people to remove those symbols,' he said. Around 340,000 prisoners, including Jews, Roma, homosexuals and Soviet prisoners of war, passed through Buchenwald and its annex Mittelbau-Dora, both located near the German city of Weimar. Around 56,000 people lost their lives at Buchenwald -- some executed, others starved or worked to death -- and a further 20,000 died in Mittelbau-Dora, where inmates worked on the Nazis' V1 and V2 rockets.
Asharq Al-Awsat
an hour ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Russian Drone Fell in Eastern Poland, Warsaw Says
A Russian drone crashed in a field in eastern Poland, according to early findings, Polish officials said on Wednesday, in an incident the nation's defense minister described as a provocation. The drone hit and scorched a cornfield in the village of Osiny in the eastern Lublin province overnight, just over 100 km (62 miles) from the Ukrainian border and around 90 km from Belarus. Poland has been on high alert for objects entering its airspace since a stray Ukrainian missile struck a southern Polish village in 2022, killing two people. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Pawel Wronski told Reuters that the findings so far and some experts have suggested a Russian version of the Shahed drone developed by Iran was involved in the latest incident. General Dariusz Malinowski said the drone appeared to be a decoy which was designed to self-destruct. He said it had a Chinese engine. Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, who also serves as defense minister, said the incident bore similarities to cases in which Russian drones flew into Lithuania and Romania, and could be linked to efforts to end the war in Ukraine. "Once again, we are dealing with a provocation by the Russian Federation, with a Russian drone. We are dealing with it in a crucial moment, when discussions about peace (in Ukraine) are underway," he told journalists. Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on X his ministry would issue a protest against the airspace violation but did not name the perpetrator. "Another violation of our airspace from the East confirms that Poland's most important mission towards NATO is the defense of our own territory." The Russian embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. US President Donald Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and a group of European allies in the White House on Monday, following his meeting on Friday in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The blast shattered windows in several homes, but nobody was injured, national news agency PAP reported. Police said they found burnt metal and plastic debris at the site and that corn had been burnt in an area of 8-10 m (26-33 ft) diameter around the spot where the object fell. "I was sitting in my room at night, around midnight, maybe, and I heard something just bang," local resident Pawel Sudowski told local news website "It exploded so loudly that the whole house simply shook." Air raid sirens rang out for about an hour over the border in Ukraine's Volyn and Lviv regions from around midnight local time (2100 GMT), according to messages from its military posted on Telegram. There were no reports of air attacks in those regions, their governors said.
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Acclaimed British musician Paul Weller sues accountants that cut ties over his pro-Palestine views
LONDON: British musician Paul Weller is suing his former accounting firm after it reportedly ended their business ties over his pro-Palestinian comments. Harris and Trotter had a professional relationship with Weller spanning more than three decades, The Independent reported on Wednesday. The acclaimed musician and former frontman of The Jam filed a discrimination claim over the accounting firm's decision. It followed public statements by Weller that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. He was told in March that Harris and Trotter would no longer work with him or his companies, his lawyers said in a pre-action letter. A partner at the firm sent a WhatsApp message to Weller saying: 'It's well known what your political views are in relation to Israel, the Palestinians and Gaza, but we as a firm are offended at the assertions that Israel is committing any type of genocide. 'Everyone is entitled to their own views, but you are alleging such anti-Israel views that we as a firm with Jewish roots and many Jewish partners are not prepared to work with someone who holds these views.' In ending its relationship with Weller, the firm illegally discriminated against his protected philosophical beliefs, his lawyers said. Weller has publicly supported moves to recognize Palestine as a state. 'I've always spoken out against injustice, whether it's apartheid, ethnic cleansing or genocide. What's happening to the Palestinian people in Gaza is a humanitarian catastrophe,' he said. 'I believe they have the right to self-determination, dignity and protection under international law, and I believe Israel is committing genocide against them. 'That must be called out. Silencing those who speak this truth is not just censorship — it's complicity.' According to his lawyers, Weller will donate any received financial damages toward humanitarian campaigns in Gaza. 'I'm taking legal action not just for myself, but to help ensure that others are not similarly punished for expressing their beliefs about the rights of the Palestinian people,' he said. The firm Hodge Jones and Allen is representing Weller. One of its lawyers, Cormac McDonough, said the case 'reflects a wider pattern of attempts to silence artists and public figures who speak out in support of Palestinian rights. 'Within the music industry especially, we are seeing increasing efforts to marginalise those who express solidarity with the people of Gaza.'
