Controversial event:The city can reject space
Middle Eastern activists fail to file a complaint with the court
From Jacob Witzel
In the long-running debate over events related to the Middle East conflict in Munich, the city has now resigned: the Municipal Cultural Center Gasteig does not need the initiative of an event entitled “Apartheid by the State of Israel – Germans are exploring the other way that politics provides.” The Bavarian administrative court confirmed this on Friday afternoon, one day before the scheduled start of the event. The initiative had previously failed to file an urgent application before the Munich Administrative Court. However, the second case did not argue with the content of the event, but with protection from infection.
The organizer is the “Bundestag 3 for Palestine” (BT3P) initiative, which is closely linked to the “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” (BDS) campaign against Israel. Behind her are three activists. The two of them participated in a lecture about the BDS campaign at Gasteig in 2015, after which the conflict escalated in Munich. In 2017, the city council decided in an exciting decision that this campaign should not be discussed in urban areas. Since then, the city has suffered several defeats in court. Recently, the Bavarian Administrative Court announced in its ruling that the BDS ban unauthorized restrictions on freedom of expression. The city appealed to the Federal Administrative Court.
BT3P also wanted to go to Gasteig to attend the current event. He refused, referring to the political issue. A contract has now been terminated in court. For reasons of infection protection, the city currently does not provide any event rooms with the public, a court spokesperson explains. The reasons for the content do not matter.
The initiative speaks of an excuse: the “policy of political siege of Munich” has won at this stage. The event must take place digitally on Saturday. Then, starting at 6:30 pm in front of Gasteig, people will protest publicly against the city of Munich.
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