Schweizer was a civil service lawyer and worked as a consultant in the Ministry of Labour. In this year’s federal election, she ran on the Berlin state list for MERA25 and as a direct candidate in Berlin Mitte. The hate campaign that led to Schweizer’s dismissal was triggered by a December 6 post on X in which she accused the Zionist Malca Goldstein-Wolf of waging a “defamation campaign” because she had called the renowned journalist Georg Restle an antisemite for his criticism of Netanyahu’s war.
Goldstein-Wolf apparently researched Schweizer’s occupation and, when she found out that she worked for the Ministry of Labour, made this known on X and initiated a smear campaign against her. Hundreds of Zionist trolls then spread the most vicious slanders against Schweizer and demanded that she be fired.
The media also immediately joined in the smear campaign. On December 11, the tabloid Bild ran with the headline “Heil shocked! Employee spreads vile hatred of Israel” and went so far as to accuse Schweizer of trivialising the Holocaust.
Schweizer was then invited to a staff meeting, then suspended in January and finally dismissed without notice from her job and stripped of her civil servant status in February. At the same time, in the final days of the federal election campaign, her LinkedIn account was blocked without explanation.
Also to put this into perspective. Federal workers (bo matter where they are employed) are legally required to remain neutral. This goes even thus far, that you can face consequences for going on protests. However, the thing she said is not just her position, but also the position of her Party Mera25. There is also a law providing protection for federal workers who are part of a political party. In theory she shouldn’t get fired for expressing the standpoint of her Party.
At the same time our commissar of Antisemitism openly said, in an Interview he attended as said role, not as a private person, that he likes Trumps plans of ethnically cleansing the Gaza strip. In a press conference his actions were defended by stating, that he does not have to reflect the views of the government, even tho his role is part of the government, and the he is not obligated to follow orders if the government.
Yes I know, Germany devinetively has a problem with not being to critical about Israel committing genocide in Gaza.
Federal workers legally required to remain neutral
Government employees have to act neutrally when fulfilling their job duties. But as a private person, in their free time, they are free to protest. They only must not work against the ‘liberal democratic basic order’ (FDGO) when they are regular employees or they must act in favour of the FDGO when they are civil servants (Beamte), respectively, as the latter have sworn by oath to do so.
While the existence (and security) of the state Israel has been declared national interest (Staatsräson) by our chancellors Merkel and Scholz, by itself it does not touch the FDGO. The only aspect I can think of in that regard, that would be against the FDGO, is the endorsement of terrorism.Thanks for this clarification which a lot of people appear to leave out.
The persecution of DIEM25 by German authorities is becoming pretty systematic at this point. All for legitimate Palestine solidarity work. There is a pattern here.
TL;DR This is a fringe opinion piece with a pretty far-fetched conclusion. She can take this to court; German courts usually make nuanced decisions and defend free speech. The discussion around this is necessary, but this article leaves no/ little place for differing opinions.
While her dismissal should receive more attention, I don’t think the wsws is a particularly good source. The article is extremely one-sided and doesn’t question Schweizers own statements at all. Furthermore, there seems to be no actual reporting/ journalism involved in this, its content is purely made up of previously published media (e.g. twitter and BILD). I think this is just an opinion piece and should be treated as such.
I think the author had a clear message in mind before writing this, as the text goes on to bundle this case with a few other unrelated high-visibility cases that have different circumstances to question the freedom of speech in Germany. While there is a discussion to be had, the article offers no foundation to support the broad picture it paints.
Do not forget that Melanie Schweizer can take this to court and German courts don’t tend to fuck around willy-nilly when it comes to freedom of speech. The German state/ public is capable of nuance, don’t let this fringe opinion piece tell you otherwise.
Meanwhile the federal comissioner for combating antisemitism hailed Trumps plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza, and faces no repercussions.
See
For an article contrasting the different treatment. In Germany calling for ethnic cleansing is apperently acceptable for government officials…
Tldr: selective application of rules to Palestine. Germans justifying it.
Funny how everyone ignores the large scale slander campaign against her by Zionist organizations.
To anyone only reading headlines and comments: She wasn’t dismissed from parliament for expressing her opinion.
That would be completely undemocratic and is impossible in Germany.
She was dismissed as an employee of the state, where she was bound by oath to stay politically neutral in public.
She never won a seat in the election.So a public employee that repeated Likud’s “between the sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty” would also be fired?
Besides, public employees need to be neutral while they are working, they must have all their democratic rights in their private life. Otherwise you need to start firing people for going to the church/mosque/synagogue/whatever they call their religious grounds.
To anyone only reading comments; consider listening to the explanation of the suspended person. https://youtu.be/ETnMLb_ql1g
The people who downvoted the above comment: “NO I DON’T WANT TO KNOW”, or some shit.
Lot of Germans over here who do not know their own laws but will make excuses for anything which involves killing Muslims.
deleted by creator
Unless they are the federal commissioner for combating antisemitism. Then they can call for ethnic cleansing.
deleted by creator
Trump’s weird ass plans should be taken “into consideration"
Bro, these weird ass plans are plans for ethnic cleansing. Here is a litmus test for you: take those “weird ass plans” and just replace the words “Gaza” with “Israel”, and “Palestinian” with “Israeli”. Are you outraged at how fucking nazi the plans sound now? Do you now understand why what Felix Klein said is just unacceptable?
deleted by creator
He said he finds tue plans positive and the time requires “radical, new thinking”, and then went on to imply that forced displacement is just a normal thing like moving out of your house for renovacions, clearly downplaying what it actually is.
Schweizer was a candidate in a political election. Which is something that is perfectly legal for “Beamte” government employees. And it is not in contradictiom to the values of the German constitution to call Israels system of occupation racist, apartheid or genocidal. All these qualifyers are backed by human rights organizations, experts on international law and aside from the open question of genocide, also by the highest UN court.
Her being fired is politically motivated with a dubious legal basis, wheras Felix Klein has clearly shown support for severe crimes against humanity and thus that his position is outside the limits of the German constitution.
deleted by creator
Aa far AS i know there is special protection for federal workers who are part of a party. Her statements were also the view of her party.
deleted by creator
Die politische Betätigung darf weder zu persönlicher Begünstigung, etwa einer schnelleren Karriere, noch zu einer Benachteiligung führen. Stichwort: Ämterpatronage. Für die Besetzung öffentlicher Ämter gilt mit Verfassungsrang, Art. 33 Abs. 2 GG, das Leistungsprinzip. Öffentliche Ämter sind nach den Kriterien Eignung, Befähigung und fachliche Leistung zu vergeben.
https://www.dbb.de/beamtinnen-beamte/status-dienstrecht/beamte-und-politik.html
Federal workers have, as everyone else, the right to be politically active. The condition are, that you can’t be part of the parliament or the government and you have to be able to separate between your job and your political career. You are also not allowed to be active in a party that is against the constitution. Someone who is politically active should not face repercussion for this, as long as he remains neutral in his position as federal worker.
Maybe quote the first paragraph too:
(1) Beamtinnen und Beamte dienen dem ganzen Volk, nicht einer Partei. Sie haben ihre Aufgaben unparteiisch und gerecht zu erfüllen und ihr Amt zum Wohl der Allgemeinheit zu führen. Beamtinnen und Beamte müssen sich durch ihr gesamtes Verhalten zu der freiheitlichen demokratischen Grundordnung im Sinne des Grundgesetzes bekennen und für deren Erhaltung eintreten.
Beamte serve the entire people, not a single party. They have to fullfill their duties impartial and just, using their position to the wellbeing of the general public. Beamte have to be loyal to the free and democratic basic order in the sense of the constitution in the entirety of their behaviour and stand in for keeping up that order.
That is what the second Paragraph refers to. Her criticism of Israel are not creating partiality inside Germany, nor are they contradictory to the free and democratic order, which embraces human rights and international laws, clearly violated by Israel. One could even argue, that as a government employed lawyer, she has the duty to the public to point out violations of the basic order, as she is expected to know more about law than other government employees.
Meanwhile Felix Klein loudly opposed the core principals of the german constitution and he did this speaking in his function as government commissioner.
This is a textbook case of political persecution and it is demonstrating the blatant hypocrisy of German politics in this regard once again.
Is that why all Germans civil workers keep waving around Israeli flags?
They do? All of them?
Oh you are saying none of them do?
How did you go directly from all to none? Are you just trolling?
No idea,must be Germans pretending to be unable to understand what a hyperbole is in order to avoid having to address the argument of their civil servants openly support Israel.
Or maybe all Germans must love and support the beautiful state on the eastern end of the Mediterranean forevermore, no matter what beautiful things its beautiful leaders are up to. Anything else is inconceivable because it would be aNTiSeMiTIc.
This is the only statement I will make on the issue.
deleted by creator
The actions taken by the federal and state authorities are a clear warning signal. Against the background of the greatest militarisation and rearmament offensive in Germany since Hitler, which is currently being prepared by the ruling class, any form of opposition to capitalism, fascism and war is to be suppressed.
Sorry, but can we please leave these shitposts at lemmy.ml?
Are you denying Germany’s complicity in genocide?
Yes. That’s what they are doing. They are not even acknowledging that there is a credible case that Israel is comiting genocide and that Germany has tried to defend Israel in the ICC. Namibia another country that has suffered a genocide at the hands of Germans in the past has come out publicly shaming them, but for some stupid reason Germans are not as deferential to Namibians as they are to Israelis. Must be the colour of the Namibians’ toenails or something.
