Germany – Page 4 – Dark Nights

Which Countries Supply Arms to “Israel”?

Posted on 2024/02/19 by darknights

As civilian casualties continue to mount in Gaza, global calls for countries to halt arms sales to Israel grow. The United States Senate has approved a bill committing $14bn to support Israel’s war on Gaza this week.

Even before the start of the war last October, the US firmly supported Israel with the supply of military equipment, contributing $3bn annually in military aid. Many other countries provide military support to Israel via arms sales.

Civilian casualties continue to mount in Gaza – currently standing at more than 28,000 dead with thousands more trapped under rubble and presumed dead in just four months of bombardment and ground invasions. The rising death toll is prompting international condemnation.

On Monday, the European Union foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, commented on US President Joe Biden’s description of Israel’s response to the October 7 Hamas attacks as “over the top”. “Well, if you believe that too many people are being killed, maybe you should provide less arms in order to prevent so many people being killed,” Borrell told reporters.

So which countries continue to send weapons to Israel?

Who supplies arms to Israel?

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s arms transfers database, 68 percent of Israel’s weapons imports between 2013 and 2022 came from the US.

The US military also stockpiles weapons on the ground in Israel, presumably for use by the US army itself. However, the US has allowed Israel to make use of some of these supplies during the Gaza war.

Besides the US, Israel also receives military imports from other nations.

Weapons imported from Germany make up 28 percent of Israel’s military imports. Germany’s military exports rose nearly tenfold in 2023 compared with 2022 after it increased sales to Israel in November, according to figures from the German Economic Ministry. Germany primarily supplies Israel with components for air defence systems and communications equipment, according to the German press agency dpa.
The United Kingdom has licensed at least 474 million pounds ($594m) in military exports to Israel since 2015, Human Rights Watch reported in December 2023. These exports included aircraft, missiles, tanks, technology and ammunition, including components for the F-35 stealth bomber used in Gaza.
In Canada, dozens of civil society groups have recently urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to end arms exports to Israel. The government says it does not send full weapons systems to Israel, but these civil society groups claim it is downplaying the amount of military support it provides. “Canadian companies have exported over $84m [114 million Canadian dollars] in military goods to Israel since 2015,” said Michael Bueckert, vice president of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, an advocacy group, adding that the government has continued to approve arms exports since the start of the war.
Australia’s foreign affairs minister has said the country has not provided weapons to Israel since the start of the war. However, The Australian Greens party’s defence spokesperson, David Shoebridge, has asked for the government to be more transparent about exactly what items have been exported to Israel, adding that the country has one of the most secretive weapons export systems in the world. Amnesty International has also called on Australia to halt arms sales to Israel and claims the country has approved 322 defence exports to Israel over the past six years.
In France, a pro-Palestine demonstration on February 7 called on French companies, including Dassault Aviation, to stop selling arms to Israel. Demonstrators said, according to the Anadolu news agency, “all French companies that sell arms to the Tel Aviv administration are complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza”.

Source: Abolition Media

Berlin, Germany: Fire for Tesla

Posted on 2024/02/11 by darknights

Two Teslas were set on fire in Rummelsburg on February 7 and two Tesla charging stations on Vulkanstraße on February 8.

We think that Tesla is an ideal target for our attacks.

Because:

> Several armies use Tesla’s Starlink satellite system in their wars. Including Israel in Gaza. Also Ukraine. Tesla’s Starlink infrastructure is an important military player and attacks on Tesla can be a sign everywhere: against every war!

> Tesla is a symbol of “green capitalism”. But it is anything but green: the lithium batteries come from toxic mines in Chile and devour other rare metals, which means misery and destruction for the mining areas. “Green capitalism” stands for colonialism and land theft!

> Tesla wants to further expand its Gigafactory in Grünheide near Berlin. We want to defend ourselves against this! We don’t want any more Teslas on the roads! The Gigafactory became known for its extreme exploitation conditions. In addition, the factory contaminates the groundwater and consumes huge amounts of this already scarce resource for its products.

> Tesla is militarizing our roads. Their cars are equipped with high-resolution cameras. In “guard mode”, they film everything and everyone. Make sure to make yourself unrecognizable during actions.

> Elon Musk is an arsehole!

Therefore:

Let the air out of the tyres of expensive cars? great.

Even better: let Teslas burst into flames everywhere!

A few barbecue lighters and spring can begin!

Source: https://de.indymedia.org/node/339237

Via & translated by Abolition Media

Berlin, Germany: Attack on Police Union Cars

Posted on 2024/02/11 - 2024/02/11 by darknights

The GdP is the largest German police union. It has over 200,000 members across Germany and is a member of the DGB. The GdP is more than one union, but a lobby organization for the interests of German cops.

Their political agenda is as dull and small-minded as one would expect from a police association: more money, more weapons, more powers to use force. Its representatives are busy giving interviews, appearing at congresses such as the European Police Congress and the German Security Conference, and listening to ministers and senior officials across the country. Not infrequently with success.

For example, the GdP has successfully campaigned for the introduction of bodycams, facial recognition, the mass use of pepper spray, emetic torture (it should be remembered at this point that it was Olaf Scholz who, as Senator of the Interior of Hamburg, introduced the use of emetics and thus contributed to the death of Achidi John in 2001), paragraph 114 of the Criminal Code and the annual ritualized expansion of the police apparatus.

The fact that the Berlin police have long had a budget of 2 billion euros and, with almost 19,000 cops, one of the highest cops density in all of Europe (705 police employees per 100,000 inhabitants – almost every hundredth Berliner is a cop!), does not prevent the GdP from staging itself as a victim every time there is a bang.

Where this leads was once again more than clear on New Year’s Eve: 4500 cops from all over Germany in action, bodycams, sniffer dogs, helicopters and over 100 “endangerment speeches” with “swimming pool suspects, migrantifa supporters and Middle East demo-goers”.

Behind the objective, technocratic façade, the GdP makes use of the methods of right-wing demagogy that one can expect from the racist thugs it represents, which are riddled with Nazi structures. In its publications, it uses the logic of right-wing demagogues, in which the poor and migrants appear exclusively as a security risk. Continue reading “Berlin, Germany: Attack on Police Union Cars” →

Berlin, Germany: Claim of Responsibility for the Incendiary Attack Against a Greek Diplomatic Vehicle

Posted on 2024/02/07 by darknights

On January 30, we placed an incendiary device under a car with the number plate of Greece’s diplomatic mission in Germany. The action took place in the Rosenthaler district in Berlin.

The action is not directed against a specific person but against the relations between two racist and murderous states and those responsible for them. The burning diplomatic car is once again a vehicle for international messages between the oppressed and at the same time a message to those who want to rule the world…

..that we have not forgotten the hundreds of murders committed last June off the coast of Pylos at the hands of the Greek coastguard and Frontex.

…that we have not forgotten the racist, murderous acts of violence by the police against Roma youth in Greece.

…that we do not remain inactive in the face of the persecution of anarchists and individuals fighting against oppression and exploitation.

In 2024, at a time when indifference in the face of daily mass murders is far advanced, we anarchists continue to reach out to migrants. We want to remind them once again that mass migration has its origins in the system and that those who try to control it are the same ones who live off our labour and resources. The thousands of murders at the borders are murders of our brothers and sisters. The victims of the coming pogroms and assassinations in this increasingly openly racist European Union live among us and stand side by side with us.

In memory of Oury Jalloh, who was tied up and set on fire alive with broken bones in a police cell on January 7, 19 years ago.

Signed: Anarchists

PS: For the immediate release of Nikos Maziotis and solidarity with Pola Roupa!

Source: https://de.indymedia.org/node/338369

Via & translated by Abolition Media

Projekt Feniks – Nieformalna Federacja Anarchistyczna (FAI)

Posted on 2024/01/27 - 2024/01/27 by darknights

Video: Conspiracy of Cells of Fire – Phoenix Project – An account of the FAI/IRF Project ‘Phoenix’ (Black International) 2015

Posted on 2024/01/22 - 2024/01/27 by darknights

English subtitled version of the film giving the account of the early part of the Phoenix Project, international project of sabotage and attack with over a dozen hits in a variety of different countries.

Dedicated to Alfredo Cospito and Nicola Gai, Olga Cell FAI/IRF, who took responsibility for the laming of CEO Roberto Adinolfi of Ansaldo Nucleare.

“We are here, where everything starts now.”

The Project of ‘Phoenix’ is the unfolding of a hidden map marking one of the routes to the Atlantis of practical theory. An unknown and lost continent that exists beyond the edges of the burning cities of the interzone. Created through action, dialogue and ideas and organised informally with anarchic principles of permanent autonomous attack, revolutionary solidarity and internationalism. A sequence of attacks by different radical direct action groups around the world, breaking the silence of isolation and striking back again against the prison societies of the techno-industrial system.

The imprisoned members of CCF are charged with instigation for the attacks, Spyros Mandylas and Andreas Tsavdaridis were arrested and charged for act #4 in the project, sending a parcel-bomb to the former commander of the anti-terrorist agency, Dimitris Xorianopoulos, whilst Christos Rodopoulos is reportedly accused of the mailing of the parcel bomb to Dimitris Mokkas, chief prosecutor in the CCF case, as act #6.

The Phoenix project is now renewed through the 2015 attacks in Chile, Czech Republic and Greece, with the comrades within the territory of Czech Republic initiating the campaign “Let’s destroy repression“. The story of the Phoenix continues to be written…

SOLIDARITY IS OUR WEAPON

NOT A MILLIMETER BACK

NINE MILLIMETERS TO THE COPS’ HEADS

Source: 325

DN Note: Eternal gratitude to the comrade who sent a copy of the English version of video our way that dissapeared from cyberspace.

Below we translate the article from the reposting of the Spanish version of the video that inspired us to repost the English version.

Nothing is over, everything continues…

Continue reading “Video: Conspiracy of Cells of Fire – Phoenix Project – An account of the FAI/IRF Project ‘Phoenix’ (Black International) 2015” →

About the Switch Off! attack campaign

Posted on 2024/01/22 - 2024/01/22 by darknights

A year ago in Europe a campaign of attack against companies and infrastructures that feed the ecological catastrophe around the world, entitled Switch Off! was launched. Large and small actions have positioned themselves in offensive from the concern and need to confront an evident eco-systemic collapse provoked by the global capitalist machinery that destroys everything in its path.

The intention of the campaign is to “attack the system in a sustainable way”, placing direct action in a common context through anonymous communication with each other, inviting to arm themselves with their own means and go on the offensive against the productive infrastructure and with it the property, without falling into false discursive, institutional and/or technological illusions, “making it clear that there can be no green capitalist alternative, nor peace with the existing conditions”.

In a first statement of presentation we can see more precisely what is the background and objective of why to invite the use of the slogan “Switch Off!”:

Switch off – a call to revolt

(DN Note: We make our own translation into English from the original German text.)

The certainty that the current system will lead to the collapse of the massively damaged ecosystem has already moved countless people and driven them into resistance. Tens of thousands are taking to the streets against the capitalist machinery’s “business as usual”, people are resisting the destructive large-scale projects en masse, the system’s infrastructure is being blocked and courageous fighters are setting fire to the machines that are robbing them of their livelihoods.

What we need in the struggle against the destruction of nature and the resulting social misery is the common striving for the real revolutionary break and the freedom of all. For an initiative that rejects all compromises and cosmetic corrections of the state and brings about a transformation of our social relations.

Because the destruction of the planet by the neoliberal economic system is inextricably linked to patriarchal thought patterns, racism and colonialism. The initiative for this must necessarily come from below. From the struggles of the marginalized. From the struggles of those who oppose the state’s promise of salvation with a self-organized, solidary coexistence. From the struggles of those who see that there can be no compromise in the fight against the systemic destruction of the biosphere.

We should also be aware that we cannot completely prevent the gradual collapse of a massively damaged ecosystem. Not the loss of biodiversity. Not the depletion of resources. We will not be able to prevent the climate catastrophe, as we are already in the midst of it. Admitting this – without any doomsday pathos – does not paralyze us. On the contrary: it should open up the question for us and our contexts of what our lives and our revolutionary struggles could look like in the future.

We can hardly block and sabotage as radically and uncompromisingly as the climate change caused by capitalism requires. But we should not be discouraged by this. Let us question, sabotage and sustainably attack the infrastructure of capitalism in the fight against exploitation. So that another world becomes possible! Let us cooperate with each other in solidarity so that we can live a dignified life. Let us realize our ideas in the here and now and already within our struggles and actions. We will not be lulled into complacency by the attempts at appeasement by those in power.

Against their technological solutions

The solutions offered by those in power for the now noticeable effects of the ecological crisis are primarily technological. This is obviously also driven by lobbying, but above all it is a strategy to legitimize themselves. The development, control and application of the “technologies of the future”, which are supposed to make growth capitalism “sustainable”, are in the hands of the state, industry and science and are inextricably linked to them. If we are being sold the illusion that climate change can be stopped technologically, then this is based on the belief that those in power only need to take the right steps, the right measures, to save this world.  For one thing, they have absolutely no interest in ending the expansionist capitalism that secures their position of power. And for another, technological reform, with the new dependencies it produces, is also doomed to failure. Examples of this could be e-mobility or technologies for the production of so-called renewable energies. The required raw materials are often procured in the course of neo-colonial environmental exploitation. The transportation of these raw materials and components is in turn highly dependent on fossil fuels. As a result, a conversion of the current industry to renewable energies before the global oil reserves dry up is unthinkable anyway. Continue reading “About the Switch Off! attack campaign” →

Berlin, Germany: Arson attack on police vehicle

Posted on 2024/01/22 - 2024/01/22 by darknights

In the night from January 17 to 18, we decided to set fire to a police sixer on the occasion of the Rondenbarg trial in Hamburg.

We are going on the offensive and not waiting for a repressive verdict, because we believe that the trial taking place today and the 24 trials scheduled to follow are reason enough to take our anger to the streets.

This trial is not only an attack on the freedom of assembly, but a further attack on anti-capitalist and anti-fascist resistance. Apparently it was not enough for the authorities to violently suppress the protest at the time, and another 80 activists were subsequently charged.

Unfortunately, we were not able to capture the burning car for you, but maybe you will be lucky enough to see the burned vehicle between the Arcaden and the S-Bahn station Berlin-Spandau.

We call for a militant demonstration on January 20th in Hamburg!

PS: our text is a bit short, but you have many possibilities to inform yourself about the process:

https://rondenbarg-prozess.rote-hilfe.de/ (collection of many articles on the Rondenbarg trial)

Source: de.indymedia

Berlin, Germany: Against environmental destruction, oppression and war – fire for CEMEX concrete plant

Posted on 2024/01/04 by darknights

Inspired by a series of actions and sabotages against “the world of concrete” in France (2), Belgium and Switzerland, we visited the CEMEX concrete plant on Schleusenufer in Berlin-Kreuzberg in the early hours of December 27 and used fire to stop several concrete mixer trucks and bring the conveyor belt and a technical building to a standstill.

A master among the climate killers

The wasteland of concrete and asphalt continues to spread. In Germany alone, up to 30 hectares of living soil are buried under the most sought-after building material every day. Roads, squares, commercial areas, industrial plants and houses; huge parts of the earth’s surface are already sealed and infrastructure projects such as dams, freeways, bridges, airports etc. consume several billion tons of concrete every year.

All this is not without consequences. Concrete is considered the climate killer par excellence. Almost 10 percent of the carbon dioxide that this system currently blows into the air comes from the cement industry. That is almost three times as much as air traffic. At the same time, concrete production consumes enormous amounts of resources. Sand in particular, which is essential for production, is already in short supply, which is why coastal areas and sometimes entire islands are being dredged worldwide. With devastating effects on the surrounding ecosystems. The increasing sealing of soils also has catastrophic consequences. Urban areas are heating up more and more, while rainwater can no longer seep into the ground. Groundwater reservoirs are not filling up as before, which will lead to water shortages in many places in the long term or has already done so. Drought and aridity are the result of this on the one hand, while flooding and erosion are occurring elsewhere due to increasingly frequent heavy rainfall. More than that, every additional meter of concrete destroys habitats and food sources. The loss of natural ground areas and the lack of vegetation lead to a decline in biodiversity, which has an impact on many animal and plant populations and will result in the extinction of individual species. Continue reading “Berlin, Germany: Against environmental destruction, oppression and war – fire for CEMEX concrete plant” →

Berlin, Germany: Free Sonnenallee from SPD & Greens – smash!

Posted on 2023/12/03 by darknights

On the night of Monday, November 20, we simultaneously attacked the SPD office in Hermannstraße in Berlin Neukölln and a Green Party office in Wrangelstraße in Kreuzberg as an action against the genocidal war in Gaza. With our small group action, we are participating in the weeks of resistance on the streets, a resistance that has fought for its rights through riots. You gave us “rights” because we gave you riots!

The resistance in Germany against the war is far from being symbolic. The German state and German capital have staked a lot on the outcome of the war. And not because of their alleged task of combating anti-Semitism. The two governing parties, the SPD and the Greens, have played a prominent role in this. They have also played a role in creating the racist narrative that has meant massive repression against the residents of Neukölln for many years and has led to a general de-“legalization” in recent weeks. Demonstrations were violently broken up, migrant political organizing was confronted with bans, skin color and certain clothing and colors became even more reason for brutal attacks in schools and on the streets.

On a global level, the SPD and the Greens stand for Western imperialism and despite their repeated attempts to interpret it otherwise, a capitalist offensive by Israel and its Western allies is taking place. German involvement, interests and investment in this war and in Israel’s occupation is obvious. The US Rammstein Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate, for example, is essential for the deployment of US drones in the Middle East and in August of this year, Israel sealed the largest ever arms deal (3.5 billion US dollars) with Germany with the approval of the US. There is much more than guilt behind the German state’s “special responsibility” for Israel.

Against the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the police occupation of Neukoelln.
Free Sonnenallee from SPD and Greens.

PS: We were pleased to find our two targets already damaged. That didn’t stop us from adding even more visible damage with hammers, spray paint and paint bottles.

A few anarchists

Source: Kontrapolis