Professors spread protest messages ahead of Netanyahu’s visit to Berlin memorial

BERLIN — The night before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Berlin’s Platform 17 memorial, Israel Studies professor Arie Dubnov and Talmud professor Shai Secunda, along with Jewish and non-Jewish Berliners, spread flowers with biblical messages about democracy and justice on the platform, to protest the Israeli government’s planned judicial overhaul.

While they were placing the English and Hebrew verses around the platform, a German police officer drove up to make sure they weren’t spreading antisemitic messages, according to Dubnov.

The flowers and messages were removed from the platform before Netanyahu’s visit.

A little "gift" we made, in advance of Bibi's visit today to the Gleis 17 monument at Grunewald station – Flowers with quotes about justice, democracy, etc. My contribution: Deut 17:18.
שֹׁפְטִים וְשֹׁטְרִים תִּתֶּן־לְךָ בְּכׇל־שְׁעָרֶיךָ וְשָׁפְטוּ אֶת־הָעָם מִשְׁפַּט־צֶדֶק׃ pic.twitter.com/0DwLAK9FMR

— Shai Secunda (@shaisecunda) March 16, 2023