The latest pro-Palestinian hijinks from Berlin: an ethnic African is being targeted by Hamas supporters for his pro-Israel views.
Joe Chialo was born in Bonn of Tanzanian parents. Since last year he has been serving as State Minister for Culture and Social Cohesion in the state government of Berlin. Thanks to his support of Israel, he’s now in the crosshairs of the “From the River to the Sea” crowd.
Many thanks to Gary Fouse for translating this article from the Berliner Morgenpost:
Pro-Palestinian scene
House of Culture Minister Joe Chialo smeared with paint
by Dennis Meischen
September 23, 2024Caption: The residence of Culture (Minister) Joe Chialo was smeared with red paint.
Berlin — For weeks, the CDU politician has been the target of pro-Palestinian activists. The background is his pro-Israel stance.
Late Sunday night/early Monday morning, unknown person(s) sprayed the facade and court entry of the private residence of Joe Chialo (CDU) in Pankow (Berlin) with red paint. That fact is confirmed by the police in response to an inquiry by this editorial staff. In addition, several messages were written, such as “Genocide Joe” and “Meet our demands”. That is a clear reference to the alleged genocide that the pro-Palestinian activists and Israel-critics accuse Israel of in the Gaza Strip. State Security has begun an investigation, and a connection to the pro-Palestinian scene seems probable.
“I lack words for what is happening here,” stated the Berlin military rabbi, Schlomo Afanasev, on the social platform X (formerly Twitter). Culture Minister Joe Chialo has our full support, but it is shocking that now he needs personal protection and a safe space on his own doorstep. What kind of world has this become? It is simply sick.”
Berlin’s sitting mayor, Kai Wegner (CDU), also sharply condemned the paint attack on Chialo’s house. On X (formerly Twitter) he wrote that “every line” has been crossed. The attack shows that the perpetrators disqualify themselves from any discussion. “It is even more important to break up the underlying structures,” Wegner adds. “We will exhaust all constitutional means against those who attack people out of political motives, want to stir up fear, or believe they need to bring international conflicts to our Berlin streets. This is why a democracy clause is urgently necessary when it comes to distributing state funds. There can be no tax money for enemies of democracy.”
Joe Chialo has long been the target of pro-Palestinian protests
Chialo has repeatedly become the target of pro-Palestinian activists in the past several days due to his pro-Israel views. The background is the democracy clause he is pushing for in the Culture ministry, which ensures that anti-Semites and other extremists get no more funding for projects from the public coffers. Critics see this as a deliberate oppression of Israel-critical and pro-Palestinian opinions.
Specifically, in October of 2023 Chialo stopped the payment of funds that were to run to 2025 for the Neuköllner Cultural Center, “Oyoun”, because a controversial event was held there. A few weeks after the October 7 Hamas attack, an anti-Israel association close to the BDS movement celebrated its 20th anniversary. The matter is now being litigated, and is in the Higher Administrative Court.
Joe Chialo had to be taken off the stage under police protection
Just two weeks ago, due to this decision, Chialo was attacked at the reopening of the Center for Art and Urbanism in Moabit (Berlin). In front of the entrance, 40 pro-Palestinian demonstrators were waiting for him. The group, according to police, directed banned chants against the cultural minister, insulted him, threatened him, and set off pyrotechnics. Chialo finally had to be taken from the stage under police protection. In previous appearances by the culture minister, activists had demanded that the cultural center be preserved.
Shortly afterward, Chialo complained to Der Spiegel about an “increasingly aggressive brutalization in the debates.” He told the magazine: “It all seems that the radical left and the self-proclaimed Hamas supporters are flaunting their one-sided and distorted worldview, without consideration of the consequences.”
The translator adds:
This Berlin site has video of the incident two weeks previously when Chialo was speaking at an event. The only audio is “Free Palestine” chants in English.