Gaza protests | "She's set up a straw man here"

You've raised over 16,000 euros through crowdfunding so far because you're being sued by the pro-Israel influencer Karoline Preisler. What happened?

Last September, I published a post on X with a 30-second video excerpt from an interview Preisler had previously given to Anna Staroselski of the right-wing conservative, pro-Israel organization Werte-Initiative. In it, I quoted Preisler verbatim and categorized it with my own words: "This is the radicalization of the middle." She hired a lawyer who, as it later turned out, seriously sent me a cease and desist letter via Instagram demanding that I delete my tweet and pay over 1,500 euros. Preisler then publicly searched for my address . Some time later, the cease and desist letter arrived by letter, and a few months later, a letter from the regional court announced that the case would go to trial.

At practically every rally Preisler attends, she holds a sign that says "Rape is not resistance." Your post refers to exactly that. What's the connection?

Preisler describes herself as advocating for victims of rape by Hamas, and the relevant part of the interview in question deals with rape allegations against Israeli soldiers. In the excerpt I posted, Preisler says: "...even there, Israel is still the more humane actor." Her lawyer says that Preisler's statement refers to her claim that such allegations are legally investigated in Israel. This, of course, has little to do with reality. According to the UN and the Israeli human rights NGO B'Tselem, sexual violence against Palestinians by Israeli soldiers is "systematic." Israeli ministers and representatives of government factions have protected alleged rapists and organized demonstrations on their behalf. The Netanyahu government blocked a UN investigation into rape allegations, and five soldiers who had confessed to sexually torturing and killing a Palestinian were acquitted in January—where is the "more humane actor"?

But isn't it correct that allegations against the military are always investigated in Israel? That's what people who call the country the "only democracy in the Middle East" say, at least.

There was one case in the summer of 2024, when nine soldiers accused of sexually torturing a Palestinian prisoner were arrested. Most were released, and negotiations for a settlement are currently underway, but not for sexual violence. Initiated, among others, by members of the far-right governing coalition, a mob in solidarity even stormed the military base where the perpetrators were imprisoned. In this case, an investigation was only conducted because the case made global headlines following a leaked video of the alleged rape. All other allegations of horrific abuse are generally not investigated. Israeli media describe Israel as on the path to "fascism" or "theocracy" – the label of the "only democracy" is a liberal fantasy that Western actors continue to steadfastly adhere to this country.

What does Preisler’s statement, “Rape is not resistance,” – presumably aimed at Hamas – actually mean?

She's set up a straw man for herself, and she's been fighting it for almost two years. Because who claims that rape is resistance? Who is her supposed criticism directed at anyway? And why doesn't she also protest against the sexual violence perpetrated by Israeli soldiers against Palestinian women, children, and men?

You have also published on the Israeli rapes...

In April, I published an investigation on "etos.media" in which I attempted to comprehensively compile all rape allegations against Israeli soldiers after October 7. It is the most horrific piece I have ever written, and it is full of brutality, human abysses, and the almost unspeakable. I don't want to elaborate on it here; it surpasses everything we know from Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib.

How does Preisler's lawyer Ralf Höcker argue in the lawsuit against you?

The law firm accuses me of "deliberately" editing the video clip, which is simply untrue, as I downloaded the clip in this form from another account. They accuse me of "making a seriously defamatory, unlawful false statement to the detriment of the plaintiff"; they also accuse me of being "partially responsible" for the negative international coverage against Preisler – although my supposed influence is being greatly exaggerated here.

How do you assess the allegations?

I believe it's wrong. Due to the ongoing proceedings, I can't comment further at this point.

Media lawyer Höcker is also active in supporting right-wing extremists. What do we know about him?

His law firm has represented and continues to represent the AfD, currently classified by the German security services as a "confirmed right-wing extremist effort." Previously, it represented Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Potsdam-based right-wing "remigration" network. "Ralf Höcker considers it his job to influence journalists by threatening them," Stiftung Warentest once wrote, and I would agree. In January, Höcker responded to a user on X: "Are you also looking forward to your 2027 summer vacation in the evacuated, spotlessly clean, and safe Gaza Strip? It's going to be fantastic!" These are our opponents.

In the crowdfunding, you classify the approach as a SLAPP. Why?

SLAPP stands for "Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation" and refers to the phenomenon of the targeted intimidation of journalists or activists through legal means – the aim is to silence them through financial ruin and the depletion of all resources. German reporting on Palestine and Israel in general, and on the ongoing genocide in Gaza in particular, is grotesquely subterranean and often limited to copying and pasting Israeli press statements and defending deeply inhumane positions. The number of colleagues who speak out clearly against Israeli crimes, an end to the violence, and for a sustainable and just peace is very limited. We are exposed to attacks from well-connected actors every day.

Preisler is often accompanied in her campaigns by a few media activists who have press credentials but work for organizations. How do they proceed?

I have no interest in judging who in this environment is a journalist and who isn't. But we can state that for some time now, we have been witnessing apparently coordinated campaigns to smear and defame pro-Palestinian demonstrations and individuals. The state, the police, right-wing media, and various actors across the political spectrum are passing the ball to each other and attempting to delegitimize protests against Israeli violence in the interests of German state policy. All of this is extremely dangerous.

With her one-woman meetings, Preisler aims to attract maximum attention and, within a certain bubble, succeeds...

It's clear that this is about staging and self-promotion. Springer's Bild newspaper is hallucinating about the "bravest demonstrator in Germany," referring to a right-wing influencer who, protected by police, enters pro-Palestinian demonstrations to provoke the crowds. But who actually has the courage here? It's all those who have been taking to the streets for months in solidarity against genocide and the slaughter in Gaza, and who are being beaten by the police and slandered by the media and politicians for it.