{"id":212,"date":"2025-09-30T01:05:27","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T05:05:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/migration-reporting2025\/?p=212"},"modified":"2025-11-07T15:43:22","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T20:43:22","slug":"212-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/migration-reporting2025\/212-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Potential Berlin Plan(s) Memo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Option 1:<\/b> \u201cAs musicians, we use our way of expressing ourselves: music,\u201d says Arne-Christian Pelz, founder of music for humanity. \u201cBut I don\u2019t know what it takes to finally put an end to this.\u201d Since October 7, musicians across Europe have been coming together to call attention to the suffering in Gaza and Israel through concerts which double as public demonstrations. The dynamic is particularly fascinating in Germany, as Chancellor Merz has stated that the country unequivocally supports Israel. At the same time, Germany is home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian migrants, as well as an increasing number of Israeli expats in the past decade. I\u2019m interested in further exploring how the arts scene in Berlin, particularly music, factors into the ecosystem of Arab and Israeli migrants in the city as a form of connection and activism.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While pro-Palestine demonstrations in Berlin have resulted in police brutality and even some deportations, these musical flashmobs have remained peaceful, largely, according to Pelz, due to the support of pro-Palestinian Israeli activists whose presence helps protect protesters. In particular, there is a Gazan singer named Wafaa Saied who it would be fantastic to get an interview with. Professor Uli Br\u00fcckner of Stanford in Berlin also recommended Igor Levit, a pianist who has performed concerts against antisemitism and to call attention to the hostage situation, as a source (although I understand he is quite famous and will probably be nearly impossible to get in touch with). I want to get beyond the “how does music bring people together across cultures\/across the aisle” thing and get more into what this form of protest can\/can’t accomplish as opposed to other forms, and how in particular it might make it more possible for vulnerable communities, like Palestinian migrants, to participate in protests because it is nearly guaranteed that they will be more peaceful.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Potential sources:<\/span><\/p>\n