Germany has for decades deemed protecting Jewish lives and property its Staatsräson or “reason for state.” But that national interest is bumping up against German law, which codifies freedom of speech. Activists say that police are shutting down pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the guise of preventing antisemitic slogans or glorifications of violence — and in the process, shutting down Germans’ right to express their views in public. Rebecca Collard reports from Berlin.
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